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.
If you have any questions or would like to provide input on the project, please contact Korin Doering, Winnebago Waterways Program Coordinator, at (920) 851-0948 or korin@fwwa.org.
Technical Team Progress:
Water Level Management
We’ve been working diligently to draft the water level portion of the lake management plan. We also began forming the Winnebago Water Level Assessment Team. The group will be made up of stakeholder representatives from around the system who will meet a few times a year to discuss the water level targets and assess whether additional recommendations need to be made based on basin conditions, lake conditions, and stakeholder needs. The goal is to have an organized, constructive stakeholder voice to support the Army Corps with adaptive management of water levels in Lake Winnebago. If you or someone you know feel that they would be a good representative to serve on that team, please contact Korin Doering at (920) 851-0948 or korin@fwwa.org.
The Army Corps of Engineers held a public conference call on February 26, 2019 to review basin conditions and discuss a winter drawdown target. The winter drawdown was originally set held at 1.68 feet (Oshkosh Datum) during a public meeting that was held in January. Leading up to that January meeting, there was very low snow pack across the basin and a lot of brown ground. Since then, the basin has received substantial amounts of precipitation and has experienced colder than average temperatures. Because of this, the frost depth is deep, soil moisture is high, and the average snow water equivalent in the basin is about four inches. We also have several more inches of snow forecasted for the coming week. In consideration of the changes in basin conditions since the January 17th meeting, the Army Corps decided to lower the winter drawdown target to 1.4 feet with the goal of hitting that target by March 11th. This is to ensure that the Lake Winnebago has enough storage capacity to handle the spring melt and precipitation to prevent flooding as we move into March and April. From there, they plan to hold the lake at the drawdown target as best as they can until ice out occurs. The next Army Corps public conference call will be held in mid-April to discuss strategy going into the spring/summer. Check WinnebagoWaterways.org or visit the Army Corps website closer to April for information on that conference call.
Information about water levels, water quality, habitat, and more can be found here: CLICK HERE
Click the image to view flyer
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Water Quality Tech Team
Water quality has been put on hold as we advance other topics.
Shoreline Practices Tech Team
We completed the first draft of the Shoreline Property Owners Survey report and are in the process of editing that draft. Once the draft is complete, the report will go to the Tech Team for review. We also began drafting the shoreline erosion inventory report to summarize data collected during the 2018 and 2014 shoreline inventory efforts. The draft report for the survey is nearing completion.
Recreation Tech Team
The recreation surveys (one for boaters and one for paddlers) will be closing soon. We’ve received 534 responses so far! The goal of the surveys is to learn about how the Winnebago Lakes can be improved for recreation. Question topics range from boat ramp parking to navigation aids. More information about the survey can be found here. We plan to begin analyzing the results and drafting a report at the end of March.
If you have recommendations for contacts of boating organizations that we can reach out to, please contact Austin at austin@fwwa.org.
Aquatic Invasive Species Tech Team
Our AIS Coordinator, Chris Acy, has been working with the AIS Tech Team to revise the first draft of the AIS Strategic Plan and management recommendations. Once the second draft is complete, Chris will begin forming the AIS Focus Group. For more information, contact Chris Acy at chris@fwwa.org.
Watershed Management Tech Team
This month, project staff continued to analyze background information and began drafting the Nine Key Element plans for the 30 subwatersheds in the project area.
Community Engagement
During the month of February, we continued to distribute the organization 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 outlined in the LMP. We will use that information to create a matrix that can be quickly referenced by people interested in partnering with other organizations on implementation projects. Once we have an approved lake management plan for the Winnebago Lakes, qualified organizations and clubs will be able to apply for funding to tackle issues or projects listed in the LMP.
This opportunity will be ending soon. If you know of an organization that should be included in our efforts, please send their contact information to Korin@fwwa.org.
We will be planning the first Community Engagement Team meeting soon.
Aquatic Plant Management Tech Team
The consultants who completed the aquatic plant surveys for the Winnebago Lakes will be presenting their findings to the Steering Committee on March 8th. Drafting of the aquatic plant management plan will begin toward the end of March.
Habitat Tech Team
Habitat has been put on hold as we work to advance other lake management topics for the plan.
Project Outreach and Engagement
Our online presence through our project webpages, e-newsletter, and social media continues to grow. We are up to 521 Facebook followers!
Are you interested in having us present to your group about lake management planning efforts in the Winnebago System? Contact us at korin@fwwa.org.
We invite you to follow us on Facebook or Twitter! Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter HERE.
Winnebago Waterways Steering Committee
The Steering Committee held their latest meeting on February 9th, 2019. CLICK HERE for meeting information and notes.
The next Steering Committee meeting will be held at the J.P. Coughlin Center on March 8th, 2019 from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Meetings are open to the public. For a meeting agenda, please contact Korin Doering at korin@fwwa.org or (920) 851-0948 or check our website closer to the meeting date.
Winnebago Waterways Executive Committee
The last Winnebago Waterways Executive Committee meeting was held on January 11th, 2019 at 1:30pm in the Fond du Lac City/County Government Center. Contact Korin Doering at korin@fwwa.org or (920) 851-0948 for additional details.
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.
