Help protect Lake Mallalieu's natural environment
Critical habitat for trumpeter swans is threatened!
Help protect Lake Mallalieu's natural environment
Critical habitat for trumpeter swans is threatened!
SOS Lake Mallalieu - Save Our Swans
We are working to preserve the natural environment of Lake Mallalieu and the endangered, protected, or of special concern species that live in and along Lake Mallalieu in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Among these is a growing population of protected trumpeter swans that annually has over-wintered in the ice-free, shallow waters of northeast Lake Mallalieu since the early 1990s. Trumpeter swans were re-introduced to Wisconsin only in 1989--these spectacular waterfowl were absent from the state for 100 years because of over-hunting in the late 1880s. Our community is fortunate that these protected trumpeter swans have found critical over-wintering habitat on Lake Mallalieu. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources estimates there now are about 11,000 trumpeter swans in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) recommendations for "Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu are that there be NO dredging or lakebed removal or modifications within Site #1. Nevertheless, in early 2024 the Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) Board of Directors proposed a massive dredging project within Site #1. This dredging project proposed to remove up to 220,000 cubic yards of bottom material from within a 100-acre area in northeast Lake Mallalieu and the upstream Willow River channels, with dredging depths up to four feet. This dredging would have removed shallow water environments that now nourish our protected trumpeter swans in this established over-wintering location. Fortunately, the Dredging Feasibility Study concluded that a lake drawdown would be a superior alternative to dredging. “Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres”, should continue to be protected and preserved.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has identified "Designated Sensitive Areas" on Lake Mallalieu that provide critical habitat for endangered, protected, or of special concern species, including "Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu. Protected trumpeter swans annually over-winter in Site #1, where the ice-free, shallow water allows the trumpeter swans to mingle and form pair bonds, and where the quality and quantity of winter food supports their productivity during the next breeding season. Trumpeter swans forage for food in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. The WDNR designated Site #1 as a sensitive area because of its high-quality fish and wildlife habitat, diverse aquatic vegetation, undisturbed and unique terrestrial vegetation, importance for protecting water quality, and its natural scenic beauty.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has identified "Designated Sensitive Areas" on Lake Mallalieu that provide critical habitat for endangered, protected, or of special concern species, including "Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu. Protected trumpeter swans annually over-winter in Site #1, where the ice-free, shallow water allows the trumpeter swans to mingle and form pair bonds, and where the quality and quantity of winter food supports their productivity during the next breeding season. Trumpeter swans forage for food in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. The WDNR designated Site #1 as a sensitive area because of its high-quality fish and wildlife habitat, diverse aquatic vegetation, undisturbed and unique terrestrial vegetation, importance for protecting water quality, and its natural scenic beauty.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) recommendations for "Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu are that there be NO dredging or lakebed removal or modifications within Site #1. Nevertheless, in early 2024 the Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) Board of Directors proposed a massive dredging project within Site #1. This dredging project proposed to remove up to 220,000 cubic yards of bottom material from within a 100-acre area in northeast Lake Mallalieu and the upstream Willow River channels, with dredging depths up to four feet. This dredging would have removed shallow water environments that now nourish our protected trumpeter swans in this established over-wintering location. Fortunately, the Dredging Feasibility Study concluded that a lake drawdown would be a superior alternative to dredging. “Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres”, should continue to be protected and preserved.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has identified "Designated Sensitive Areas" on Lake Mallalieu that provide critical habitat for endangered, protected, or of special concern species, including "Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu. Protected trumpeter swans annually over-winter in Site #1, where the ice-free, shallow water allows the trumpeter swans to mingle and form pair bonds, and where the quality and quantity of winter food supports their productivity during the next breeding season. Trumpeter swans forage for food in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. The WDNR designated Site #1 as a sensitive area because of its high-quality fish and wildlife habitat, diverse aquatic vegetation, undisturbed and unique terrestrial vegetation, importance for protecting water quality, and its natural scenic beauty.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) recommendations for "Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu are that there be NO dredging or lakebed removal or modifications within Site #1. Nevertheless, in early 2024 the Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) Board of Directors proposed a massive dredging project within Site #1. This dredging project proposed to remove up to 220,000 cubic yards of bottom material from within a 100-acre area in northeast Lake Mallalieu and the upstream Willow River channels, with dredging depths up to four feet. This dredging would have removed shallow water environments that now nourish our protected trumpeter swans in this established over-wintering location. Fortunately, the Dredging Feasibility Study concluded that a lake drawdown would be a superior alternative to dredging. “Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres”, should continue to be protected and preserved.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) recommendations for "Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu are that there be NO dredging or lakebed removal or modifications within Site #1. Nevertheless, in early 2024 the Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) Board of Directors proposed a massive dredging project within Site #1. This dredging project proposed to remove up to 220,000 cubic yards of bottom material from within a 100-acre area in northeast Lake Mallalieu and the upstream Willow River channels, with dredging depths up to four feet. This dredging would have removed shallow water environments that now nourish our protected trumpeter swans in this established over-wintering location. Fortunately, the Dredging Feasibility Study concluded that a lake drawdown would be a superior alternative to dredging. “Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres”, should continue to be protected and preserved.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) recommendations for "Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres" in northeast Lake Mallalieu are that there be NO dredging or lakebed removal or modifications within Site #1. Nevertheless, in early 2024 the Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) Board of Directors proposed a massive dredging project within Site #1. This dredging project proposed to remove up to 220,000 cubic yards of bottom material from within a 100-acre area in northeast Lake Mallalieu and the upstream Willow River channels, with dredging depths up to four feet. This dredging would have removed shallow water environments that now nourish our protected trumpeter swans in this established over-wintering location. Fortunately, the Dredging Feasibility Study concluded that a lake drawdown would be a superior alternative to dredging. “Designated Sensitive Areas, Site #1: 83.79 Acres”, should continue to be protected and preserved.
Take action to help SOS Lake Mallalieu - Save Our Swans
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Like and follow our FaceBook page, "SOS Lake Mallalieu - Save Our Swans", and invite your friends to like and follow it, too.
Help alert, inform, and engage your friends and neighbors regarding our trumpeter swans.
From November to March, come see our trumpeter swans on northeast Lake Mallalieu, and encourage other folks to come see our swans, too. It's fun! Drive or walk to the end of public Riverside Drive North, in North Hudson, WI. Bring your bird-watching binoculars and your camera with a zoom lens. Share your photos!
Post your photos and videos of our trumpeter swans.
Tell folks about our trumpeter swans on northeast Lake Mallalieu. Trumpeter swans are fabulous--these white birds are the largest waterfowl native to North America, and they really do sound like trumpets! Our over-wintering trumpeter swans feed on aquatic plants in northeast Lake Mallalieu's ice-free, shallow water—they dip their heads and necks below the water surface and use their bills to uproot plants, and they tip “bottoms up” to reach the lakebed. Unmated birds mingle to form bonded pairs—they court by bobbing their heads and quivering their wings while facing each other.
From Spring ice-out to Winter freeze-over, kayak or canoe in northeast Lake Mallalieu and the adjacent Willow River channels to experience the plentiful species of birds, waterfowl, turtles, amphibians, fish, and wildlife living in the critical habitat of WDNR Designated Sensitive Area, Site #1: 83.79 Acres.
Talk with your friends and neighbors about the importance of protecting and preserving northeast Lake Mallalieu's critical habitat area for our trumpeter swans and for other endangered, protected, or of special concern species. Tell them just how important this critical habitat is for our trumpeter swans and for the other endangered, protected, or of special concern species that need it, too.
Send a letter to the editor.
Contact the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)
The WDNR asks that observations of trumpeter swans be reported electronically via the DNR's non-game observation report or to Wisconsin eBird.
If you observe a sick or injured trumpeter swan, gather as much information as you can on the swan's location, condition of the swan, and the name and phone number of the person reporting the swan observation. If there is any indication that the trumpeter swan was shot or purposely injured, call your local DNR Conservation Warden and/or the DNR tip line: 1-800-TIP-WDNR (1-800-847-9367). U.S. Cellular customers can call cellular #367.
For a statewide list of wildlife rehabilitators, see the DNR's wildlife rehabilitation directory.
Become a member of the Lake Mallalieu Association
Lake Mallalieu is a public body of water.
The Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) is a “qualified lake association” under Wis. Stat. section 281.68(3m). This state law directs that any person who owns property or resides within one mile of Lake Mallalieu may become an LMA Member by paying an annual membership fee that may not exceed $50.
Join the LMA by going to the LMA website's "Annual Dues" page and clicking the PayPal button, or mail your check to the LMA.
Read the "2022 Lake Mallalieu Lake Management Plan" at the LMA's website.
The three ranked priorities of the 2022 Lake Mallalieu Lake Management Plan are, in the order of their ranking:
1. Improve water quality
2. Improve aquatic habitat
3. Address sediment that has been deposited in the lake
The LMA has been allocated $2million in Wisconsin state funding for environmental management of Lake Mallalieu, and this $2million is not restricted to funding a dredging project (2023 Wisconsin Act 19, Section 78).
The 2022 Lake Mallalieu Lake Management Plan identifies a multitude of specific interventions that could be made upstream in the Willow River watershed or made along Lake Mallalieu’s shores which would help improve Lake Mallalieu’s water quality and aquatic habitat. Directing the LMA’s unrestricted $2million state appropriation for environmental management of Lake Mallalieu toward implementing some of these interventions would help achieve the two highest priority goals for Lake Mallalieu.
The current LMA Board of Directors has provided limited information to LMA Members about any of its proposed projects in Lake Mallalieu, and has provided almost no information to people who are not Members.
After you join the LMA, request information about the LMA Board's proposed projects for Lake Mallalieu.
The next meeting of LMA Members is set for July 9, 2025, 7PM, at the White Eagle Golf Club, 316 White Eagle Trail, Hudson WI. On July 9th, LMA Members will get updates on lake sediment testing, a carp removal project, and a proposed drawdown of Lake Mallalieu from Fall 2025 through Spring 2026. LMA Members also will elect the LMA Board, and will take up old and new business items..
Participate in public permitting processes
Before many projects affecting the public waters of Lake Mallalieu may be implemented, they first require obtaining reviews, approvals, and permits from local, state, and/or federal units of government.
For example, dredging could not begin in northeast Lake Mallalieu and the upstream Willow River channels without the Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) Board first securing all required permits for its proposed dredging project from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), the US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and St. Croix County.
In the week of February 5, 2024, the LMA Board's consultant, Stantec, submitted the NR347 Preliminary Application for this proposed dredging project to the WDNR; scroll on to read it on this website. Stantec then undertook a Dredging Feasibility Study; scroll on to read its proposed scope on this website.
The Dredging Feasibility Study concluded that a superior alternative to the proposed dredging project would be to conduct a lake drawdown, and now the LMA Board has begun the application process for permitting a lake drawdown.
Before the WDNR determines whether to permit a proposed project, the WDNR would post a public Notice of Pending Application, accept Public Comments, and possibly hold a Public Informational Hearing.
For more information, go to:
WDNR "Waterway Permit Frequently Asked Questions", at: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Waterways/permitFAQ
WDNR "Water Permit Applications", at:https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/permits/water
WDNR "Dredging and Grading Project Permitting", at: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Waterways/dredging
US Army Corps of Engineers "Public Notices - MN and WI, at: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/
Photos by SOS Lake Mallalieu - Save Our Swans
