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.

1. 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

2. Permit applications for the Merchant Creek footbridge have been submitted. This timeframe should hopefully allow construction by next spring / early summer.

1. 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

2. Draft engineering plans for the Merchant Creek footbridge have been received and are being reviewed by the Nippersink Watershed Association. This timeframe should allow pursuing the regulatory permits over the coming winter, to allow construction by next spring / early summer.

1. The engineering for the footbridge over Merchant Creek at E. Lake Shore Drive has gotten underway. Preliminary engineering plans should be ready for review in the next week or so. This timeframe should allow pursuing the regulatory permits over the coming winter, to allow construction by sometime next spring / early summer.

1. Our hot dry summer has continued into Fall. Since September 1st, Wonder Lake has only received a total of 3.4 inches of rainfall, as measured at the USGS Thompson Road gage.

1. Our hot dry summer continues. Since June 1, Wonder Lake has received a total of 14 inches of rainfall, as measured at the USGS Thompson Road gage. Fortunately, 10 of those inches of rainfall have occurred since early August, so we might be getting into a wetter period to help improve flow through the lake. With more rain, and as temperatures start to cool down as we move into fall, it is hoped that the algae blooms will begin to finally fade away.

1. Northern McHenry County is still the ONLY location in the entire eastern United States that is under extreme drought. According to data released by the National Weather Service, the month of June 2021 was the fourth-hottest June ever recorded in Chicago’s history. Based on long-term climate averages, from April 1st to today, the amount of expected rainfall at Wonder Lake would be 13.7 inches. Instead, for this same period, the USGS rain gage at Thompson Road only recorded about 6.1 inches.

1. As everyone knows, most of McHenry County is experiencing a severe drought. Based on long-term averages, over the last two months, the amount of expected rainfall would have been over 8.5 inches. Instead, the USGS rain gage at Thompson Road only recorded 1.75 inches of rain over that two-month period. This lack of rainfall, which is even more extreme in the Nippersink Creek watershed above Wonder Lake, has resulted in the stream flow into Wonder Lake dropping from an average of around 60 cubic feet per second (CFS), to less than 18 CFS.

1. On April 15th, with the cooperation of the Woodstock Fire/ Rescue District, the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District and Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District performed a controlled burn at the Wonder Lake Sediment Drying Facility on Greenwood Road. Conducted as a FPD training exercise, this burn was done at the request of the MPOA, to burn off undesirable vegetation growing in the highly fertile dried sediment. Thanks to all involved for getting this accomplished.

1. The three islands on the east side of the lake (O’Brien Shoals North & South and Wickline Island) previously had rip-rap installed offshore as a collar to help break up wave action before hitting the unprotected shoreline soils. While these practices have been very successful in creating quiet water areas, there is still more work needed. We are beginning to explore developing plans for adding additional erosion control protection around the islands, removing undesirable vegetation while replacing it with desirable native species, and improving fishery habitat.