The following Lake Management Planning Technical Teams met this past week at the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance office in Kimberly, WI:

  • Recreational Lake Use, Access, and Navigation
  • Habitat, Fish, and Wildlife
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Aquatic Plant Management

The Technical Teams consist of conservation professionals and those with extensive experience in the Winnebago System from a variety of organizations and businesses. For these four teams, last week’s meeting was the first of many. Teams have begun working on the plan with the goal of having a final product to submit to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at the end of 2018.

During the recent meetings, Technical Teams identified additional individuals or organizations who should be invited to be part of the conversation, either by joining a Technical Team or a stakeholder Focus Group. The Teams then discussed the project timeline and developed a list of action items that will help to move each Team to the next step in the planning process.

Takeaways from each meeting:

Recreational Lake Use, Access, and Navigation Meeting takeaways:

  • The Team developed an initial list of potential goals for the topic:
    1. Increase tourism around the Winnebago Lakes
    2. Increase use of waterways by local residents
    3. Improve safety and navigation of the Winnebago Lakes
  • The Team decided that initial planning objectives will be drafted based upon target audiences
  • Allison Gleisner, Owner of Anchor Point Marina, volunteered to serve as the Team Leader

Habitat, Fish, and Wildlife Meeting takeaways:

  • The Team decided to approach issues for this topic through the lens of habitat
  • Development of goals and objectives will be very broad at first with more specific and measurable objectives being developed further into the project.
  • Messaging and outreach to area stakeholders is important to ensure high participation in Focus Groups

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Meeting takeaways:

  • The AIS and APM Teams chose to join forces to increase collaboration and efficiency. From this point forward, the two Technical Teams will meet and work together on lake planning efforts.
  • The Team highlighted the need to communicate with stakeholders regularly about planning progress and providing adequate opportunities for stakeholders to give input into management recommendations.
  • Given the size of the system, the Team would like to explore options for monitoring AIS and plants in the lakes.

The Next Steps:

Next steps for these Technical Teams:

  • Collect and evaluate relevant available data/information
  • Identify gaps in data/information (if any)
  • Draft and recommend LMP goals and objectives
  • Develop list of science based action recommendations for public review

Over the next several weeks, four more Technical Teams will be assembled for the following topics:

  • Shoreline Practices
  • Water Quality
  • Watershed Management
  • Outreach and Education
Visit the Lake Management Planning webpage
download the Project fact sheet
Focus Group Sign-up form

Post written by: Korin Doering, Winnebago Waterways Program Coordinator, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance