Sign from the past

[Paul Trybul]

 

I found this sign the other day and it was a blast from the past. I grew up in DeKalb County which consists of the origin and 80% of what makes up the south branch of the Kish. Back in 1988, I was a Junior in High School who basically just got his driver license. That event expanded my fishing opportunities as I could now drive and explore more areas of the Kish. That year there was an unfortunate event, as a pig farm had an earthen levy break releasing thousands of gallons of manure into the south branch of the Kish. This resulted in a 100% kill all the way up to Rockford. This was more than a fish kill, as it killed everything down to the crayfish and micro organisms. With help from the farmer and local clubs like the Shabbona Sportsmans Club fish were stocked back into system. The fishery was fragile and just rebuilding so these signs were posted at all the bridges and parks and left up for several years after the kill. I feel these signs really helped as it created a culture of catch and release before catch and release was really that popular.  The South Branch has recovered at this point. Let it serve as a reminder as to how things can change and just how fragile our waterways are. Something many of us enjoy can be taken away in the blink of an eye and take years to get back.

[Terry Dodge]

Thanks for the pic and story. 

Let us hope that this kind of event is a thing of the past.

[JOHN SCHENCK]

Wow that’s horrible! Nothing is guaranteed!  Hope nothing like that ever happens again but with these leaking coal ash ponds all over it feels like only a matter of time.....

[Kev-mo]

On 5/15/2019 at 6:29 AM, JOHN SCHENCK said:

Wow that’s horrible! Nothing is guaranteed!  Hope nothing like that ever happens again but with these leaking coal ash ponds all over it feels like only a matter of time.....

 

At the risk of sounding like a crusty old curmudgeon (RIP RK!) there's a lot of stuff that's only a matter of time... I do see glimmers of hope out there though. We'll see...