Helping to Bring More Money to Wisconsin’s Wetlands

Project: Cherokee Marsh
County: Dane

By Peter Ziegler, Project Director – habitat@wisducks.org

WWA has a long history of partnerships and restoration work throughout the state.  We know our programs would not be as successful without our partners – and that goes both ways.

WWA partnered with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) on a grant two years ago to tap into funding not previously utilized in Wisconsin  for wetland restoration via Natural Resources Conservation Service.  By partnering with WDNR on the grant, WWA helped to bring additional funding to the tune of $957,000, for which WDNR is the awardee.

Last year, the first two projects’ construction phases were completed.  These two projects, one in Dane County and the other in Milwaukee County, resulted in 35 acres of habitat restored.  This consisted of 28 acres of wetland restoration and seven acres of adjacent upland prairie habitat.  Two more projects are in the planning stages for 2024 and into 2025, with a goal of an additional 40 acres of wetland restoration.

Although the initial construction phase is complete, there is more work to be done at each of these sites. Both of these projects have up to five years of active maintenance that will be needed in order to hit performance standards that will ensure the sites are functional hydrologically and are supporting quality native wetland vegetation.  Costs for these types of projects are on the higher end, but this includes five years of management and monitoring to assure a quality wetland is the result.  I see the benefit in being that these are sites that will become quality habitat not degraded by the invasion of invasive species due to the long term maintenance and the funds allocated to that.  Both of these sites are located near urban areas and are open to recreational use for the public (varies by site).