Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 6 PM: Past and current conservation measures in the Baraboo River watershed will be the featured topic when the Friends of the Baraboo River holds its annual meeting on Wednesday, May 20 at 6 p.m. at the Reedsburg Library, 370 Vine Street. The public is invited to attend.
Serge Koenig of the Sauk County Land Resources and Environment Department will be the featured speaker. He has been involved in planning and implementing conservation efforts in the watershed over the past several years.
The Friends of the Baraboo River is a volunteer organization led by a board consisting members in both Sauk and Juneau counties. New members to the organization are always welcome. The group was formed several years ago to promote recreational use of the Baraboo River, a traditionally overlooked resource in river communities.
Past efforts have included getting the Baraboo River declared a State Water Trail, log jam clearing efforts, working to developing canoe launches, sponsoring special events, helping out with the annual Lazy Beaver Canoe and Kayak Race and creating a phone app in which paddlers can use while paddling the river.
The Friends have also submitted an application to the National Parks Service to have the Baraboo River declared a National Water Trail. If granted that designation does not impose any regulations on the river or activities along its banks. The main purpose of the application is to create more awareness of the river, its history, and to promote its recreational use. The Baraboo is one of the first rivers in the United States on which all of its dams have been renewed and the river restored to its natural flow pattern.
Another recent effort is to promote awareness of invasive aquatic species. The Friends are sponsored a Project Riverine Early Detection Invasive Species Monitoring Workshop on Saturday, June 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Maxwell Potter Conservancy in Baraboo. Friends of the Baraboo board members and officers will also be elected at the May 20 annual meeting.
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