/ Business of the Month / Trout Lake Station
Business of the Month: August 2022
Trout Lake Station
VCEDC August Business of the Month
Congratulations to
Trout Lake Station
3110 Trout Lake Station Drive
Boulder Junction, WI 54512
Phone: (608) 890-4967
https://limnology.wisc.edu/trout-lake-station-welcome/
We were delighted recently to have a conversation with Gretchen Gerrish, Director Trout Lake Station, Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin – Madison regarding the history and mission of this treasured organization in Vilas County.
Please share the history and mission of Trout Lake Station.
Trout Lake Station is located on the south shore of Trout Lake in Vilas County. It was originally established in 1925 by Edward Birge and Chauncey Juday who built five modest laboratory cabins on the north side of the South Basin of Trout Lake. With students, they sampled more than 500 lakes throughout the region building foundational descriptions of the lake’s physical, chemical, and biological properties that are still referenced in modern textbooks and papers.
In the 1960's, UW-Madison built a new laboratory on the 70-acre property where Trout Lake Station sits today. The original buildings were moved across the ice and refurbished as living quarters for visitors. Over time both laboratory and housing facilities have expanded to create a mini-UW Madison campus that focuses on lake research in Vilas County. Housing accommodates up to 48 people and fills with student researchers in the summer, visiting college short courses in the fall, and hosts a variety of partners working on environmental and water related projects throughout the year. Lake research and student training are central to the mission of Trout Lake Station which is part of the University of Wisconsin Center for Limnology.
How important is it for Vilas County to have this research station operating here?
Vilas County has approximately 1,300 lakes and 73 rivers and streams and sits in a region with some of the highest concentrations of freshwater lakes in the world. Stewarding these lakes and the freshwater within is a huge responsibility. The research conducted at Trout Lake Station helps inform decision making by individuals, lake groups, and natural resource agencies. Staff and visiting researchers have strong regional partnerships and constantly participate in and facilitate a growing network for people invested in water topics throughout the region.
How many staff do you have?
Staffing at Trout Lake Station varies seasonally. Permanent staff includes six research scientists and three operational staff positions. The Station often hires 3-4 additional technicians, graduate students, or post-doctoral employees throughout the year. And, summer opportunities employ 15-25 additional positions depending on what the research projects are taking place over the summer.
How have you grown over the years?
Trout Lake Station has built capacity over the years by expanding facilities, equipment available, scope of research, and partnerships. Most recently, we hired an outreach, education, and communications professional with a background in natural resources and as a middle school science teacher who has already increased our community connection through new programming with schools and libraries in the area. We are excited to invest in making the work on the station more accessible to all ages within the community.
Our next expansion is to increase our winter research capacity. Much less data is available about what happens under ice in lakes compared to what we know about open water season, but evidence supports that active physical, chemical, and biological dynamics in winter can strongly influence spring and summer conditions. We are building a new, heated winter research outbuilding to house winter sampling equipment like survival suits, and an ARGO UTV that floats when it goes through ice. The heated space will provide areas where people can comfortably innovate, maintain, and properly store equipment providing the infrastructure to support more safe winter sampling of lakes.
How do you give back to the community?
We participate in and host numerous community events including; the Trout Lake Station annual open house that brings 200-300 people to the station during the summer, Science on Tap through the fall and winter, and a winter limnology schoolyard event for 3rd and 7th graders from regional schools. Staff also often jump at the chance to give additional talks and provide programming with lake groups, at schools, and with partner organizations throughout the region.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
We are enthusiastic to continue expanding partnerships to build a network invested in stewarding the waters of Northern Wisconsin for future generations.
Congratulations to Trout Lake Station!
