Effort Will Help Re-stock Water With Brown Trout

(Waupaca, WI) April 29, 2013—The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) will get assistance from Waupaca Foundry in building fish habitat and restocking fish populations this spring. Starting in early May, WDNR workers will use the docking facilities at Waupaca Foundry’s Marinette plant to stock fish in the Bay of Green Bay. In past years, WDNR workers have released yearling fish further upstream on the Menominee River, but dredging operations and low water levels require releasing the fish closer to the mouth of the river.

Over a two-to-three day period in early May, workers from the WDNR will release approximately 50,000 yearling brown trout that were raised at Thunder River Hatchery in Crivitz, WI. The Marinette plant is located on the waterfront and the dock was built as a retaining wall.

According to Waupaca Foundry representatives, partnerships with the WDNR are an extension of the company’s dedication to sustainability. “Throughout our company, we have energy conservation programs underway, so expanding our sustainability footprint to encompass our natural resources is consistent with our environmental efforts” said Gary Gigante, CEO of Waupaca Foundry.

In 2012, Waupaca Foundry donated about 150 yards of fieldstone to the WDNR Wild Rose Fisheries for a trout stream rehabilitation project on the Waupaca River, located at Riverview Park, Waupaca. The stone was used to construct a mid-channel island, create large boulder habitat, and overhead bank covers that provide refuge cover for trout. The stone was excavated from the foundry’s landfill and provided enough material to cover approximately 1,000 feet of stream. 

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