The Namekagon River a few miles downstream of Cable, Wisconsin is running at about 90 cubic feet per second this week. It is about a foot-and-a-half deep. The water is a chilly 58 degrees.

This means the paddling and the fishing should be pretty good, although you’ll want to stay dry.

Anyone can pull up that information on their computer in a few seconds, thanks to Leonards Gage, a real-time monitoring station. It costs about $13,000 for the U.S. Geological Survey to operate the gage every year, and a lack of funding recently forced the agency to turn it off.

But it’s back on now, thanks to money from the National Park Service, the St. Croix River Association, and other donors. Funding has been secured to keep it operating for the next 3-5 years. The partners banded together to restore the gage because of the vital role it plays for many different people.

“The gage provides important information to scientists on flow and temperature; particularly important to understanding and planning for variations brought on by climate change. The gage also provides important trip planning information for recreational paddlers, fishermen, and outfitters. During high river flows, the information provided by Leonards Gage is important to public safety,” SCRA’s website reads.

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