$1.4 million awarded for coastal conservation in northern Wisconsin

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently awarded nearly $1.4 million of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to support five projects in northern Wisconsin within the Lake Superior basin. The selected projects are part of the Headwaters to Coast Initiative and the Wisconsin Lake Superior Collaborative. This effort brings partners together to prioritize and coordinate conservation projects that meet the needs of current and future generations. Projects also improve local infrastructure, reduce wildfire fuels and increase recreation access and opportunities. 

• Trout Unlimited, $200,000. To restore prime habitat within a Class II trout stream and Wisconsin Brook Trout Reserve, this project for Muskeg Creek near Bayfield will restore in-stream habitat through the addition of large woody debris and ongoing temperature monitoring. This effort supports restoration work by enhancing upland and in-stream habitat connectivity. 

• Bayfield County Land & Water Conservation Department, $247,000. This project will address critical infrastructure issues and public safety while also restoring fish and aquatic organism passage to a Class I brook trout stream. Restoration activities will include replacing a culvert with a bottomless arch and opening up more than 25 miles of stream to improved passage of fish and other aquatic organisms.
• Ashland County Land and Water Conservation Department, $410,731. This project replaces undersized and failing culverts to reconnect more than 13 miles of fish habitat. Project work will improve water quality by mitigating erosion and sedimentation. The removal of barriers to fish passage and restoration of more than three acres of wetlands will enhance recreational opportunities, such as hunting and fishing.
• Burke Center for Ecosystem Research, $305,016. This project will build upon existing restoration efforts by expanding habitat projects in the Fish Creek watershed and improving recreational access to the creek. Work will restore up to 10 acres of wetland, riparian and upland habitats through invasive plant removal, native plant seeding, tree/shrub plantings and fish habitat enhancement. In addition, a series of interpretive signs and kiosks called the Fish Creek Headwaters to Coast Restoration Trail will tell the story of the rich history and extensive restoration efforts in the area.
• Ruffed Grouse Society, $227,024. Work will focus on building landscape-level habitat connectivity in the Northwest Sands ecological landscape of Wisconsin. More than 200 acres of uplands habitat will be restored and an area of up to 2,500 acres of grassland habitat will benefit from the work. As part of the project, the construction of firebreaks will bolster public safety by reducing the risk of wildfires spreading to populated areas. The project improves habitat connectivity and enhances recreational opportunities, including hunting and fishing.

Funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Headwaters to Coast Initiative is a collaborative conservation blueprint coordinated through the Wisconsin Lake Superior Collaborative, which includes a professional network convened by UW–Madison Extension and led by a cross-sector group of leaders from Tribal nations, federal and state agencies, local governments, academic institutions and nonprofits. Within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Coastal Program, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, and the National Wildlife Refuge System support this collaborative effort.  

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a non-regulatory program to accelerate restoration of the largest system of fresh surface water in the world. The Environmental Protection Agency leads a group of 16 federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, strategically targeting the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem. Since 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has implemented or supported this work by restoring thousands of acres of fish and wildlife habitat, reducing threats from invasive species , reinvigorating fish and wildlife populations and generating critical information for future actions.

Source