DNR Investigating Beaver Dam Fish Kill

Estimates put the number of fish killed on Beaver Dam River last week between 5,000 to 10,000 fish.  That resulted from adjusting the dam for the replacement of a culvert on Cooper Street. Mayor Becky Glewen updated the city council this week. She says the fish kill may be related to the closure of the dam on Beaver Dam Lake. She says the water level was brought down enough to work on the culvert down stream in the river and some of the fish were trapped in the lower levels of the water. Last Thursday night a city resident notified a city department head about the situation and the dam was reopened early Friday morning. Beaver Dam Lake Improvement Association President Bill Boettge says most of the fish lost were game fish. He says you can’t replace 28-inch Northern Pike or 24-inch Walleyes. He says they will be restocking some Walleye this fall, but they are 6 to 8 inch fingerlings, which cost about $4 each. He says the association spends roughly $20,000 a year stocking pan-fish and game fish in the lake.