By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A piloted project to rid several areas of Waterford’s waterways of plants and weeds has been deemed successful. But local officials say more work is needed.
Lakefront resident Dennis Hasenfang gave a presentation of work that took place late this summer at the Waterford Waterway Management District’s recent annual meeting.
Hasenfang serves on the WWMD Aquatic Plant Management Committee, which has spearheaded an effort to harvest overabundant plant material in order to create for more navigable waters.
After months of discussion – and the blessing of WWMD commissioners – committee members enlisted the services of professional consulting firm Stantec to perform the work.
From Aug. 6 to Aug. 10, workers devoted more than 40 hours to harvesting.
The work was strategic, said Hasenfang, focusing on areas with high-enough water levels and the greatest prevalence of plant material. These areas included the western perimeter of Buena Lake and Island View Bay.
While some progress was note4d, Hasenfang said there is more work to be done.
“A single harvest isn’t going to be the be-all, end-all when it comes to these issues,” he said.
Hasenfang and other committee members have suggested adopting a series of processes that are flexible and measurable. Such a system, Hasenfang said, could be tweaked during warm weather months.
The committee has set several goals in the year ahead with regard to harvesting.
The list includes ongoing dialogue with the state Department of Natural Resources and obtaining a full analysis of what plants are and are not native to local waterways.
“Even for me, a lot of it looks the same,” Hasenfang said. “There’s a bit of a learning curve here. But there are certainly areas where we are going to continue to try and bring relief to the riparian owners.”
Harvesting has been identified as one of the two more costly projects on WWMD’s radar at the moment.
In the months ahead, Chairwoman Kelly Cornelius said there will be efforts to seek out grants to assist in some of the funding.
“We cannot ask our riparian owners for more money unless we have exhausted all of our options for grants,” she said. “We have nothing to report at this time, but all options are still being examined.”
• In a related matter, Cornelius described herself as thrilled with a $20,000 grant check received from the Racine County Cultural and Community Services Fund to help fund the district’s Eco-System Restoration Feasibility Study.
The Study’s work focuses on the steps required by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) as part of an application to consider a dredge permit.
The check presentation was made Oct. 12 by Racine County Executive Jim Ladwig at the Waterford Town Hall.
Editor Patricia Bogumil contributed to this story.
-
-
-
-
-