Fort McCoy shares natural resources accomplishments during August 2026 Monroe County meeting

Fort McCoy natural resources staff shared updates on fisheries, forestry, threatened and endangered species, invasive-species management, and wildlife activities during the Monroe County Natural Resources and Extension Committee meeting Aug. 10, 2026, in Sparta, Wis.

Endangered Species Biologist Jessup Weichelt represented Fort McCoy at the meeting and provided the committee with an overview of natural resources accomplishments completed across the installation during July.

The monthly meetings provide an opportunity for Fort McCoy natural resources staff to maintain communication with Monroe County officials and share information about ongoing environmental stewardship, monitoring, research and management efforts conducted on the installation.

Following is information Weichelt shared with the meeting attendees:

Fisheries management

— Fort McCoy fisheries staff continued water-quality and aquatic-resource monitoring throughout July.

— Staff conducted adaptive management sampling with the average total phosphorus measured at La Crosse River at Black Bottom at 0.08 milligrams per liter for 2026. That is slightly above the 0.075 milligrams-per-liter goal but remains below the historical average.

— Staff also conducted one La Crosse River watershed and one Silver Creek watershed base-flow event and one Silver Creek watershed runoff event. Limited rainfall during July resulted in fewer opportunities to collect runoff samples. Turbidity samples also were collected in the cantonment during a runoff event.

— Temperature and dissolved-oxygen data were collected from all 10 Fort McCoy lakes. Oxygen levels had begun becoming limited at deeper depths in several lakes, which is typical later in the summer. Water temperatures also were high following numerous days in which air temperatures reached or exceeded 90 degrees.

— Water levels at Sandy, West Sandy and Big Sandy lakes were measured weekly on four occasions. Levels reached their lowest point of the summer so far but remained near historical averages.

— Fisheries staff conducted 14 creel surveys and interviewed 73 anglers. Bluegill and largemouth bass catch rates began to decline as summer progressed, although some anglers continued to report good catches. Rainbow trout catch and harvest rates remained low as trout sought cooler water in deeper portions of the lakes.

— Staff also conducted macrophyte surveys on all 10 Fort McCoy lakes to monitor native plant distribution and search for invasive plant species. No new invasive plant species were found. Two scuba dives were conducted to locate and remove Eurasian water milfoil and curly-leaf pondweed. At West Sandy Lake, 34 Eurasian water milfoil stems and 117 curly-leaf pondweed stems were found and removed. No invasive plants were found during the dive at Sandy Lake. The number of Eurasian water milfoil and curly-leaf pondweed stems removed from West Sandy Lake so far in 2026 represents a substantial reduction compared with the previous year.

Forestry management

— Fort McCoy forestry staff completed edits to an Invitation for Bid and officially sent the document to Seattle for review. The sale advertisement is scheduled for August, with bid opening planned for September.

— Forestry staff also participated in an Environmental Performance Assessment System natural resources audit, assisted with a brief National Environmental Policy Act review involving tree cutting in B23E and completed responder update forms for the Natural Resources Branch and Conservation Support Unit for submission to the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands.

Threatened and endangered species

— Threatened and endangered species work remained active throughout July, with staff conducting surveys and monitoring for several species of conservation concern.

— Staff conducted biweekly telemetry tracking on four Blanding’s turtles and two wood turtles. GPS data were collected from two female turtles equipped with GPS backpacks, and the GPS units were subsequently removed from the turtles. The resulting data are being mapped and analyzed.

— Staff completed 24 Ottoe Skipper surveys and observed approximately 280 Ottoe Skippers during survey efforts, with an additional 18 observed incidentally. They also completed 67 Regal Fritillary surveys, documenting approximately 170 Regal Fritillaries during survey efforts and 13 additional individuals incidentally.

— Seven ghost tiger beetle surveys resulted in documentation of 54 ghost tiger beetles. Fifteen rusty-patched bumblebee surveys also were completed. During those surveys, staff observed five rusty-patched bumblebees, five American bumblebees and 12 southern plains bumblebees.

— Natural resources staff maintained stationary acoustic bat detectors and completed eight mobile bat surveys. One northern long-eared bat call was recorded on South Post.

— Staff also completed Karner blue butterfly presence/absence surveys and transect surveys. Six bobolinks were documented in Ranges 2 and 4, while blue grosbeaks and Henslow's sparrows were incidentally observed along the edges of those ranges.

Invasive species management

— Invasive-species management remained one of the largest areas of natural-resources work during July.

— Fort McCoy staff treated approximately 1,865.8 acres through herbicide applications and hand-pulling activities, addressing invasive species including spotted knapweed, crown vetch, leafy spurge, cow vetch, black locust, Canada thistle, bull thistle, musk and nodding thistle, Siberian pea shrub, creeping bellflower, cypress spurge, Japanese/erect hedge parsley and wild parsnip. Across individual species and treatment methods, the program accounted for approximately 1,985.9 species-acres treated.

— Staff also sampled 41 individual leafy-spurge biological-control monitoring sites at 18 locations for flea beetles.

— Goat grazing continued as another tool for invasive-species management. During July, grazing treatments covered 37.6 acres, including autumn olive, garlic mustard, glossy buckthorn and honeysuckle. Across the individual species treatments, the program accounted for 55.1 species-acres.

— Despite several storms during the first week of July, the remainder of the month was hot and dry, with heat indexes frequently reaching the 90s and several days exceeding 100 degrees. Despite those conditions, natural resources staff continued making progress on invasive-species treatments.

— Midway through the month, four personnel assigned to the lupine crew shifted to assist the invasive-species crew with knapweed removal. Fisheries staff also completed additional glossy buckthorn and common buckthorn cut-stump herbicide treatments along a stream in Training Area B-31.

— Uncrewed aircraft systems mapping and limited invasive-plant treatment also continued. Poor weather limited some mapping efforts, but completed work will contribute to future efforts by helping develop training models for faster invasive-plant identification.

— Goat-grazing coordination continued, with the goats moving from training areas into the cantonment in mid-July.

— Two Wisconsin Conservation Corps crews also conducted autumn-olive removal and treatment work. The crews worked for two weeks with one crew remaining for a third week. In total, they treated 85 acres in the cantonment and Training Areas C03, B16, B15, B14 and B17. One particularly notable invasive-plant discovery involved broadleaf helleborine, an invasive orchid found near a dwarf milkweed monitoring site near Gate 20. Staff believe it was a single plant, which was removed and preserved as a voucher specimen. Another plant had been found several years ago several miles east of the Greenfield tower, but no other populations are known in Monroe County. Staff will continue monitoring the area and searching for the species elsewhere on the installation.

— Fort McCoy also continued its partnership with the Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group, holding its July meeting and highlighting invasive treatments and planned restoration work at the Curt and Melissa Jacob property.

Wildlife management

— Wildlife staff continued preparing the Fort McCoy Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Rules and Regulations for Directorate approvals and command signature.

— Staff worked with Fort McCoy Permit Sales on applications for upcoming fall hunting seasons. Applications included 1,332 for gun-deer hunting against an 1,800-person quota; 33 for youth gun-deer hunting; 22 for gun-deer hunting for hunters with disabilities; 326 for cantonment archery against a 180-person quota; and 16 for trapping. Applications for gun-deer hunting for hunters with disabilities remained available through Aug. 31, while the other application periods closed July 31.

— Summer truck-book surveys for gamebirds and predator and mammal species continued from June through September. The surveys provide information used in wildlife population models or as indices for comparison with previous years. Deer truck-book surveys are scheduled to continue through September.

— Wildlife staff also worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wild Turkey Advisory Committee in reviewing and updating the state's Wild Turkey Management Plan. Registration for a Fort McCoy hunter-education course also opened in July, and all 30 available seats were filled in in less than a week. The course will be held at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area's chalet, with optional range time following the course at the Sparta Rod and Gun Club.

— Additional work included coordination with BanfieldBio to continue research involving tick repellents and acaricides, as well as Environmental Performance Assessment System inspections covering wildlife, wardens, the airfield, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, permit sales and pest-management programs.

— The July wildlife surveys also documented a variety of species across Fort McCoy. June gamebird truck-book results included 314 wild turkeys, 44 ruffed grouse, five woodcocks, six wood ducks, three pheasants, one hooded merganser and two Canada geese. Mammal surveys documented 15 animals, including raccoons, black bears, a bobcat, a feral cat, red foxes and a coyote.

Fort McCoy’s natural-resources program encompasses nearly 60,000 acres and supports military training while also protecting and managing forests, wetlands, lakes, streams, wildlife habitat, and species of conservation concern. The monthly Monroe County committee meetings provide an important avenue for Fort McCoy to share that work with local conservation partners and coordinate natural-resources efforts beyond the installation's boundaries.

Fort McCoy has supported America’s armed forces since 1909. Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The post’s varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, new as well as renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide military personnel with an environment in which to develop and sustain the skills necessary for mission success.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984. Learn more about Fort McCoy online athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on DVIDS by visitinghttps://www.dvidshub.net/unit/FMPAO.

Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”

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