February 2025
BEYOND THE HORIZON
February 2025
FRESHWATER NEWS
The invasive carp have moved upriver, and Minnesota officials have funded a barrier project near Winona, MN with the hope of aggressively removing 95% of the pests. Grass, Silver, Bighead, and Black Carp can outcompete native fish and destroy the natural habitat. (River News)
The several year-long fights between Supreme Beef and environmentalists ended with the former quitting the battle for an 11,600 cattle lot, as reported a few issues ago. Nevertheless, the concern for the pristine waters of Bloody Run Creek is worthy of re-examination. Under Jared Walz’s and his family’s ownership, Supreme Beef used every loophole, vagueness, and cloudy definition possible to obtain state approval. His father-in-law is a state senator, Dan Zumbach, who pushed several bills to overthrow water purity and water monitoring laws pushing his Republican majority against the Democrat minority in a battle that had less to do with the environment and more to do with political power.
Overall, it was a shameful display by both political parties. The lack of even a dollop of concern for the environment by the Walz family is frightening. The overwhelming attitude of farmers versus environmentalists was blatantly disgusting. The entire perspective that unfettered capitalism is of paramount importance and any attempt to rein in such financial gain for the overall good of the people or for the future of the people leaves this writer depressed.
Truthfully, I have known the extended Walz family for decades. I purchased a motorcycle from Jared. I tried very hard to obtain Division I sports scouts to see the abilities of a niece who could have been an accomplished athlete at that level. She chose a small D III school and was unrivaled…and athletically unfunded. In the final analysis, there remains a significant contempt between this writer and that family.
Minnesota expanded its list of illegal possession of certain species to include golden clams, golden mussels, yellow floating heart, tubenose gobies, walking catfish, snakehead fish, Eastern mosquitofish, marbled crayfish, mitten crabs, Nile perch, and tench. Jumping worms are also forbidden to be used as bait.
These invasive species will wreak havoc on aquatic environments. The walking catfish, for example, is an airbreathing catfish that slithers its way over sand bars or dry land to other bodies of water, devours young fish of all kinds, and has an extensive appetite. These Southeast Asian fish were originally discovered in Florida but have expanded across the nation.
Tench are large fish that habituate in clay and muddy bottoms and streams with low oxygen levels. They lay over 300,000 sticky green eggs in a season which results in rapid population expansion. An adult tench can be up to 28 inches in length and weigh 15 pounds. The Golden Tench looks something like a goldfish and can be found in some farm ponds.
Snakehead fish are another Asian breed of the Canidae family that are an apex predator. Supposedly originating in Nepal, these tenacious creatures lay 150,000 eggs per season and are found throughout the U.S. but tend to be native to Asia or Africa. In 2002, snakehead fish escaped from a Crofton, MD pond and instantly established itself in the Potomac River and rapidly spread across the nation. In one river, within 120 miles, 21,000 snakeheads were found.
John Anfinson wrote in BIG RIVER about Wil Dilg’s saving the Mississippi River through clubs, political pressure, and the Army Corps of Engineers. When Father Louis Hennepin wandered around the Great River in 1680, he was amazed by the abundance of buffalo, passenger pigeons, bears, wild turkeys, and wolves along the east and west banks. In 1806, Zebulon Pike believed that the passenger pigeon was the most populous bird in the world. Henry Schoolcraft thought that the killing of a grey wolf was meaningless because they were so numerous.
By 1866. General G.K. Warren of the Army Corps of Engineers noted that the Mississippi and sundry streams were no longer clear and that they had accumulated high levels of sand, worse, the number of sawmills dotting the area created islands of sawdust.
Twenty years later, Minneapolis was dumping 65 million gallons of sewage directly into the river, while St. Paul put so much garbage into the Mississippi that it blocked traffic. When Lock and Dam #1 was built in 1917, no fish could live above the dam because the rotting organic matter sucked all the oxygen from the water.
Iowa’s B.F. Shaw noted the changing ecology of streams as early as 1874 and he started to raise fingerlings to stock the waterways. The fish rescue also enhanced another major riverine industry, the pearl button factories. The mussel larvae, called glochidia, attach to fish gills and drop off when maturated. When I was a student in Muscatine, the river banks still had remnants of shells with many holes that had become buttons. Lansing had a button factory well into the latter 20th century ( they eventually evolved to plastic buttons that were carded in Lansing).
Wil Dilg
Deeply concerned about the ecosystems in America, Wil Dilg and his pals met in Chicago to found the Izaak Walton League. Once when fishing in Wabasha, MN he suddenly exclaimed, “We can do it, we can make this whole cockeyed territory into a fish and game refuge.” His vision reached fruition when Congress passed a law marking the Quad Cities as the northern limit for draining swamps for urban development (1924). He also convinced Congress to pass the Upper Mississippi Wildlife and Fish Refuge Act in 1924. Unfortunately, the day before the bill was to be voted on and the day before the Congressional Adjournment, he realized he had forgotten about navigation concerns. He burst into the office of Secretary of Interior, Herbert Hoover, grabbed him and his coat and hat, saying they were going to the White House. They insisted that President Calvin Coolidge interrupt his activities to alter the bill. The revised bill was passed into law unanimously “with spirited applause”.
SAIL NEWS
A recent article on the America’s Cup foil boats identified the specific aspects that create lift and incredible speed faster than the wind. They possess a self-tacking jib and twin-skinned mainsail with endplates that reduce drag. The slipstream stations for the crew render an aerodynamic hull. Flaps on the foil arms are trimmed for steering since the rudder is static. Push button controls allow the driver to direct direction. The Onside driver is the pilot while the Offside driver calls tactics. The Trimmer/Flight Control trims the main and articulates the flaps. Four crew on bikes generate hydraulic power.
The art of sailing has evolved into an aeronautic system. The expense is far too great for personal rather than corporate ownership.
Admittedly, SAIL magazine is all about extraordinarily expensive boats for the oligarchs of the world. Sailing has gone way of golf which proffers $600 drivers and a steady array of sundry metallic putters, glue-like grips, multitudinous shafts, and personalized heads. Zuzana Prochaska, a noted sailing writer, explored the Windelo 50 catamaran boasting twin 20kW Beta Marine 48-volt electric motors and an 18kW diesel generator that recharges batteries in 1.5 hours. The magnificent hull is composed of Basalt and PET/PVC recycled materials.
Reaching close to 50 feet in length, the Windelo 50 has a beam of 26 feet, displaces 26,692 tons, and carries 1,453 feet of sail. She has 4 guest cabins plus one for the skipper. Enclosed, it does not allow much for sun tanning, if that bothers passengers surrounded in total luxury. She can be had for a mere $1.2 million. Certainly, this wouldn’t dent Elon Musk’s $400 billion holdings.
For normal middle-of-the-road income folks, there are smaller boats such as The SALISH VOYAGER 17 that run around $19,000. It is a bit short of 17 feet at the waterline and has a draft of 2’. This outstanding boat displaces 440 lbs. with a sail area of 100 square feet that is noted for stability, speed, and capacity.
Salish 17 Voyager
The term “catboat” immediately brings the MARSHALL 22 to many minds. A beamy 10’2” that draws at least 5’1” of water, she displaces 388 lbs. with a sail area of 388 feet. The massive boom intimidates many, but she remains very popular. She does have wheel steering, a marine head with holding tank, jiffy reefing, and a bundle of extras that push the cost to a thoughtful $99,000.
MARSHALL 22
Another smaller and beloved sailboat is the FLYING SCOT which runs 19’ with a beam of over 6’ that displaces 850 lbs. with its fractional rig. It maintains stability with a 105 lb. centerboard and allows 191 square feet of sail. She is not a high-performance boat but she sails easily for a modest $29,000
