Milwaukee River Watershed Fish Passage Program. Making Connections Across Our Watershed

Milwaukee River Watershed Fish Passage Program Making Connections Across Our Watershed 2

71 st Annual Upper Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference Wednesday, December 15, 2010 Milwaukee River Watershed Fish Passage Program: Landowner Coordination and Stakeholder Buy-In Matt Aho, Program Manager Ozaukee County (WI) Fish Passage Program Planning and Parks Department

Fish Passage Program NOAA/ARRA Summary $4.7 Million NOAA/ARRA Grant Awarded (2009): Restore Fish Passage in the Milwaukee River Watershed Additional $536,350 NOAA/ARRA Supplemental Grant Awarded (2010) Milwaukee River Main Stem Mequon-Thiensville Dam Lime Kiln Dam Bridge Street Dam Nine Tributaries Milwaukee River Watershed Distributed Evenly Have/Connect Habitat Various Stream Types 4

Fish Passage Program USEPA GLRI Summary $1.478 Million USEPA GLRI Grant Awarded (2010): Enhancing Ecological Productivity - Restore Fish Passage in the Milwaukee River Watershed $491,000 USEPA GLRI Monitoring to Address 7 of 11 BUIs Assess Success of Fish Passage (2010) Highly Competitive Applications Great Lakes Region Develop GIS Model for Prioritizing Habitat and Restoration Activities Milwaukee River Main Stem Monitoring 7 of 11 BUIs Six Additional Tributaries Inventories, Remove Priority Impediments, Restore Habitat, Monitoring Fish Surveys, Sediment Sampling and Water Quality 5

Making Connections Renewing Old Connections. Lake Michigan Milwaukee River Tributary Streams Milwaukee River Basin.and Forming New Connections Ozaukee County Municipalities Businesses Schools NGOs Citizens Volunteers Map courtesy of http://basineducation.uwex.edu/mi lwaukee/resources/rivers.html 6

Collaborative Partnerships Milwaukee Community Service Corps Ulao Creek Partnership Riveredge Nature Center Concordia University Marquette University University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point University of Wisconsin Extension Service University of Notre Dame Milwaukee Area Technical College Wisconsin Lutheran College Great Lakes Sport Fisherman Trout Unlimited Community High Schools River Revitalization Foundation Urban Ecology Center Ozaukee Washington Land Trust Ozaukee County Land Conservation Partnership Ozaukee County Tourism Council Milwaukee Audubon Society Treasures of Oz WI Department of Natural Resources National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration US Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Great Lakes Milwaukee River Keeper Ozaukee County (multiple departments) Ozaukee County Volunteer Center Ozaukee County Master Gardeners Bonestroo Environmental DNA Solutions City of Mequon Village of Thiensville Village of Grafton Town of Grafton Town of Saukville Village of Fredonia Town of Fredonia Town of Cedarburg 7

Stakeholder Buy-In = Program Success Immediately address stakeholder buy-in Answer the what s in it for me question Don t depend on letters of support, verbal agreements Suggest using MOA s, MOU s, etc Communicate early & often

Stakeholder Buy-In: Municipalities Improve fish passage AND meet infrastructure needs. Program works closely with 9 Cities, Villages and Towns 35 road/stream crossings & lowflowdams 3 large dams NOAA/ARRA-Funded Expenditures, by Municipality (12/3/10) Municipality Conservation Corps* Public Works ** Dam Projects Totals T of Fredonia $13,128 $56,521 $69,648 V of Fredonia $6,013 $91,626 $97,639 T of Saukville $60,706 $169,044 $229,750 C of Mequon $58,739 $389,486 $130,000 $578,225 V of Grafton $4,620 $70,000 $74,620 T of Grafton $2,915 $8,178 $11,093 T of Cedarburg $58,928 $58,928 V of Thiensville $867 $130,000 $130,867 Total $205,914 $714,856 $1,250,770 * does not include administrative fees ** does not include engineering fees

Stakeholder Buy-In: Municipalities Most culvert crossings needed replacement Fredonia Creek -- Snowmobile Crossing Trinity Creek HWY 57 Lac Du Cours Creek River Rd

Stakeholder Buy-In: Municipalities Dam removal eases the owner s regulatory and financial obligations 11

Stakeholder Buy-In: Municipalities Combine fish passage and municipal projects -- utilize the same contractor and minimize mobilization times Projects can also enhance aesthetics and provide public education opportunities 12

Stakeholder Buy-In: Municipalities Municipal Board meetings offers a venue for public participation and stakeholder input 13

Stakeholder Support: NGO s Develop/expand relationships, utilize mutually-beneficial efforts Riveredge Nature Center Sturgeon rearing/stocking Milwaukee Riverkeeper Water quality monitoring Ulao Creek Partnership Barrier removals and cooperative landowners Milwaukee Community Service Corps Job training for at risk youth 14

Stakeholder Support: NGO s Coordinate public education and outreach opportunities Take advantage of partner s hard work! Tourism events Volunteer days River cleanups Newsletters Email lists 15

Stakeholder Support: Universities Opportunities for student projects MT Dam Fishway Design, Marquette University Internship support WI Lutheran College, UW Stevens Point, UW Milwaukee Education & Outreach Extension Service Educational Forums List-serves 16

Stakeholder Support: Volunteers Utilize local volunteer centers Volunteer goals can mesh with fish passage goals Students, professionals, retirees, contractors, etc. Volunteer support crucial on major projects 17

Stakeholder Support: Volunteers Volunteers fulfilled timeintensive environmental monitoring activities Creel Surveys Fyke Netting Visual Surveys Larval Trapping Electro-Shocking Mark & Recapture 18

Landowner Coordination Program staff worked closely with over 100 landowners throughout 2010 to secure site access and perform barrier remediation work on 140 + sites 1. Collect Landowner Info Use institutional staff knowledge/relationships with landowners GIS parcel data Aerial maps 2. Mailing Program brochure, official letter, business cards 19

Landowner Coordination 3. Phone Call Be: Knowledgeable about site Confident in proposed plans Clear in goals yet willing to compromise Respectful of landowner concerns Clear on construction timeframe, tools used, etc. Stress that this site is essential component of a large program (remove this barrier and open up X # of stream miles) Many riparian landowners truly care about enhancing habitat, just are unsure what/how to do Ready to discuss other environment-related issues 20

Landowner Coordination I wish they d quit talking and start working! 4. Site Visit Document access routes, preconstruction conditions Share before & after photo s of similar sites Mark barriers and access routes Discuss any other landowner concerns and restoration goals Encourage/engage in active landowner support (monitoring, historical fish movement info, info about undocumented barriers) 21

Landowner Coordination 5. Access Form Detail work to be completed, access routes, timeframe, restore disturbed areas to pre-construction conditions Indemnify and hold landowner harmless Have multiple agreements available Attach contractor insurance policy, if requested 22

Landowner Coordination 6. During Construction Clear communication on schedules, progress, issues 7. Thank You Letters Official thank you letter, pre & post photos Establish a good relationship and encourage future partnerships and engagement 23

Celebrate Success! Recognize partner support in newsletters, newspaper articles, press releases Take time to communicate large & small victories Build on past achievements

Thank You! Matt Aho Program Manager, Ozaukee County Milwaukee River Watershed Fish Passage Program 121 W. Main Street, P.O. Box 994 Port Washington, WI 53074 maho@co.ozaukee.wi.us 262-236-2005 25