About 40 people toured the Festge Spring Complex on April 25, where nearly 30 cold springs supply about half the flow to the upper reaches of Black Earth Creek.

A storm-damaged transformer spilled about 125 gallons of hydraulic oil into a ditch that drains to Brewery Creek on April 14. The DNR reports no dead fish were seen, and summer surveys found trout abundance within normal ranges.

Audrey Rice, a Cross Plains resident and fly fisher, shares how she went from curious creek visitor to BECWA board member.

BECWA's fundraising for a portable 3D model of the watershed passed its $15,000 goal, with delivery expected by mid-October

Stakeholders are proposing a new groundwater study of the Black Earth Creek watershed to look at how development affects the springs that keep the creek cold. The estimated cost is $271,100, and funding beyond USGS's $53,420 is still needed.

Phase 1 of the 480-acre Marchstone Development is underway in Cross Plains, with no excessive sediment seen so far. Phase 2, which includes a proposed golf course, is still in planning.

Cross Plains trustees kept the 150-foot hillside buffer but exempted 17 lots near the proposed Marchstone golf course. BECWA and Trout Unlimited had opposed the change.

Drainage District #7 held a public hearing on a proposed plan to dredge Brewery Creek. Village officials and CARPC raised concerns about the impact on the creek and a joint wetland restoration project.

Black Earth Creek reached 77 degrees F this summer at the USGS station in Black Earth, well above what brown trout prefer, just as budget shortfalls threaten to scale back the monitoring program in 2027.

The DNR is testing trout streams across Wisconsin for neonicotinoid pesticides, including streams in the Black Earth Creek watershed, to see how they affect the aquatic insects trout depend on.