For Shoreline Property Owners

If you own shoreline property, you are in a unique position to have a big impact on water quality and habitat. Fox-Wolf works with the Healthy Lakes & Rivers program to promote five simple and inexpensive ways to improve your shoreline. Fox-Wolf can help you find cost-sharing opportunities to make these even more affordable. Contact the Winnebago Waterways Program Coordinator to learn more!
350 sq. ft. Native Planting

Native plantings include grasses and wildflowers with the potential to add shrubs and trees. There are designs available for your needs – low growing, deer resistant, shade tolerant, etc.

Fish Sticks

Fish Sticks are feeding, breeding, and nesting areas for our fish, birds, and turtles, just to name a few! They can also prevent bank erosion.

WDNR Riverside Fish Sticks Project – Demo Site

Rain Gardens

Rain gardens do it all! They filter runoff, improve habitat for our butterflies, bees, and birds, and provide a beautiful view.

Diversion

Diversion Practices move water to areas where it can soak into the ground instead. Often, diversion practices are paired with additional practices like a rain garden or shoreline planting so the diverted water can soak into the plantings. Depending on your property, multiple diversions may be necessary.

photo courtesy Healthy Lakes

Rock Infiltration

A rock infiltration project is an excavated pit or trench filled with rock that reduces runoff by storing it underground to infiltrate. Pit and trench size and holding capacity are sized based on the area draining to it and the type of soil underneath. Often seen below roof drip lines or along driveways, this practice has a minimal impact on your property while being a big help for water quality!

photo courtesy of Healthy Lakes

Demonstration Sites

Thinking about installing a shoreline planting in your yard? Visit Columbia Park in Malone, Fond du Lac County or Marble Park in Winneconne, Winnebago County to see shoreline plantings as they grow!

Click to learn more about the demo sites:
Columbia Park, Malone, Fond du Lac County

Marble Park, Winneconne, Winnebago County

Cost Share Opportunities

Depending on which county you live in, you may have access to different types of cost share. Click on the button for your county to learn more!

All residents regardless of county may also qualify for Healthy Lakes grants. Individuals may not apply for these grants directly, but may work with Fox-Wolf staff to qualify. Contact Katie at katherine@fwwa.org or 920-851-6472 to learn more.

For Everyone

You don’t have to own shoreline property to be part of these practices. Although the cost-share opportunities are currently aimed at shoreline properties, these practices are beneficial throughout the watershed.
Native Plant Growing

Learn how easy it is to grow native plants by volunteering with this program. There are four different ways to get involved!

Resources

Learn more as you read these books and websites, or install a new app.

Program Goals and Overview

The Winnebago Waterways shoreline restoration program aims to coordinate, promote, and partner on projects that implement shoreline protection and restoration best management practices in the Winnebago Waterways Program Recovery Area. The goals of the program are:

  • Build support locally, regionally, and statewide to implement shoreline restoration efforts in order to address shoreline erosion and water quality issues in the Winnebago System.
  • Provide support, technical guidance, and funding guidance to partners to increase the adoption, installation, and maintenance of shoreline best management practices. This will be accomplished by working with individual shoreline property owners as well as communities and counties to install demonstration sites.
  • Recognize shoreline property owners that serve as good examples for their shoreline neighbors and have implemented shoreline best management practices.
  • Engage and promote community involvement by hosting workshops for outreach and education about shoreline restoration issues and projects. Specifically, host native plant workshops to encourage use of native plants on Wisconsin’s landscape to help prevent shoreline erosion and capture storm water.

Contact the Winnebago Waterways Program Coordinator for more information!

Tell us how you enjoy the lakes.

Fox-Wolf is implementing conservation projects to protect our waters for future generations. Help us prioritize future restoration projects and strengthen funding requests by telling us how you enjoy the lakes!

Support Our collective legacy

Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance gives people and organizations the knowledge, practices, and financial support they need to join their neighbors in restoring our waterways. We work on very large projects, including installing breakwaters and runoff treatment systems, and on smaller efforts, helping homeowners with simple projects to impact stormwater quality. We monitor the water to ensure that our practices are effective, and we enlist citizen scientists who volunteer to help check their favorite places.