TWO RIVERS, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A wetlands restoration project along the Lakeshore is starting to show signs of progress.
The 80-acre site is just west of the City of Two Rivers.
A donation from an area family helped make it possible.
The old silo and barn of the Jon and Annette Henry family stand to the south.
“It’s been a farm field since the 30s. And about in the 1990s, is was proposed for an industrial park,” said Jon Gumtow, Stantec Consulting Wetlands Scientist.
Gumtow says the Henrys wanted to see the land preserved, and donated the plot to The Woodland Dunes Nature Center in 2017.
“What we did is two years of monitoring to understand how the wetland could be restored, and then we went through the planning process and got the permits, and then we restored the wetlands,” he said.
Because wetlands are involved, The Department of Natural Resources Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust oversees the process.
“What this project does is offset development within this watershed, so when somebody develops in a wetland, this is created to offset that footprint,” said Mary Flanderka, DNR Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust Project Manager.
Flanderka says wetlands created here will be available for public use in the future. The two toured the area west of Two Rivers on Monday morning.
“This site has such personality. When we came here in June, it had a certain group of plants, and now it’s got these beautiful plants coming up, and and you can see the next generation of plants coming up this summer as well,” said Flanderka.
From the wild rye blowing in the breeze, to a bumble bee on a little blue flower, scientists say the site is also home to about 100 different species of birds.
“We’re on a migratory corridor for Lake Michigan here, so it’s a great stop over habitat for a variety of birds during the spring and fall migration. Also, this habitat provides great nesting habitat for resident song birds, and as well as waterfowl, and other raptors, and species,” said Gumtow.
More work is planned at the site.
Officials say accessible trails are in-the-works, but there is no timeline when that construction could begin.
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