CONSERVATION PROJECTS
From egg collection and fry stocking to fish habitat installation — here's how our volunteers are rebuilding walleye populations across Walworth County.
WALLEYE FRY
RELEASED - 2025
4.8M
EGGS COLLECTED
SPRING - 2025
6M
YEARLY WALLEYE
FROM WFT STOCKING*
60%
CHAPTER FOUNDED
ACTIVE SINCE
2012
PRIMARY PROGRAM
PORTABLE WALLEYE HATCHERY
Each spring, our volunteer team deploys a portable hatchery at Abby Harbor on Geneva Lake — our current primary project water. The hatchery operates from late March through May, timed precisely to the walleye spawn on Geneva Lake.
Our system uses remote monitoring technology to track water temperature and flow rate around the clock, alerting volunteers to any changes without requiring constant on-site presence. This allows a small volunteer team to manage a large-scale egg incubation operation reliably.
This proven portable hatchery model is designed to scale — as the chapter grows, operations can expand to additional Walworth County waters where walleye restoration is needed.
SCIENCE & VALIDATION
WISCONSIN DNR PARTNERSHIP
The Wisconsin DNR is an important partner of Walleyes for Tomorrow — and that relationship is just as strong at the local chapter level. Our work with local DNR Fisheries staff ensures that everything we do in the water is scientifically grounded, properly permitted, and contributing to the broader statewide walleye management picture.
PART OF A STATEWIDE WALLEYE CONSERVATION EFFORT
Wisconsin manages walleye across more than 800 stocked lakes and countless naturally reproducing waters. The DNR's statewide walleye management plan — updated in 2021 — explicitly calls for strengthening partnerships with private conservation groups like Walleyes for Tomorrow to increase production capacity and improve population sustainability. Our chapter's hatchery work on Geneva Lake is a direct expression of that partnership in action: volunteer-driven fry production that fills a gap the state hatchery system alone cannot. Genetic sampling by the DNR has confirmed that approximately 60% of yearling walleye in Geneva Lake originated from WFT stocking efforts — a result that validates both our methods and our mission.
HABITAT ENHANCEMENT
FISH HABITAT PROJECTS
Beyond stocking, we actively improve the aquatic habitat that walleye and other species depend on. In partnership with the Geneva Lake Environmental Agency (GLEA), our chapter has deployed two types of submerged habitat structures in Geneva Lake .
CHRISTMAS TREE STRUCTURES
BUCKTHORN BRUSH PILES
SERVICE AERA
WALWORTH COUNTY WATERS
Our chapter's mission encompasses all walleye-bearing lakes and waterways in Walworth County. While Geneva Lake is our current primary project water, our long-term vision includes expanding conservation operations across the county.
Have a Walworth County lake that could benefit from walleye restoration? Contact us to discuss.