By Jason Fleener, WDNR Wetland Habitat Specialist

This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s November 2019 Newsletter edition. Images, courtesy WDNR, do not indicate areas of prioritization and are for informational purposes only.

In September,Wisconsin’s DNR staff met with several partnering conservation organizations and agencies to gather feedback on its new wetland infrastructure prioritization initiative.  This is one of several DNR alignment efforts that are intended to make the agency more strategic in its delivery of conservation, considering limited funding, staffing levels and other resources. The issue is that DNR owns and/or manages over 1,050 impounded wetlands across Wisconsin, which consist of over 250 miles of dike and over 1,150 spillway structures.  The cost of keeping up this infrastructure is significant.  It is estimated that DNR has been able to fund less than half of the major maintenance work that would be necessary to keep all dikes and water control structures operating at optimal conditions.  The state Duck Stamp is relied upon heavily to fund this work, but so are several other funding sources such as federal grants, state capital funding and contributions from partnering organizations and agencies.

The intended outcome of DNR’s prioritization initiative is to figure out a long-term strategy for investing limited resources in the infrastructure that serves the citizens of Wisconsin and the natural resources affected by these impoundments.  The first step was to initiate an assessment and survey for all impoundments to collect baseline data, which has been completed.  Through these assessments we learned that approximately 90% of impoundments managed by DNR are primarily intended to provide wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities, mainly for waterfowl.  Other impoundments are primarily intended for other purposes, such as recreation (e.g. state park impoundments), and fisheries.

The next step is to evaluate baseline data and manager recommendations further for the costs and values associated with the infrastructure.  Potential long-term outcomes for impoundments will vary on a case-by-case basis from strategies that invest more resources for high-value impoundments, to divestment strategies for low-value impoundments.  Some impoundments may be abandoned, which means they will go through a formal decommissioning process to ensure safety and environmental quality.  Further environmental analysis may be needed for cases like these before these decisions are reached.  In some instances, waterfowl habitat may actually be improved through dam removal by converting deeper water systems into shallower, riparian-types of emergent wetlands.  DNR will be reaching out to interested partners and local groups to consult on potential considerations and solutions. Proposed divestment options on dams by the department may also go through public input as integrated into various permitting and master planning processes to collect input before decisions are reached.

These decisions and actions are expected to be carried out over the course of several years.  Together, we will find solutions to wisely invest limited resources in impoundments that are providing the highest ecological and social values, balanced with cost-effective strategies.