A tree uprooted by the Fox River at De Pere Greenwood Cemetery. (IMAGE: Courtesy of Jewels Sowers)
DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) – De Pere Greenwood Cemetery and supporters have expressed frustration with the DNR regarding a fix to protect their Fox River shoreline from further erosion. But the agency says it’s not exactly a quick process to simply sign off on approval.
Supporters want rip-rap rocks to protect the property. But the DNR is offering a series of more natural options instead.
“Erosion protection while balancing what kind of impact we would see in the actual public resource in the river and on the river bank,” said DNR Water Management Specialist Crystal Von Holdt. “We have an option that could make them eligible for funding if they look at a more living shoreline design. Something that is the less focused on a lot of heavy rock armoring, and incorporates more of a natural, vegetative design.”
The concept also helps the cemetery create a thinned out plant community, keeping native growth and cutting out potentially invasive species to establish better ground cover. That ground cover is another productive way to keep the ground from shifting. Von Holdt says a plethora of buckthorn on the property is blocking the ground from the sun, preventing growth, which would in turn keep soil in place more effectively.
Another issue appears to be outlet pipes or drains that may have forced stormwater runoff onto the hillside, which Von Holdt says is counterproductive. Redirecting that water to another area, she says, would help significantly.
The area does have some areas of rip-rap tucked under the side, which is something the DNR could work with.
“I can certainly issue permits for rip-rap protection. Our responsibility is to balance what is the public impact in the name of a private interest…On the surface it seems like it should be rather easy answer, but it’s rather complicated,” Von Holdt said. “My goal is to get them to a design that I can issue a permit. Right now, that’s not where they are.”
But one of the reasons the heavy rock solution is being tabled by the DNR is the current status of the natural habitats in that area of the river.
“There is a lot of really awesome in water habitat right off of their river bank. Frequent input I got from resource managers like the biologists is that, that kind of habitat is rare on the Fox River,” Von Holdt explained.
Those with the cemetery also pointed to other projects up and down the Fox River, as others in that area have not required similar solutions. They also questioned why their plan is being changed, while a nearly identical proposal went through in Wrightstown.
“That is a pretty frequent question we get – as far as people looking at their neighbors and saying ‘Well why can’t we have what they have?’ While they are similar, they also have a lot of nuances. They are very unique. Each project is unique and has a unique history,” Von Holdt said. “Pre-existing site conditions at the Wrightstown site were different than what we have at Greenwood Cemetery…On one parcel they had a previous permit, so that was able to be maintained. There was maybe a parcel where they met the rip-rap exemption.”
The sides are expected to meet next week to discuss a potential middle-ground agreement.
“[I’m] offering every idea we can come up with in the agency, funding opportunities, and they haven’t taken them. We’re going to get one last shot because I understand the importance of the protection that they’re looking to do on the riverbank.”
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