By Kay Scholtz

Friends of Sherwood Lake Co-Chair

SHERWOOD — The next meeting of the newly formed group Friends of Sherwood Lake will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the Sherwood Town Hall, located in Sherwood Township, Clark County, Wis. The group’s goal is to fundraise for the dredging of Sherwood Lake to improve the lake’s fishing habitat.

Sherwood Lake, a county-owned, 117-acre body of water in a remote part of southeastern Clark County, is entirely surrounded by public land, which makes it a unique treasure in our area. In February 2014 the lake’s auxiliary spillway failed, which led to the entire lake bed emptying. Clark County will hopefully repair the dam in the near future.

With the lake bed currently empty, we have a unique opportunity to remove sediment created by the decomposing of vegetation over many years that has left the lake a poor environment for fish.

Sherwood Lake is fed by Hay Creek, a small tributary of the East Fork of the Black River that runs through the main lake bed. In the late 1800s a logging dam was built on Hay Creek and maintained by Island Mill Logging Company of La Crosse. In the 1930s the Works Progress Administration improved the old dam and created the lake as we know it today with its beautiful park and campground. Many of our ancestors found employment working on the project, which was completed in 1938.

The Clark County board has approved dam repairs in their 2015 budget. The County advocates dredging but does not have enough funds available. Friends of Sherwood Lake has created a short-term pass-through fund with the non-profit Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin to accept donations.

Those wishing to contribute to the project can send donations to: Friends of Sherwood Lake Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, P.O. Box 968, Stevens Point, WI, 54481. Checks can be made out to Friends of Sherwood Lake. Donations with credit cards can be made online at the Foundation’s website at www.cfcwi.org/ by clicking on the donate button next to Friends of Sherwood Lake Fund. All donations are tax deductible.

Although our primary focus is dredging, if dredging plans cannot be completed, the Friends of Sherwood Lake Fund will be earmarked for Sherwood Lake, Park, and Campground improvements.

If you have questions, feel free to call Friends of Sherwood Lake members: Co-Chair Rosie Repinski at 715-238-7600; Co-Chair Kay Scholtz at 715-238-7603; Treasurer Vickie Dux at 715-884-2961; Alene Jacobson, secretary, at715-884-2599; or email wedigsherwoodlake@gmail.com.

More information and updates can be found on the “Friends of Sherwood Lake” Facebook page and the group’s website, wedigsherwoodlake.wix.com/-sherwood-lake.

Let us work together to restore Sherwood Lake, our local gem. It is said that one who plants a tree is not selfish. Perhaps we can obtain a similar status by improving Sherwood Lake, not just for ourselves but for future generations.