Catch a fish in a south suburban pond? There is at least a fair chance it came from the Will-South Cook Soil and Water Conservation District, which has been holding its tree and fish sales for 30 years.
The conservation district recently held its fall sale, taking orders for plants, shrubs, trees and fish through mid-September, with pickups in early October at its building in New Lenox. The practice dates back to 1992, when the first spring season sale was held, according to Debbie Crawford, an administrative coordinator for the district.
The state formerly offered free white pine tree saplings, Crawford explained. When that program came to an end, the conservation district stepped in to offer free saplings and created a tree sale fundraiser. The not-for-profit agency’s typical customers include area park districts, municipalities, private landowners and recreation clubs. It purchases the fish from an area hatchery, while the trees, plants and shrubs come from a nursery.
More than just a fundraiser, the sale is a way to further the district’s core mission.
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“Sharing conservation practices is our goal,” Crawford said. “Adding fish to a pond helps balance the ecosystem.”
Ryan Veldman, superintendent of parks for the Tinley Park-Park District, said the district budgets $2,000 annually to keep the lake at Centennial Park stocked for fishing.
“And have for quite some time, at least since 1999,” he said.
The Park District buys from the conservation district, typically in the spring. Because the Park District’s fiscal year begins March 1, the early fish orders are one of the first purchases of the budget cycle, Veldman said.
“As another government agency with the specific mission of conservation, it seems natural for us to work with the (conservation district),” Veldman said. “We feel we get a good product and value through the conservation district’s fish purchase sale as well as their support and standing behind the fish.”
Getting fish through the Will-South Cook group also offers “peace of mind, as well, that what we’re putting into the water is quality, native and meant for our area,” he said.
Veldman said Tinley Park typically stocks the same fish species each spring that the conservation district offers through its program. That means Centennial Park’s lake along 167th Street just west of Harlem Avenue is stocked with bluegill, black crappie, channel catfish, largemouth bass and redear sunfish, as well as minnows as a food source. This year, Tinley Park also introduced rainbow trout into the mix, as that species was offered by the conservation district for the first time, Veldman said. The Park District had roughly 1,550 fish delivered to the lake in April.
“We do not have a biologist on staff but have seen some rather large bass and catfish being fished from the lake,” Veldman added. “Our Recreation Department additionally holds an annual fishing derby each year, as well, in which our youth participants look for these specific fish.”
In addition to the fish purchased by Tinley Park, the conservation district offers triploid grass carp. The grass carp eat water weeds, according to Crawford, helping to manage the ecosystem.
The Alsip Park District buys some of those grass carp from the conservation district to help with overgrowth in the pond at Sears Park along 123rd Street west of Kedzie Avenue, according to Jeannette Huber, director of parks and recreation. The Park District also buys sunfish, bass and minnows once a year in the spring to stock the pond.
“It’s been a good relationship,” Huber said of working with the conservation district.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources stocks Alsip’s Commissioners Park pond, which hosts two annual fishing derbies. But the Alsip Park District handles Sears Park itself, with the superintendent of parks gauging what is needed each year, Huber explained.
“It’s not a huge order,” she said.
Sears Park was redeveloped and reopened in 2010 with the help of a grant from the IDNR. Part of the project involved dredging the pond, installing aerators and introducing native plants around the perimeter, Huber said.
“It’s beautiful now,” Huber said. “It’s just meant for neighborhood community people to come out and fish for pure enjoyment.”
The Will-South Cook Soil and Water Conservation District was established in 1946 and held its first tree planting project in 1967 in New Lenox Township. The conservation district offers college scholarships, information about Envirothon and home composting, tumbling compost barrels, rain barrels and soil testing.
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.