Volunteers Participated in the Final Aesthetics Monitoring Bus Trip on October 6th

Volunteers came out to Metro Boat Launch on Saturday, October 6th for FWWA’s final Aesthetics Monitoring Bus Trip of 2018. Volunteers surveyed the waters at the boat landing, and then hopped on a bus that took them to three other monitoring sites before returning them back to the landing. We lucked out on the last trip with our monitoring efforts taking place during a break in the near continuous rain received during the first week in October. Volunteers were also able to view large cargo ships entering the Fox River from the bay of Green Bay.

The program seeks to engage the public and has volunteers survey and provide their opinions on the aesthetics, or appearance, of the waters in the Green Bay area. The program is a collaboration between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance (FWWA). FWWA started recruiting volunteers for the program beginning in 2016. This year, we decided to coordinate three bus trips in order to get more volunteers involved and monitoring the 12 sites found throughout Allouez, De Pere, Green Bay, and Brown County.

Background: From below the De Pere dam up to Long Tail Point in the Bay of Green Bay is the Green Bay Area of Concern, or AOC. Great Lakes rivers and harbors that have been most severely affected by pollution and habitat loss are considered “Areas of Concern,” or AOCs. Designated in 1987 as part of an international agreement between the U.S. and Canada known as the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, these geographically‐defined sites need special attention. In order to deal with these concerns, a Remedial Action Plan was written. The plan details Beneficial Use Impairments of (BUIs) impacting these waters and surrounding habitat. One of these BUIs is the aesthetics or appearance of these waters. It was determined that the aesthetics of the waters were degraded or impaired, and in order to determine if this is still a concern decades after this report was written, the public’s feedback is needed. The Aesthetics Monitoring program works to coordinate volunteers to survey the waters of the Green Bay AOC. Data from these surveys will be used to determine whether or not the aesthetics of these waters are still considered degraded.

Volunteers participating in the program received a free lunch from Honeybaked Ham, a “Watershed Volunteer” travel cooler, all materials needed to survey the waters, and a certificate of completion. With the completion of the October trip, the program has come to a close as there is enough data for the WDNR to determine whether or not the aesthetics in the Green Bay AOC continue to be a concern. Results from this effort will be quantified, and a report will be released with the results.