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Stream Corridor Restoration to Begin on the East Branch of the Pecatonica River

Barneveld, Wisconsin—11 July 2006—When the bulldozers are done, a section of stream south of Barneveld is going to be easier to reach and less prone to erosion.  Like many streams in southwestern Wisconsin, the East Branch of the Pecatonica River has high steep banks of beautiful dark soil that crumble easily into the water.  Whenever the stream rises, portions of the bank slump down and wash down the river.  This beautiful soil becomes water pollution downstream in the Pecatonica, the Mississippi and perhaps as far away as the Gulf of Mexico.

Barneveld Prairie - Muehllehner Addition © Gerald H. Emmerich, Jr.

This week, The Nature Conservancy, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), and the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association will begin restoration work on a quarter-mile stretch of the East Branch of the Pecatonica located at The Nature Conservancy’s Barneveld Prairie Preserve two miles south of Barneveld.

The work will change the shape of the river banks and restore natural low prairie habitats in the floodplain corridor along the stream.  In the process, it will promote healthy habitat for fish in the stream as well as for frogs, turtles and birds along the shores.
The first step in the restoration process will be the removal of trees such as box elder, silver maple and black willow from the stream corridor, some of which will be chipped on site and could be used for local trail projects.

The soil on the east side of the stream bank will be re-contoured to gradually slope toward the river. Up to five feet of sediment on the west side of the stream will be excavated from the floodplain and removed from the site to expose the native soil layer buried by topsoil that eroded from nearby ridges many years ago before farmers adopted soil conservation practices.  Some of this soil will be used for local road projects.

Finally, contractors will plant native wet-prairie plants, similar to what occurred there in the past, along the floodplain corridor later this summer or in the fall.

“An immediate benefit of the project will be the wildlife habitat provided by the gently sloping grassland we’re creating along the stream, which will attract frogs, toads, birds, and other wildlife,” said Steve Richter, the Conservancy’s director of land management. “And, longer term, we hope to learn if the grassland along a small section of stream can capture and utilize sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus when the water spills over the banks, ultimately helping to improve water quality in the stream.”

Scientists from the WDNR and University of Wisconsin-Madison have gathered information on fish species and on the levels of phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment in the stream.  The researchers will perform follow-up monitoring in subsequent years to measure the success of the restoration work.

“If this restoration method is worthwhile and reproducible, we will be looking for more opportunities to work with The Nature Conservancy on stream corridor restoration along the Pecatonica,” said Bob Hansis, DNR basin team supervisor for the Grant/Platte/Sugar/Pecatonica Basin.

The project is being funded with a State Wildlife Action grant and a State River Management Grant awarded to the Conservancy.

The Nature Conservancy is part of a diverse partnership of local landowners; local citizen groups; conservation organizations; local, state, and federal agricultural and resource agencies; and land trusts working together to conserve important grassland habitat, open space, public access and cultural heritage in the 50,000-acre Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area in Dane and Iowa counties.

Through its Great Rivers Partnership, the Conservancy is working to conserve the Mississippi River and other great river systems throughout the world for the benefit of the people and the species that depend upon them for life.