Local Izaak Walton League chapter celebrates 80 years of service
An Allegheny County high school boys lacrosse team made the trek to Greene County in spring 2021 to help the Harry Enstrom chapter plant trees on state game lands. Yonek said including the team, more than 40 volunteers turned out for the Earth Day planting event. (Courtesy of Dallas Slagle)
Ken Yonek, self-proclaimed “plant guy,” encourages folks to plant milkweed in their gardens. Milkweed is the only plant the dwindling monarch butterfly population lays eggs on. (Photo by Katherine Mansfield)
What may be mistaken for white stakes is actually recycled milk cartons protecting newly planted saplings from deer and predators. The Harry Enstrom chapter planted more than 100 trees on state game land grounds near Kirby-Gerard’s Ford in 2021. (Photo courtesy of Dallas Slagle)
Courtesy of Dallas Slagle
Courtesy of Dallas Slagle
For Earth Day 2021, the Harry Enstrom chapter planted 125 trees on state game lands near Kirby-Gerard’s Ford in Greene County. In 2020, the organization set up bluebird and wood duck nests on the game lands.
The Izaak Walton League – one of America’s oldest conservation organizations – turns 100 this year, and 2022 also marks the 80th anniversary of the local Harry Enstrom chapter.
The chapter, led by president Ken Yonek, has big plans to commemorate the two major milestones – and is seeking new members with fresh ideas to join the club.
“You want the membership, but you want the input from the community,” said Yonek, who’s entering his first year as president. “What easier way for making a happy member or a happy officer than to be able to support programs that they’re interested in.”
Interesting programming looks different for every Izaak Walton League chapter – some clubs focus on recreation, others on conservation. But all chapters strive to uphold the League’s mission of conserving, restoring and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.
Before COVID-19, Yonek said, the Harry Enstrom chapter enjoyed meeting at local restaurants to plan events (like water quality monitoring, trout stocking and fishing trips on the Monongahela River) over dinner.
“When COVID came, it was like a what-the-heck-are-we-gonna-do moment,” said Yonek. “We can’t meet, we can’t eat together. Pretty much … the only thing we can do are outdoor projects.”
So the Fredericktown-based Harry Enstrom chapter pivoted. Yonek said the chapter has found success in hands-on conservation activities and educational outreach.
In 2020, Yonek reached out to state game commissioners regarding a collaborative project at a site near Kirby-Gerard’s Ford.
“There’s an artificially constructed wetland there, developed partly by the Izaak Walton League,” said Yonek. “I thought, this would be a great place for wildflower planting.”
It was – and the commissioners had already begun replacing some vegetative strips with native plants. But, Yonek said, “they had these other projects.”
Projects like planting bird nests on those same state game lands in fall 2020.
“Having a dozen members turn out on a drizzly Saturday afternoon to put up 25 bluebird nesting boxes and six wood duck nesting boxes – putting up a wood duck nesting box is a big deal,” said Yonek, noting wood duck nesting boxes stand 3-feet tall and must be situated high in the trees, with a clear flight path to both ground and – if possible – water.
“That was an accomplishment,” he said.
Another big accomplishment: planting 125 trees in three fields for the Harry Enstrom’s 2021 Earth Day celebration.
Yonek said more than 40 volunteers, including an Allegheny County boys lacrosse team, turned out for the occasion.
This year, the Harry Enstrom chapter is looking forward to more hands-on activities, including cleaning Lake Wilma (located near the West Virginia border), stocking trout in and fishing local rivers and tributaries.
“If you’re a fellow my age, you develop the habit of fishing somewhere else,” said Yonek, a lifelong hunter and fisher. “What a resource the Mon is – and even nondescript Pigeon Creek. A lot of the people who live there have never fished there. Folks around here ought to know what a resource they have here.”
The first trout-stocking is tentatively scheduled for early spring at Ten Mile Creek. In April, the chapter will host a tree planting event at Veterans Memorial Park in Greene County, which doubles as an Earth Day and 80th anniversary celebration.
“Harry Enstrom was a native son and a conservationist,” said Yonek, who approached Greene County commissioner Mike Belding about a grove of trees dedicated to the chapter’s namesake.
“I met him (at Veterans Memorial Park) one day. Belding said, ‘You can have the spot behind the flagpole.’ You can’t get a better focal point than that,” Yonek laughed.
Projects like trout stocking, fishing and planting are easier than others, like watershed projects, which require more time, effort and manpower to complete.
“You have to work hard for those,” Yonek said. “You got to identify needs, working partners. You have to get a broad coalition to do that, the community … or it doesn’t get done.”
And Yonek’s all about getting things done, including expanding the chapter’s size and welcoming younger members into the fold.
Last year, Yonek partnered with the LeMoyne Community Center in Washington, teaching a weekly conservation class to summer camp attendees. Summer camp kids learned about monarch butterflies, planted milkweed (something many Harry Enstrom members do in their own gardens) and got a kick out of caterpillars crawling up their arms.
This year, the chapter established a scholarship fund for area students enrolled in post-secondary environmental studies. The Harry Enstrom chapter will award two $1,000 scholarships annually.
“It’s not a free ride,” Yonek said, “but it’s a little extra money along the way.”
Yonek hopes the addition of recreational activities like paddleboarding and educational opportunities to the chapter’s calendar encourages younger generations to get involved with the Izaak Walton League. He envisions growing membership, which, in turn, will allow the organization to successfully complete larger conservation, recreation and environmental projects.
“The more people you have working, the more you can do,” Yonek said.
For more information on the Harry Enstrom Chapter, or to join, email Ken Yonek at kennethyonek@yahoo.com or leave a message at 724-941-4215.