Brown County Northern Pike Habitat Restoration Project
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:39 pm
Pike project could pay off for anglers and Suamico landowners
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/app ... /GPGsports
07/12/07 By Kevin Naze Press-Gazette correspondent
Landowners in the Village of Suamico with streams or wetland areas on their property can help fish and wildlife — and earn some money, too — by signing up for a new project.
While known as the Brown County Northern Pike Habitat Restoration Project, it reaches far beyond pike.
Located at the southern end of Green Bay, the Suamico and Little Suamico River watershed has some of the most productive wetlands remaining in the Great Lakes and encompasses more than 50 percent of Lake Michigan's wetlands.
The small perennial and intermittent streams and connected wetlands provide high-quality fish spawning and rearing habitat for pike, walleyes and other species. Songbirds, waterfowl and other wildlife also benefit.
Larry Kriese, retired after more than 30 years working with the state's natural resources, said wetland loss and disrupted stream networks from development and agricultural practices threaten the bay's ecosystem.
He was so concerned he took on a part-time role as the pike habitat restoration project manager for the Brown County Land Conservation Department.
"I decided to get involved because I saw it as an opportunity to be associated with a project that has the potential to make a real difference in protecting remaining critical habitat where so much of that habitat has already been lost," Kriese said.
"This is a project that can truly help landowners with a broad array of interests — from developers to business owners to private homeowners — meet the goals they have for their property."
Developers and property owners wanting to sell lands at top dollar used to resist regulations, Kriese said. Today, many are responding to potential buyers' interests — natural settings — and need to have approved plans to avoid flooding. That works well with the project's objectives.
A federal grant and $200,000 from the Fox River Natural Resources Damage Assessment and Restoration fund is fueling the project. NRDAR money came from companies identified as responsible for the release of PCBs into the Fox River.
Protect, enhance, restore
Many of the natural meandering streams and waterways along the bay's west shore have been lost in the last century as people sought to find ways to move water off the land quickly by digging drainage ditches.
The ones that remain are the target of the pike restoration project, a plan that will benefit forage fish species and, someday, perhaps the spotted muskies that are thriving on the bay.
"My job is to work with landowners, as well as local government leaders, to try to protect, enhance, and restore some of the targeted wetlands," Kriese said.
He noted Suamico village officials support the project and want to be an example to other communities on how to sustain rapid development, build a strong tax base and protect the areas valuable natural resources.
Establishing vegetated buffers on streams, restoring and protecting wetlands and reducing sediments, nutrients and pesticides entering the stream network are among the goals.
Buffers are strips of land located between cropped fields and a stream that are planted in grasses and/or trees.
Payments for eligible practices include $2,500 an acre for buffers 20 to 150 feet wide; up to $270 an acre for shaping and seeding; $1,300 an acre for critical care plantings; and $1,500 an acre for wetland restoration.
More than 70 percent of the wetlands on the western shore of Green Bay have been lost in the past century. That includes many roadside ditches that drain into Green Bay and allow pike to reach spawning habitats.
"There's no debate now," Kriese said. "The ditches that do remain must be protected to handle the runoff water. Why not improve them?"
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/app ... /GPGsports
07/12/07 By Kevin Naze Press-Gazette correspondent
Landowners in the Village of Suamico with streams or wetland areas on their property can help fish and wildlife — and earn some money, too — by signing up for a new project.
While known as the Brown County Northern Pike Habitat Restoration Project, it reaches far beyond pike.
Located at the southern end of Green Bay, the Suamico and Little Suamico River watershed has some of the most productive wetlands remaining in the Great Lakes and encompasses more than 50 percent of Lake Michigan's wetlands.
The small perennial and intermittent streams and connected wetlands provide high-quality fish spawning and rearing habitat for pike, walleyes and other species. Songbirds, waterfowl and other wildlife also benefit.
Larry Kriese, retired after more than 30 years working with the state's natural resources, said wetland loss and disrupted stream networks from development and agricultural practices threaten the bay's ecosystem.
He was so concerned he took on a part-time role as the pike habitat restoration project manager for the Brown County Land Conservation Department.
"I decided to get involved because I saw it as an opportunity to be associated with a project that has the potential to make a real difference in protecting remaining critical habitat where so much of that habitat has already been lost," Kriese said.
"This is a project that can truly help landowners with a broad array of interests — from developers to business owners to private homeowners — meet the goals they have for their property."
Developers and property owners wanting to sell lands at top dollar used to resist regulations, Kriese said. Today, many are responding to potential buyers' interests — natural settings — and need to have approved plans to avoid flooding. That works well with the project's objectives.
A federal grant and $200,000 from the Fox River Natural Resources Damage Assessment and Restoration fund is fueling the project. NRDAR money came from companies identified as responsible for the release of PCBs into the Fox River.
Protect, enhance, restore
Many of the natural meandering streams and waterways along the bay's west shore have been lost in the last century as people sought to find ways to move water off the land quickly by digging drainage ditches.
The ones that remain are the target of the pike restoration project, a plan that will benefit forage fish species and, someday, perhaps the spotted muskies that are thriving on the bay.
"My job is to work with landowners, as well as local government leaders, to try to protect, enhance, and restore some of the targeted wetlands," Kriese said.
He noted Suamico village officials support the project and want to be an example to other communities on how to sustain rapid development, build a strong tax base and protect the areas valuable natural resources.
Establishing vegetated buffers on streams, restoring and protecting wetlands and reducing sediments, nutrients and pesticides entering the stream network are among the goals.
Buffers are strips of land located between cropped fields and a stream that are planted in grasses and/or trees.
Payments for eligible practices include $2,500 an acre for buffers 20 to 150 feet wide; up to $270 an acre for shaping and seeding; $1,300 an acre for critical care plantings; and $1,500 an acre for wetland restoration.
More than 70 percent of the wetlands on the western shore of Green Bay have been lost in the past century. That includes many roadside ditches that drain into Green Bay and allow pike to reach spawning habitats.
"There's no debate now," Kriese said. "The ditches that do remain must be protected to handle the runoff water. Why not improve them?"