Last Thursday the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance partnered with the Fox River Brewing Company to host the first annual “Clean Water Makes Better Beer” event.
The goal of the event was to teach people about the land-water connection. What we do on the land impacts our waters and, here in the Fox Cities, we rely on our lakes to provide drinking water to over 250,000 people.
Fox-Wolf launched boat tours from the brewery’s Oshkosh location right on the Fox River. The tours headed north into Lake Butte des Morts to Sunset Bay. Here, Fox-Wolf made the connection between the surrounding landscape and water quality. The weather was perfect, but the lake, unfortunately, looked like pea green soup. But, despite its smell, it made an excellent talking point. Guides talked about why algal blooms happen, where the problem starts, what you can do about it, and what the system at large is doing about it.
We stopped at Sunset Bay to highlight the plant diversity there and talk about how aquatic plants contribute beneficially to water quality. Lake Butte des Morts was historically three feet shallower, and the vegetation at Sunset Bay is representative of what large portions LBM used to look like. It really shows how aquatic plant abundance has declined over the past 175 years. Tour guides fit the Lake Management Plan into the story to tie together the conversation.
Tours were free because FWWA wanted to get as many people out on the water as possible. More specifically, people who might not normally get a chance to be out on the water. Not only that, tour participants were given a buy one get one beer/root beer free coupon. That’s like getting paid $5 to hang out with the FWWA and take a boat ride. I may be biased, but I would pay $5 to hang out with the Fox-Wolf crew (full disclosure – I am part of the FWWA crew).
The event got about 70 people out on the water. For some it was a first, but some participants had been out on the water regularly for 60+ years. It was interesting to hear their observations and concerns for our lakes.
Back on the brewery’s patio, FWWA had a table where anyone could learn more about our projects and chat with staff and our dedicated volunteers, listen to live music, dine, and well, have a better beer.
Fox-Wolf couldn’t have done it without our event partners and volunteers. Thank you Chad Casper, Dani Santry, Mark Sesing, Stacy VandenLangenberg for your time, Scotty’s Pontoon and Wolf River Resorts for the boats, and Fox River Brewing Company for the venue.
We are looking forward to next year!
Support FWWA’s mission by buying a “Clean Water Makes Better Beer” t-shirt. Shirts were printed by Amano Prints + Threads. Although not scientifically proven, we firmly believe that clean water makes better beer. Send Austin a message to purchase one (see contact info below).
Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.
Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.
This article was written by Austin Pethan for the Winnebago Waterways Program. Questions or comments? Contact Austin at austin@fwwa.org or (920) 920-851-4295.
