The goal of the Lake Management Planning project is to develop a regional framework for cooperation to restore and protect the health of the Winnebago Lakes. This includes facilitating communication among stakeholders (such as residents and lake users) and multiple agencies to advance regional efforts that address topics such as: water quality, habitat, recreation, and aquatic invasive species among others. This monthly article provides a summary of project progress as we work to complete the lake management plan (LMP) and move toward implementation of management and project recommendations.
Technical Team Progress:
Water Quality Tech Team
We continued to gather information about current monitoring efforts around the lakes to ensure the monitoring program we recommend in the lake plan is consistent with current and future efforts. We also explored the harmful algae bloom issue and sent out a press release to help educate about blue-green algae including when to avoid the water and what people can do to help reduce algae blooms. You can read that article by clicking HERE.
Aquatic Plant Management Tech Team
Cason and Associates and Wisconsin Lake and Pond Resource were hired to complete a full aquatic plant survey for the Winnebago Lakes. Austin rode along with Cason and Associates, a lake and pond management business, while they were surveying aquatic vegetation in Lake Poygan’s Boom Bay. They found 12 different plant species, with Wild Celery, Coontail, Duckweed, and Eurasion Water Milfoil being the most common. The results of the survey will be included in the lake management plan and used as a baseline for monitoring future progress.
Habitat Tech Team
We attended the Lake Poygan Habitat Restoration Area Informational Meeting on July 25th, 2018, to learn about the Lake Poygan breakwall project. The breakwall will create a quiet backwater at the mouth of the Wolf River in Lake Poygan. The calmer water will aid in the growth of aquatic plants which will improve water quality and provide fish and wildlife habitat. We enjoyed learning about that project and plan to include recommendations for additional breakwall projects in the lake management plan. We also began developing habitat tools for the LMP. Our goal is to have the habitat tools ready for the tech team to review this October.
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Recreation Tech Team
We drafted a short list of questions in June for boaters/anglers to help inform the LMP process. The Recreation Tech Team reviewed the first draft of that list. We are now drafting the final version before we send it to boating clubs around the system. If you have recommendations for contacts for Austin, please contact him at austin@fwwa.org.
Aquatic Invasive Species Tech Team
During a busy field season, AIS Coordinator Chris is working on monitoring the Winnebago Waterways for new populations of aquatic invasive species. This work ties directly into the AIS Strategic Plan as progress continues to be made. A draft version of the AIS strategic plan should be ready for the tech team to review this fall.
Watershed Management Tech Team
The Upper Fox Wolf TMDL report was made available by WDNR in draft form this month (learn more). The Watershed Management Technical Team will be using information from this study to set land conservation recommendations that when implemented will work towards meeting water quality criteria in the lakes. This month project staff participated in a Women Caring for the Land Workshop in New London in preparation for a workshop being held in Omro August 14th (learn more), as well as a Grazing Demo held in Winnebago County on Thursday, July 26.
Shoreline Practices Tech Team
We held the first Shoreline Practices Tech Team meeting on July 12th. During that meeting, the team reviewed a draft version of the shoreline property owner questionnaire that we plan to distribute to 1000 property owners in the month of July. The shoreline survey is in its very final stages of review and the cover letter and envelopes are coming hot off the press. We anticipate receiving our first responses early August.
Community Engagement
Although this tech team hasn’t been officially formed, we began drafting an organizational questionnaire. The goal of the questionnaire is to gain a better understanding of the interest and capacity of organizations/clubs from around the Winnebago Lakes to implement management recommendations outlines in the LMP. The first draft of the questionnaire was reviewed by the Steering Committee and we are in the process of drafting the final version. Our goal is to begin distributing the questionnaire by the end of August.
Project Outreach and Engagement
We attended several events and meetings to promote lake management planning throughout the month of July. Many of those activities are highlighted above. Our online presence through our project webpages, e-newsletter, and social media continues to grow. We invite you to follow us on Facebook or Twitter!
Winnebago Waterways Steering Committee
The Steering Committee held their latest meeting on July 13th, 2018 at the Coughlin Center in Oshkosh. CLICK HERE for the meeting information and notes. The next Steering Committee meeting will be a conference call on August 10th, 2018, from 10am to 12pm. For meeting details, please contact Korin Doering at korin@fwwa.org or (920) 851-0948.
Winnebago Waterways Executive Committee
The next Winnebago Waterways Executive Committee meeting is scheduled for August 3rd, 2018 at 9:30am in the Fond du Lac City/County Government Center.
Questions? Contact Korin Doering, Winnebago Waterways Program Coordinator, at (920) 851-0948 or korin@fwwa.org.
Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.
Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Facebook pageor @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.
