URGENT Comment by March 3, 2017
DNR's Proposed General Permit for Dredging Will Cause Damage to Fish and Wildlife Habitat (5 Documents)
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I am sending to you the below email and attachments which is one of the many emails that the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is sending out to many sports groups about a proposed DNR General Permit to allow minimal oversight by DNR staff. The proposed GP would allow every riparian owner on inland lakes to dredge up to 25 cubic yards from near shore areas with only 30 days’ notice to DNR and 100 cubic yards on the Great Lakes. The DNR does not have the staff to oversee such a loose program and probably would not have Senior Management support to stop many if any of the projects from going forward.
(Download file to read the rest of this letter) |
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All, I think virtually all of our groups opposed AB 600 in the last session of the Legislature including the provision to allow 30 cubic yards of dredging of any landowner on any inland lake and 100 cubic yards by a landowner on the Great Lakes. Substantively, the only difference with the DNR’s proposed General Permit is that the 30 cubic yards is reduced to 25 cubic yards….The damage both on individual sites and cumulatively on a lake will still occur.
(Download file to read the rest of this email) |
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Public informational hearings on proposed statewide general permit for small scale dredging of waterbodies in Wisconsin
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While AB 600 and SB 459 present many serious and problematic impacts to water protection, the treatment of lake dredging in these bills is especially troubling, and substitute amendment 2 does not go nearly far enough to address these concerns. The amendment does not go far enough in protecting against the spread of invasives, diminished water quality, release of toxics and habitat loss, and we ask that you remove the language that deletes current safeguards with respect to dredging. (Download file to read the rest)
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Lakebed Dredging - Environmental Science Briefing
Dredging is the process of removing material from river or lake bottoms, often to reshape an area. When done carefully, dredging can be an effective tool for increasing access to our waterways. Due to dredging’s many potential ecological impacts, a significant amount of site-specific study and precaution is needed to avoid harming neighboring property, fish populations and ecosystems; disturbing toxic materials; promoting growth of invasive species; and generally reducing water quality. (Download file to read the rest) |
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