May 2021 Habitat Program Updates & Tips for Landowners

By Peter Ziegler, Project Director – 262/470-4301

I can’t remember a time when I did a habitat restoration project in May, but for those in the southern part of the state, you know it has been dry.  That has led to kicking off some early project construction.  That will be good for those trying to get some vegetation and water for the fall flight.  Although an anomaly (May wetland construction, that is), WWA is poised to impact a number of other projects in its goals to get as much habitat on the ground as possible.

Tile removal completed in the early days of June, 2021, part of the restoration process of turning this hay field back into wetland.

We have a handful of sites which have been surveyed and a few more to survey, and then it’s on to permitting.  Although seemly daunting to the average person, permitting for the likes of professionals such as WWA and its partners is just another step in the process of bringing a project to fruition.  The WDNR, through it restructuring, has specialized their water permitting, and that has been great from my perspective.  I now have four main contacts for the most common wetland conservation permitting WWA does.  That simplifies it from the 60 or so potentially under the previous structure, which has allowed us to develop good communication and streamline any questions or issues a certain project may have regulatory-wise ahead of permit submittal.

That still leaves the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and County oversite.  Both of these provide a layer of checks from different perspectives, which is ultimately there to protect the natural resources.  Floodplain issues usually fall to the county, and usually take another step to assure no negative impacts will occur.  But, don’t assume that’s all, we also have to follow and secure erosion permits from both the county and WDNR normally, with a few exceptions.

All of this may seem daunting, but going through the process multiple times a year, you start to understand the process and why timing for completion of any project is not the next month from when you first contact WWA with your project application.  Stay tuned as we dive a little deeper next month with some insight from US Army Corp of Engineers and WDNR, which may save you a call to one of these regulators, or under worst case scenario a visit or letter to cease further action in a regulated wetland.