Winnebago Waterways Lake Management Plan
The Winnebago Waterways Lake Management Plan is a dynamic, living document that was developed by Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance with help and financial support from multiple organizations. The plan serves as a strategy for management of the lakes and is intended to help coordinate efforts from multiple agencies, organizations, and individuals who are working to restore the Winnebago Pool Lakes.
Because of the size of the lake system and complexity of issues, the lake plan is structured in a unique way. The Lake Management Plan is a collection of executive summaries that provide an overview of several topics. Each topic also has a separate report that describes the topic in detail. We call these ‘subreports’ or ‘topic reports’. The Lake Plan and associated subreports are available below.
When reading the lake plan, we suggest people start with the “Introduction to the Winnebago Waterways Lake Plan”. This is a 12 page document that condenses the lake plan into a quick reference overview. Then, we suggest reading the Winnebago Waterways Lake Management Plan and the accompanying “Goals, Recommendations, and Actions” appendix section (Appendix A).
For many people, this may be enough information to understand the purpose of the lake plan and the goals for recovery. For those who want more detail on a specific topic, we suggest reading through the subreports related to your topics of interest.
Throughout development of the plan, there were many opportunities for people to provide input or get involved. The last opportunity before the plan was approved was a public comment period in July of 2020. Although the plan has been finalized, there will still be opportunities to provide input. The lake plan is intended to be a living plan that changes and adapts as needs arise, projects are completed, and targets are met. If you have thoughts you would like to share, please email: wwinfo@fwwa.org.
Some of the documents provided on this page, including the Lake Management Plan, are undergoing final formatting revisions.
Content has been approved by the DNR and will remain the same as provided in the drafts below.
Please contact info@fwwa.org with any questions. Thank you for your patience.
Winnebago Waterways Subreports by Topic
Lake Plan Funding Partners:
Lake Recovery Updates
Blog articles from our monthly Winnebago Waterways Program e-newsletter
Lake Management Planning – December updates
Over the month of December, we worked to wrap up 2017 and began preparing for 2018. Project tasks included: Finalizing the 2018-2019 Outreach, Engagement, and Communication plan; Working with Technical Team subgroups on habitat, [...]
Lake Management Planning – 2017 Highlights
Lake Management Planning for the Winnebago Lakes: The goal of the lake management planning project is to coordinate with stakeholders and project partners to develop a framework for cooperation throughout the region to improve [...]
Free Fishing Weekend – January 20–21, 2018
Fish almost anywhere! On January 20th and 21st, 2018, you can fish almost anywhere in Wisconsin WITHOUT a license or trout stamp (except for spring trout ponds). All other inland waters and Wisconsin's side of the Great [...]
Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance recovery initiative.
Contact us at wwinfo@fwwa.org