GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – An effort to attract wildlife and nesting birds is underway at Ken Euers Nature Area in Green Bay.
It is the latest in a series of improvements.
“They’ve made a lot of progress over the last few months,” said Dan Ditscheit, Green Bay Parks Director.
During a recent behind-the-scenes tour, Ditscheit tells FOX 11 the marsh restoration project is taking shape.
“It’s always been a wetland, for many, many years. So what we’re doing is we’re improving that cell.”
That cell, is a 25-acre pond, next to a long, earthen-berm heading toward the waters of Green Bay.
“We’re restoring the dike. So we removed all the trees that were along the dike. You may think that that’s a bad thing to remove the trees, but it’s actually a good thing in this situation. The trees actually compromise the stability of the dike, with the root system.”
When installed, a system of culverts is designed to help control water coming in, and going out of the wetlands.
“That might not seem particularly important right now, with high water levels, but at lower water levels, and lower water times, that will be a good opportunity for us to manage that site for waterfowl and hold water in there,” said Amy Carrozzino-Lyon, Green Bay Restoration Project Coordinator, UW-Green Bay.
Park leaders say the current improvements tie in well with other efforts at the nature area. In recent years, many of the shoreline trees near the parking lot have been removed. And that’s not all.
Three years ago, lower lake levels allowed crews to go into the marsh to spray, and mow down the invasive reed grass, known as phragmites.
“And now with the water levels up to where they are, there’s really no phragmites here on site. You can see the water. You can see the bay. You can interact with it. So it looks much different,” said Ditscheit.
City leaders say the project should wrap up in a few weeks after piles of trees are transferred to the waters of Green Bay to be used in the project there.
Carrozzino-Lyon tells FOX 11 restoration results are already starting to show.
“I think it’s an awesome site. We have a lot of opportunity here, and even though it’s small, I think it will be very attractive, not only for waterfowl but for people to come down here and enjoy the lower bay as well.”
The restoration is a partnership between Federal, state, and local groups. Grants from the Fox River-Green Bay Natural Resources Council, National Fish, and Wildlife Foundation Sustain our Great Lakes and the Fund for Lake Michigan paid for the project.
