Rivers Report Spring 2011

8/2/2019 Rivers Report Spring 2011

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Jeff Martinka

Sweet Water

January marked my one-yearanniversary as the rst ExecutiveDirector o Sweet Water. Springtimemarks a good time to look back onrecent progress and to look ahead toprojects and challenges. It has been adynamic time or our shared eorts,with more dynamism to come.

A Quick Recap SweetWaters FormationSweet Water was ounded in 2008as a unique partnership aiming toachieve healthy water resourcesthroughout the 1,100-square mileGreater Milwaukee Watershedsthrough coordinated, collaborativeeorts. Our members includeunits o government, nonprotorganizations, local residents andrepresentatives o business andacademia. Recognizing that ourrivers travel through our regionirrespective o municipal boundaries,

we came together to address theissues acing our ve rivers and near shore LakeMichigan through a basin-wide approach.

Ater receiving initial pilot grants rom MilwaukeesBrico Fund and the Joyce Foundation o Chicago,the Joyce Foundation provided a three-year grantcommitment to Sweet Water in 2009. Tat grantenabled a group o established regional stakeholdersto create a new collaborative approach toward waterquality work in southeastern Wisconsin. Te JoyceFoundation unds created a new organization, SweetWater, and unded its collaboration with MilwaukeeRiverkeeper, River Revitalization Foundation andSixteenth Street Community Health Center, all

based in Milwaukee, along with our state-widegroups, Clean Wisconsin, Midwest EnvironmentalAdvocates, River Alliance o Wisconsin, and1000 Friends o Wisconsin. A ninth partner,

American Rivers, works actively in the Sweet Waterpartnership, but operates under a separate grant.

Tese non-governmental organizations (NGO)work extensively and cooperatively with otherNGO partners, local governments, and state andederal agencies. Tat work is ramed by commonprojects more than by unding sources. Teoverarching goal o water quality improvementwithin a cooperative ramework denes thework o Sweet Water. A review o Sweet Watereorts over the last 16 months illustrates that

partnership approach in a broad range o projects.

Menomonee and Kinnickinnic RiverWatershed Action Teams

Much o the initial eorts o Sweet Waterwere ocused on these two key watersheds,comprising 136 and 25 square miles, respectively.Detailed watershed restoration plan (WRP)or the Menomonee and KinnickinnicRiverswere completed in April 2010 or MilwaukeeMetropolitan Sewerage District. Sweet WatersWatershed Action eams (WA) partners wereactive in the completion o the two WRPs,providing eedback on drats and suggestingkey additions to their scope. Once completed,the plans were the ocus o an eight-monthcommunity mapping eort in the watersheds.Te WA meetings looked to the subwatershedlevel to rene the complex WRPs into marchingorders or 2011 and 2012. Te 2011/2012Implementation Plans that resulted rom theWA mapping sessions were adopted by the SweetWater Steering Council in December.

In 2011, WA activity on the Menomonee andKinnickinnic River watersheds has been guided bythe Implementation Plans. entative early projectsor 2011 were identied and project leaders wereassigned to each. Project unding will be key tothese eorts, the receipt o more than $8 million innew Federal and State unding last year by MMSD

SPRING 2011voluMe 2 no 1

INSIde this issue

MeNOMONee WAteRsheD uPDAt

VOLuNteeR hiGhLiGht ..............

ROAD sALt MONitORiNG ...........

BuiLDiNG GReeN eCONOMY .......

WAteR AND COMMuNitY ...........

ReAChiNG BeYOND the ChOiR .....

CitiZeN VOiCes .............. .............

uRBAN WisCONsiN WAteRsheD ...

iNNOVAtiVe Fish hABitAt ...........

ROOt RiVeR PROGRess .............

Sw Warsoutheastern wisconsin

watersheds trust, inc. Learning for life

riversRePoRt

Chck uSw Warn Facbk

Want to stay currenton Sweet Watersevents and news?Go online to ourFacebook page.

Youll fnd other itemso interest there too.

Go to:facbk.cm/Se.WIWarshstrus.rg

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An Upa n Sw Wars Wrk inMilwauk Ara Warshs

Milwaukee River dwnstream Nrt Avenue.

SWEETWATER

AoC NeWSTo pAgE 6

Jon swt WatToday!

Its ree, and it shows th

you support the work oSweet Water. Visit www

swwwar.rg/hm/

mmbrship.cfm


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Page 2 riversRePoRt

SPRING 2011

Theresa MorganRiver Revitalization Foundation

Cheryl NennMilwaukee Riverkeeper

Projects along the Menomonee River aremoving along thanks to our dedicatedWA members and partner organizations,and a new and promising undingopportunity. Several WA members andorganizations submitted ull proposalsto the Fund or Lake Michigan in March,which, i unding is awarded, wouldallow a handul o priority projects in theMenomonee River watershed to moveorward. Other projects have been undedby the Wisconsin Coastal ManagementProgram and the US Fish and WildlieService. Here are a ew examples:

Ganll County Dog PakNestled in-between W. Good Hope Rd.

and Hwy 145 is a 26 acre o-leash dogpark that runs along the upper reacheso the Menomonee River. Ater almosta decade o heavy trac by dogs andtheir owners, the streambank is in poorshape rom heavy erosion, resulting inthe loss o an estimated 200 cubic yardso ne-grained sediments over lateraldistances o up to 30 eet. Te RiverRevitalization Foundation (RRF) recentlysubmitted a ull proposal to the Fundor Lake Michigan to stabilize 200 eeto the streambank, as well as restorethe upland riparian habitat. While morethan 900 eet o the streambank requires

stabilization, this proposed project willocus on improving the most heavilyeroded areas, with hopes o continuingwork on this stretch o the river or thenext several years. Tis project is headedby the River Revitalization Foundation(RRF), but will involve key partners suchas Milwaukee County Parks and theriends group that maintains the o-leashdog park, Partners in Parks. Successuloutreach and education to park usersabout the importance o healthy riparianbuers and streambanks will be a criticalcomponent to the sustainability o thisproject. I unded, uture opportunitiesor WA members to participatewill include distribution o outreachmaterials, river clean-ups, invasive speciescontrol, and planting native vegetation.

Conct rmoal on thMnomonMMSD received grants rom the GreatLakes Restoration Initiative and the U.S.Fish and Wildlie Service to help undthe restoration o sh passage within a1,000-oot, concrete-lined reach o the

Menomonee River in Milwaukee romthe Canadian Pacic Railroad Bridge

to West Wisconsin Avenue. Te goal othis project is to enable potamodromoussh (that migrate rom Lake Michiganto tributaries or spawning) to betteraccess existing spawning and rearinghabitat upstream along 17-miles othe Menomonee River, 20-miles o itstributaries, and associated wetlands.Currently, it is dicult or sh to pass thisportion o the river due to very ast ows.Tis project involves removing 1,000eet o concrete channel and enhancingin-stream aquatic habitat through thecreation o a meandering channel, andsystem o pools, rifes, and runs thatslow water and allow or resting areasand reuge zones or sh. A canoe/kayakboat ramp will also be installed upstreamo Wisconsin Avenue. Construction isanticipated to begin in August 2011,and Milwaukee Riverkeeper and routUnlimited have committed in-kindassistance o labor to this project toinclude river clean-ups, water monitoring,and restoration activities. We hope toinvolve WA members in this project.

Mlwauk rkp FhPaag studyMilwaukee Riverkeeper received

unding rom the Wisconsin CoastalManagement Program to identiy shpassage impediments and opportunitiesor aquatic habitat restoration inthe Menomonee River Watershed.Riverkeeper will train volunteers tohelp identiy partial and completestream impediments along the naturalmainstem reaches o the Menomoneeand Little Menomonee Rivers, as well asmajor tributaries that are not concretechannelized or enclosed, and that provide

access to higher quality natural areasthat could be used or sh spawning

or rearing. Removing obstructions tosh passage and restoring access tohigh quality natural areas is the mostcost eective way o increasing aquaticlie diversity and productivity in theMenomonee River Watershed. Aterimpediments are identied and analyzedor their physical eatures and impactson sh movement, we will work with theWAS and the public to prioritize barrierremovals. We will also work with localmunicipalities and counties to addressthese impediments in the uture, andanticipate that volunteers will help addressimpediments such as debris jams that arebest removed by many hands!

Addtonal WAT PojctOther projects include promotingMenomonee Falls Paws Pledge orClean Water program to educate dogowners about picking up and properlydisposing o pet waste to reduce bacterialoading to local rivers. A WA committeeis working to expand the program toother municipalities in the MenomoneeRiver Watershed. Menomonee Rivermunicipalities are also meeting monthlyto strategize on the most cost-eectiveways o managing stormwater runo in

a collaborative ashion. Tey are ocusingon expanding their existing group permitor stormwater management to includemore innovative policy and managementapproaches, which allow or the most cost-eective improvements to water quality.We also hope to start construction oresidential stormwater BMPs within hotspot areas o the watershed, i a undingproposal submitted by 16th StreetCommunity Health Center to Fund orLake Michigan is accepted.

Mnmn Warsh Acin tam Upa

Stream bank in granville park.

RIVERREVITALIZATIoNFoUNDATIoN


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SPRING 2011

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Page 3

oZAUkEEWASh

INgToNCoUNTyLANDTRUST

pervius avement in new arkin lt.

Cistern r water cnservatin.

Jhn Hackr CmmiSw WarVlunrKate Morgan

1000 Friends o WisconsinIts 7:45 in the morning. I pushopen the doors to the Alterra CoeeRoasters on Humbolt. Teres JohnHacker; laptop plugged in ready or ourwork session. John and I meet everytwo weeks to outline changes andupdates to the Sweet Water websiteand other web applications. Weapproach this work as a team. We eachhave agendas or our meeting and ideasto exchange and explore.

John is a new kind o volunteer aretired proessional interested in

continuing to employ those proessionalskills but in a new work-placeenvironment the diverse world ononprot organizations. He bringsnot only highly developed proessionalskills, but also a proessional attitudeto his volunteer work. Tis sense oresponsibility, o being on par withsta, is part o what is important toJohn when he decides to give his timeand oer his expertise to a group.

Lucky or us, John believes in thework o Sweet Water. John decidedhed become a member and representthe northern part o the MenomoneeWatershed in the Watershed Actioneams. Ten through it bit oserendipity, Johns expertise in I andorganizational communication, SweetWaters needs and plain old good timingled to the volunteer work with SweetWater that John was looking or.

Sweet Waters not the only organizationto benet rom Johns skills andcommitment. (He volunteers around60 hours per week with a handulo organizations.) I asked John ithere were criteria that he used indetermining his volunteer associations.

He had given this some thought andyes, there was the WORTHY test. It

needed to be:Work that John couldbelieve in, with anOrganizationthats eective, with ResponsibleassignmentsThat demonstrate hisvalue as a member o the team and hecould be successul at, and there wereHurrahs, praise and appreciation romthe other team members, and nallytheres the Yeas!rom himsel becausehes enjoying the job hes doing.

Im very glad Sweet Water met theWORHY criteria. John not onlybrings his expertise in operationsand technology to Sweet Water andvaluable insights rom working invarious organizations but also agenerous, good-natured spirit. Imthankul to have John as one o mycolleagues. I look orward to the worksessions at Alterra; working with Johnto solve problems, to nd creative waysto present inormation, and to developweb-based strategies. I know we add tothe creative buzz o the place.

When I asked Gail Epping Overholt,ormer Co-Chair o the MenomoneeWA, about Johns work with theMenomonee WA and Sweet Water,she observed, Like the heartwoodo a maple, John provides structureand support or Sweet Water and theWatershed Action eams. Like theheartwood, he works internally and,yet is connected to its many partshelping to make it thrive! Its soapropos that he is recognized in thisissue o RiversReport. He needs toknow that he is valued!

All o us at Sweet Water couldntagree more!

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and NGO partners in the region was a greatstart. While project unding will remain achallenge, initial support rom the Fundor Lake Michigan looks very promising. Anumber o NGO projects drawn directly romthe Implementation Plans received initialadvances rom the Fund or Lake Michiganand could be nalized soon.

Kinnickinnic and Menomonee WAmeetings will be held every other month in2011, with subcommittee meetings ocusedon project work planned or the interveningmonths. Watch the website or new details;all ull KK and Menomonee WA meetingdates are posted.

Warsh-Bas PrmiingPil Prjc

At its core, Sweet Water seeks to improve theway water quality projects are planned andwatershed-based permitting may become anexample o a new approach pioneered here inour region. In watershed-based permitting,local governments within a particularwatershed voluntarily band together to plantheir eorts, rather than working separatelywith state and ederal environmentalauthorities, operating under separateregulatory permits. Te approach is intendedto allow or sharing and trading o solutionsand result in a more cost-eective pooling oeorts up and downstream.

Troughout 2011, representatives o theMenomonee River watershed municipalities,MMSD, DNR, and Sweet Water met regularlyto better coordinate storm water-relatedeorts. Te meetings, held centrally at

the Brookeld City Hall, cumulated inSweet Waters application or a $100,000innovative program grant rom U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tocreate a watershed-based stormwater permitramework or the Menomonee. Tat grantwas recently approved or EPA unding,making the Menomonee River watershedone o just three U.S. watersheds to achievenational pilot program status with the EPA topioneer this new approach. A public event isplanned to mark the start o the eort.

War Qualiy Survy Cmpl

In January, the results o a 2010 survey oresident attitudes regarding water qualityand their role in water quality improvementswere announced by Sweet Water. Teeort gathered inormation rom nearly400 households in the Kinnickinnic,Menomonee, and Milwaukee Riverwatersheds using a telesurvey approach. Tesurvey results are already being used in SweetWaters eorts to convince the public thatthey have a key role in helping to protect ourwater resources. Te survey will also be usedas a benchmark against which to measureour uture education work.

Te survey project was eort was led by1000 Friends o Wisconsin and undedby the Wisconsin Coastal ManagementProgram, with additional support rom theJoyce Foundation, Sweet Water, AmericanRivers, and Badger Meter. o learn moreabout the survey, see the article, ReachingBeyond the Choir.

Public Srmwar ourachers PlannPlans or a 2011 Sweet Water storm waterpublic outreach campaign based on the2010 water quality survey results areunderway. We are meeting with potentialmedia agencies and continuing to work on

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Jn hacker


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SPRING 2011

Joe RathMilwaukee Riverkeeper

Milwaukee Riverkeeper and itsvolunteers are currently partnering withthe United States Geological Survey(USGS) and the Wisconsin Departmento Natural Resources (WDNR) to assessthe impacts o road salt runo intorivers and streams in the Madison andMilwaukee areas o Wisconsin. Tis pilotstudy aims to capture results or boththe typical road salt application season(November-March) as well as the non-application portion o the year (April-October), the latter serving as a baselineor comparison with the expectedhigher levels and associated spikes osalts expected during the applicationseason. Te monitoring locations in theMilwaukee region were chosen to givea broad spectrum o analysis across

heavily traveled, lesser traveled, heavilysalted and lesser salted roadways inboth rural and metro portions o theMilwaukee River Basin.

Every two weeks during the road saltapplication season, volunteers willmonitor specic conductance, whichis one way to measure chloride ions(rom dissolved salts) in the water, andwill also collect a water sample whichis sent to the State Lab o Hygiene inMadison or urther analysis o chlorideconcentrations. In addition, monitorswill respond to large spikes in specic

conductance (as indicated by USGS-maintained continuous monitoringstations) by measuring specicconductance, ideally within 8 hourso the reported spike. Tese spikesare usually associated with snow meltand runo events. During the non-application season (April-October),monitors will conduct monthly specicconductance monitoring and will collectbaseline samples in June and September.

In addition to gathering crucialinormation concerning road-saltruno into local rivers and streams,this pilot study also hopes to assess thepracticality and eectiveness o usingvolunteer monitors, armed with relativelyinexpensive equipment, to monitor andrecord accurate and detailed water qualityinormation, especially with respect toshort notice response to triggered spikesin chloride concentrations.

ds Raway Saling dgra our War?

Water samlin at Wilsn Creek.

undraising. Tus ar, the eort has raised$16,000 rom Wisconsin Coastal ManagementProgram, Sweet Water, and Fresh WaterFuture. Additional unding rom the RootRiver and Menomonee River municipalitiesis now under consideration and Sweet Waterhas applied or additional support rom bothgovernmental and civic sources.

2010 Clan Rivrs Clan Lak

CnrncSweet Water produced the 7th Clean RiversClean Lake Conerence in September 2010,drawing 223 engineers, governmentalrepresentatives, NGO sta, watershedresidents, and volunteers to Wauwatosa ora ull-day educational event which eaturedtwenty speakers, exhibitors, and a storm watertour. Sweet Water also hosted a successulForum on Phosphorus at UWMs Great LakesWater Institute in May 2010.

Te 8th Clean Rivers Clean Lake Conerenceis planned or April 2012 in Milwaukee. In

the interim, Sweet Water is producing theurban watersheds track o the MilwaukeeWater Councils Water Summit, planned orSeptember 19 and 20, 2011 in Milwaukee.

Sw War Grn InrasrucurMini-gransIn 2010, Sweet Water raised unds or andpromoted a green inrastructure mini-grantprogram that attracted 32 applicationsseeking more than $50,000 in projectunding. Grant panelists selected elevenwinners who received a total o $15,000

in mini-grant checks rom Sweet Water atour Clean Rivers Clean Lake Conerence inSeptember. Te minigrant program receivedsupport rom MMSD, the Joyce Foundation,and the Wisconsin Energy Foundation.

o ollow on the 2010 eort, a request or$25,000 rom Fund or Lake Michigan or2011/2012 Kinnickinnic and MenomoneeRiver green inrastructure mini-grant projectshas advanced to the nalist stage. I nalapproval is received, Sweet Water will raisematching unds in order to promote a $50,000Sweet Water mini-grant solicitation this all.

tMdL Prjc PlansAmong its successes in securing EPA unin 2010, MMSD received grants to complour otal Maximum Daily Load (MDL)analyses and planning eorts in the regioTat work will ocus on the KinnickinnicMenomonee and Milwaukee Rivers andthe Milwaukee River estuary. A MDLanalysis determines the greatest amounta particular pollutant that can be receiveby a river without harming water quality.Completed MDLs could help us get tocleaner water aster. Sweet Water will wo

with MMSD and its partners to provide tstakeholder involvement and public outrework that will be key to the success o theMDLs. Tat eort will start in August

Cmmunicains ers AvancSweet Waters website at www.swwtwaterorg was dramatically improved in 2010 annow attracts 600 visitors a month. Teorganizations Facebook page, created last

August, has 140 riends and 100 active

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SPRING 2011

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Page 5

War an Cmmuniy: A Sr Ar exhibi r Whifsh Bay

Sean Foltz

American Rivers

Here in Wisconsin and the Great Lakesthe green economy is taking hold. But,what exactly is the green economy?

Te United Nations denes the greeneconomy as an economy that results inimproved human well-being and socialequity, while signicantly reducingenvironmental risks and ecologicalscarcities. Others may relate to the theoryo the triple bottom line, which givescompanies and organizations new ways tomeasure success by delving into economic,ecological and socially responsible issues.

American Rivers has been serving asco-chair o Sweet Waters KinnickinnicWatershed Action eam. We have beenworking with numerous companies thathave been buying into this new ideaand are helping to lead the charge in

this changing economy. One o thosecompanies is erraCaelum.

erraCaelum is building on a technologythat has been available in Europe or over40 years, and creating new employmentopportunities along the way. Teir parentcompany XeroFlor has provided greenroong material or the largest green roo

in the world at the Ford Motorruck Assembly in Dearborn,MI. Tey also provided themats or the 2010 VancouverOlympic Village.

Bruce Johnson helped ormthe Wisconsin subsidiary threeyears ago, and has alreadyprovided over 8 acres o roongmaterial or projects across theMidwest last year alone. Oneo these projects was a recentlycompleted green roo with

American Rivers and MMSDhere in Milwaukee.

Trough these roo projectsthe company has been able tocreate 21 new construction,landscape and sales jobs duringthe recession, and continuesto grow. Tis job creation is

just one example o how the economy is

reinventing itsel here in the Great Lakesregion; and erraCaelum is just one omany suppliers that helped retrot over75,000 square eet o green roos inSoutheastern Wisconsin last year alone.

Te SWW Watershed Action eamimplementation projects hope to keepspurring job growth in the region, and

help provide valuable habitat in urbanareas or animals and city dwellers alike.Tese projects will then help cities andcorporations save on their bottom lineswhile improving th environment or thebenet o our society as a whole.

Builing Grn ecnmy: trra Calum

Simn Landscain Cmanys reen r.

AMERICANRIVERS

Look for Knncknnc pda n nx of Rvr Rpor.

Anne OConnor

Whitefsh Bay Civic FoundationArt can inspire, express ideas, sparkdiscussions, and promote community.Tese are the goals o an art exhibitionplanned or the streets o Whitesh Bay inMay. Tirty works created by local artistsutilize rain barrels as canvasses. Temes onature, water, and community can be ounds part o the display. Te artist designedarrels will be available to bidders via silentuction orms available in sponsoringusiness locations.

Using rain barrels as canvasses has multipleayers o benets to the community. Te

treetscape is enlivened; the works o localrtists are showcased; the waterront o

Whitesh Bay is celebrated.

Local artists were inspired by the waterssociations o the project. One piece Te

Beaches o Whitesh Bay, reects artistue Ellen Christmans view o the energy,leanliness, and source o lie-sustainingesources at our doorstep. She describeshe restorative powers o time spent at the

waterront, Te quiet away rom busynessereshes ones soul

A resident o Whitesh Bay, local jewelerand artist Sarah Mann, designed her piecePara to be integrated into the gardenenvironment o a local home. Mann saysshe is teaching hersel about gardeningwith native plant materials and applaudsthe Whitesh Bay Civic Foundation or aproject that promotes an accessible, untechnique or minding our environment.

Another artist, Debra Quinn Barnes, hadthe end user in mind when creating herpieces. Te work had to be somethingI would put in my own yard. I wantedto develop images that bring a sense ocalmI sincerely hope they bring a sense ocalm and happiness to those they live with.

Te water has been an integral part oWhitesh Bays past, and will continue toplay an important role in its uture. TeWhitesh Bay Civic Foundation celebratewater and community with its Rain BarreStreet Art Program this May.

Te program is unded by the Whitesh BCivic Foundation, the Southeast WisconsWatersheds rust, Inc. (Sweet Water), andlocal businesses.

o see images o all the barrels, go towbcivcoundation.org and select rainbarrels rom the options on the side or ndWhitesh Bay Civic Foundation on Faceboo

Rain barrel art in Witefs Bay.


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SPRING 2011

Gail Epping OverholtUniversity o Wisconsin Extension

Here in the Milwaukee area we truly holddear our right to allow citizens voices tobe heard. Tose voices have led the way ormany local eorts to improve the qualityo our river systems. Recently, citizenshad two opportunities to exercise thatright and provided valuable input to localprojects impacting the Milwaukee Estuaryand River.

In February, a Public Open House washeld or the Lincoln Park, MilwaukeeRiver Channels Sediment Project hostedby the Great Lakes National Program O-ce, the Wisconsin Department o NaturalResources, Department o Health Ser-vices, and Milwaukee County Parks. Over60 people attended to ask about projectspecics and schedule. Participants alsooered very helpul eedback on outreachsigns that were presented and will beinstalled later this summer.

In early April, over 30 people attendedan inormational meeting to learn

about a clean-up plan or sections oMilwaukees estuary and contributingrivers (parts o the Kinnickinnic to thesouth, the Menomonee to the west,and the Milwaukee to the north). Tisrenewed work relates to a 1987 eort torehabilitate severely degraded locationsalong the Great Lakes known as Areas oConcern (AOCs). AOCs were designatedmostly due to toxic pollution which limitsthe rivers ability to support sh and otheraquatic lie. (For more inormation aboutthe Areas o Concern, please see www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/.)

Megan OShea, Milwaukee EstuaryArea o Concern Coordinator or theDepartment o Natural Resources, spokeat the April meeting. She explainedhow the Milwaukee AOC eort has beenreinvigorated with support rom Congressand the Environmental Protection Agency.She also underscored the importanceo input rom citizens in assessing andaddressing problems that limit the abilityo aquatic lie to survive in the Milwaukeeestuar y. Interested citizens who were not

able to attend the meeting still can be apart o this Stakeholder Input Group anprovide their perspective on what needs tohappen or the estuary to be clean enoughto be taken o the Areas o Concern list.Te rst issue to be discussed is sh andwildlie habitat and population degradationI you are interested in participating in thesmeetings, contact Megan at 414.263.8625 [email protected].

Raching Byn h Chir - Survy Infrmourach effrsKate Morgan1000 Friends o Wisconsin

We are ortunate to have a strong baseo supporters and members throughoutthe Greater Milwaukee Watersheds.

Tis group shares a commitment toadvancing water quality in our regionand to protecting our water resources andaquatic habitats.

We are also ortunate that Sweet Water isnot alone in this cause. Tere are a manyindividuals in neighborhood associations,nongovernmental organizations,municipal sta, state agencies, schools,park associations, universities andbusinesses who also direct some or all otheir eorts to protecting our waters.

Yet the work required to restore ourwaters to the next level o health is going

to require that many more people jointhis cause. And not necessarily as newmembers o our respective groups andorganizations, but as individuals whocome to understand that they each areresponsible or the water that ows inand out o their home as well as over theirproperty.

o better understand how to reach thisbroad group o people throughout theGreater Milwaukee Watersheds, 1000

Friends o WI spearheaded an eortto develop a public survey to poll theresidents in the Milwaukee, Menomoneeand Kinnickinnic watersheds regardingtheir knowledge, attitudes, and opinionsabout water resources and to secure

unding or this survey.Our proposal was awarded undingrom the WI Coastal ManagementProgram in July 2010. Te projectalso received additional support romthe Joyce Foundation, Sweet Water,American Rivers, and Badger Meter.1000 Friends partnered with the PublicPolicy Forum or the development o thesurvey instrument and the analysis othe responses. Te phone survey wasconducted by Advantage Research inOctober; analysis ollowed in January.

Te analysis was startling. Over 80% o

the respondents believe the actions oindividuals do not have an impact onwater quality; over 75% did not see arole or themselves in protecting waterresources; and less than 10% believedwater to be a key part o our regionseconomic vitality.

And who did the respondents believewas responsible or the problems --industries discharging into the rivers andthe sewerage district with its overows.

Tese two sources o pollution havebeen largely addressed through theenorcement o the Clean Water Act andthe construction o the deep tunnel yetpeoples understanding has not kept pacewith acts concerning the primary sources

o water pollution today.Te survey underscores the need toreach beyond the choir to the widercommunity. It gives a starting point orSweet Waters education and outreacheorts and a baseline against which togauge the success o those eorts. Itshows very clearly the need to developa new strategy to reach people who arenot connected to the waters o our regionas we are. And importantly, additionalsurvey data tells us that people arewilling to learn how they can helpprotect the waterway and that they are

concerned about the health o our watersin the uture. And in this willingness,there is promise or the improved healtho our rivers and Lake Michigan.

Root RIVeR FROM PAGE 8o the MMSD service territory that is in thRoot River watershed.

o match that local suppal ort, Sweet Watprepared a grant request o $58,000 to thWisconsin Coastal Management Prograon behal o Racine County. Tose undhave garnered WCMP Council and staapproval and are awaiting a nal approvFinally, Sweet Water prepared a request $112,000 rom Fund or Lake MichigaTat support received initial approval anhas also advanced or nal unding. I sucessul, the Root River WRP would beglate this spring and be completed in 2013

If yu ar inrsinreading the Public Policy Forums

summary brie regarding the

survey, youll fnd it on the home

page o Sweet Waters website.

Ciizn Vics Criical fr Rivrs Rnwal


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SPRING 2011

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SWeet WAteR UPdAteFROM PAGE 4 Naural Rsurc Managmn in an

Urban Wiscnsin Warsh

Brian Russart

Miwaukee County Departmento Parks, Recreation & Culture

How does one dene the value o urbannatural areas? Perhaps they are the lastremnants o what used to be, tatteredpages o a orgotten book. Some wouldsay that ecologically these natural sitesare too small, isolated, and overrunwith invasive species to persist into theoreseeable uture. Others would saythat the time and resources needed tobreathe lie back into these sites doesnot justiy the end result and it is merelythe postponement o the inevitable.

I openly admit that I was once o thatmindset, but ater managing the 9,100acres o natural areas within theMilwaukee County Park System, mythought process has evolved to onepossibly similar to that o a 200-yearoak straddling the cusp o a woodedridge in an urban park.

Te oak does not care i it, the springbeauties that shade its shallow roots,and the chickadees that weave throughits branches exist within a very urbanpark. Te only desire it may likely have

in its slumbering cellulose is that thechickadees glean the parasites rom itsresh leaves or that the spring beautiesenrich the soil amongst its aged roots.Against all odds, these natural places

and creatures have persisted and

exempliy the most basic denition osurvival; because o this tenacity orlie we have an opportunity to preservewhat is let o the countys naturalheritage.

In just three years the ParkDepartments Natural Areas Programhas developed over 70 communitypartnerships and trained almost 6,000volunteers who have in turn donatednearly 27,000 hours o natural areaswork over the past two eld seasons.

Sta along with volunteers, haveremoved invasive species, replanted

woodlands and prairies, collected andplanted native seeds to preserve localgenetics, conducted natural resourceinventories (ephemeral wetlands, plantcommunities, wildlie habitat, etc.) andinstalled an ecologically sensitive hikingtrail system. Troughout the process,we have elected to involve the greaterMilwaukee County community to helpnurture these natural areas becausetheir connection to these places isessential to our long-term success. Wehave helped volunteers develop theirinner-stewards and opened their eyes toa new sense o place. Te reality is thatit is not we who breathe lie back intothese natural areas; it is these naturalareas that breathe lie back into us andexpand the denition o the communityin which we all exist.

users. While these numbers are modest,we are committed to increasing oursocial media eorts in 2011. Also lastyear, Sweet Water created this quarterlyRiversReport newsletter with its partnersand will continue to rene the promotiono RiversReport on the internet. Finally,Sweet Water has worked to build

relationships with print, broadcast, andsocial media representatives; those eortswill be expanded this year.

opraing thughs r h Fuur

o close this update, the water qualitysurvey also told us that the majority othe respondents believed environmentalorganizations are the most trustworthysource o inormation on water issues.Tat puts us in a position o responsibility.We need to convince the public o theirimportant role in protecting our riversand Lake Michigan. We need to help ourriends and neighbors to understand that

land use and water quality are inextricablyjoined; what happens on the land willsooner or later have an impact on ourrivers and on Lake Michigan downstream.

Our government, business, and nonprotpartners will redouble our eorts tocarry the empowerment message to ourneighbors in the coming years. I we worktogether or our region, we will succeedtogether as a region. We hope you will joinin that eort.

Student cnservatin crews wrkin at greenfeld park remvin invasive secies.

prove the success o our pilot project orpoint to areas that need correction beorewe expand with more installation areas.

Our long-term goal is to increase shpopulation and improve spawningpatterns along the shipping channel o theMilwaukee River Estuary.

Short-term project objectives include:

Identify potential installation sites

Select plant species

Determine alternative plant rearingacilities & techniques

Finalize locations, bolster project interest.

Determine alternatives for attachment mecha-nisms, fotation containers, soil and plants;

Fabricating attachment device

Establish plant nursery

Determine the best statistical methods toevaluate sh use o the structures

Determine winter die o rate in HUBs, springre-sprout rate o plants, use by sh species.

Monitoring of HUBs for plant vitality,basket maintenance, and sh use

Develop recreational and aesthetic surveys

Maintaining long term sh & assemblage

eStUARY FROM PAGE 8

data in the MMSD/USGS historical database

Te project team includes sta romGroundwork Milwaukee, MarekLandscaping, Milwaukee CommunityService Corps, Milwaukee Metropolitan

Sewerage District (MMSD), SoutheasternWisconsin Regional Planning CommissionUW Extension and the WI Department oNatural Resources. Funding or the projecis provided the Great Lakes RestorationInitiative (GLRI) and the MMSD.


8/8

Page 8 riversRePoRt

SPRING 2011

Innvaiv Fish Habia in Milwauk

Jon Grant

Groundwork Milwaukee

A team o local experts hopes to improvethe habitat or sh along the shippingchannel o the Milwaukee River Estuaryby installing Habitat Underwater Baskets or HUBs. Riverbanks along the shippingchannel have been widened and dredged(sometimes to a depth o 10 28 eet) tosuit commercial navigation and lined withvertical steel sheet walls, retaining walls,concrete, and steel bulkheads to providestructural stability and eliminate erosionrom passing barges. Tis massive growth inchannel size slows down the average water

velocities so young sh become trappedslow currents in a part o the river withno vegetation because the natural slopingstream bank has been removed. With theseconditions it is very dicult or young shto survive their return trip to the lake romupstream spawning beds.

HUBs are rubber containers attachedwithin the corrugations o steel bulkheadsthat contain a variety o wetland plantsyoung sh use as ood and shelter to rest asthey migrate back to Lake Michigan. HUBs

are made o thick durable rubber designedto withstand reeze/thaw patterns, ice andwave action, and are planted with tolerantvegetation that target sh species needs.

A pilot project conducted in the CuyahogaRiver known as the Habitat in Hard Placesprogram lasted only one year because ohigh plant mortality, due in part to theway the Cuyahoga Habitat UnderwaterBaskets (CHUBs) were installed. Hangingon chains, the plants in the CHUBs weresometime inundated with water andother times let to dry out depending onwave action and the river levels. Prior toinstallation, the HUBs tested well; they re-

sprouted ater the winter-reeze both in theeld and lab. In Milwaukee, considerableeort has gone into developing a newattachment method that allows the basketsto foat up and down with the water levelsso the specialized emergent aquaticplants grown in the HUBs will survive.Following installation, the project teamwill monitor plant and aquatic lie,and data collected will be analyzed to

Univrsiy f Wiscnsin exnsin

9501 W. Watertown Plank Road

Wauwatosa, WI 53226

Phone: (414) 256-4632

Web: http://clean-water.uwex.edu

Email: [email protected]

Learning for life

riversRePoRt PArTNerssoutheastern

wisconsin watershedstrust, inc.

Sw War

600 East Greenfeld Avenue

Milwaukee, WI 53204

Phone: (414) 382-1766

Web: www.swwtwater.org

Email: [email protected]

CoNtRIBUtING edItoRSJe Martinka, Sweet WaterKate Morgan, 1000 Friends o WisconsinGail Epping Overholt, UW-Extension

eStUARY TO PAGE 7

This publication made possible in partthrough the generous support o

Te Root River watershed comprises about200-square miles o the 1,100-squaremiles that are the ocus o the SweetWater eorts. Signicant progress hasbeen made in the Root River watershedin 2011, with Sweet Water joining orceswith that o Root Pike WIN, a successul

10-year old organization based in Racine.In particular, the two partners weresuccessul in building a broad coalitiono activists rom across the watershed,hosting our well-attended quarterlymeetings, held in Sturtevant, Franklin,Hales Corners and Oak Creek. Tecommunity-building eort has generatedsubstantial regional momentum and goodwill, attracting business owners, electedocials, municipal and state workers,environmentalists, and agr icultureindustry representatives.

Guided by eedback rom those working

sessions, UW-Extension and SEWRPCproduced and administered a detailedtwo-part community survey, completedthis January. Te web-based surveysramed the key issues o concern to theRoot River communities and identiedthe topics that will be the ocus o thenext major eort completion o a RootRiver Watershed Restoration Plan (WRP).Te issues raised by the community in thesurveys, habitat, public access, and oodmanagement, are now the main elementso the scope o services document or theRoot River WRP.

Sweet Water has been very successul in

securing unding towards the new RootRiver WRP. Key early support was oeredby the Racine County Executive and RacineCounty Board, which ormally approved$40,000 in 2011 unding towards theplan. Tat backing was ollowed bya commitment rom the MilwaukeeMetropolitan Sewerage District, whichoered to provide about $100,000 over atwo-year period, based on the percentage

R RivrWarsh Prgrss

Root RIVeR TO PAGE 5

Retainin wall site r hUBs (abitat underwater baskets).

g R o U N D W o R k M I L W A U k E E

Rivers Report Spring 2011

Documents

Transcript of Rivers Report Spring 2011