1. So far this late winter, Wonder Lake ice (or the lack of enough of it) has bagged a snowmobile, an ATV, and an iceboat. In addition, the SUV of an ice fisherman was also spotted parked on the ice, which apparently resulted in a variety of comments on the Wonder Lake Neighbors Facebook page, as well as a photograph of the offending vehicle with its license plate prominently displayed. As a result, the offender was issued a $250 citation by the Wonder Lake Police Department. While his issue won’t come up again until next winter, as individual subdivisions control access to the lake through their lakefront gates, it is important that they remind their subdivision residents (signage at boat ramps?) that under a Village of Wonder Lake ordinance dated May 5, 2004, Section 4 states: All autos, trucks and SUV's are strictly prohibited from entering upon Wonder Lake at any time. Fines no less than $50 no more than $500.
2. The Merchant Creek footbridge project is continuing through the final / design permitting process.
3. The Nippersink Watershed Association is undertaking a “Salt Watch” project, where volunteers will monitor streams to determine the amount of chloride (salt) present. To date, the highest levels of in-stream chloride were found at a small creek flowing into Wonder Lake at Hickory Drive and E. Lake Shore Drive, and on Silver Creek (which drains the north half of Woodstock) at Queen Anne Road. More information can be found at: https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/winter-salt-watch
4. The Illinois Lake Management Association (ILMA) and Illinois Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) are hosting a joint Annual Conference at the I Hotel & Conference Center in Champaign, Illinois from March 16th through March 19th, 2022. Info at ILMA-Lakes.org
5. The 10th Annual Fox River summit will be held in Burlington, Wisconsin on March 17th. While the main focus is on the Fox River, many of the topics being discussed have direct connections to issues facing Nippersink Creek and Wonder Lake. https://www.southeastfoxriver.org/