On September 3, 2024, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources finalized the paperwork to purchase a streambank easement from Mississippi Valley Conservancy in an effort to provide fishing access along a stretch of Plum Creek, a Class 1 trout stream in the Conservancy’s Plum Creek Conservation Area located just north of Wauzeka in Crawford County. This long-awaited public access for anglers was made possible by funding from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, which creates a 21-acre streambank easement along Plum Creek. By connecting to DNR land to the west and a streambank easement conveyed in 1968 to the east, anglers will now have 2.3 contiguous miles of fishable access along Plum Creek.
The 1611-acre Plum Creek Conservation Area (PCCA) property was purchased in 2022 by the Conservancy in order to implement conservation-minded agriculture practices in conjunction with creating a sanctuary for migrating birds, restoring native habitat, and improving stream quality along Plum Creek. The Conservancy is working with partners on a restoration design to re-connect the creek with the surrounding floodplain to better withstand future flooding events and to improve the health and diversity of the wetland, streambank, and floodplain. The DNR’s purchase of this streambank easement is just the beginning of a long-term partnership with the goal of mitigating flooding and restoring a more diverse and healthier habitat through innovative restoration efforts along Plum Creek.
Restoration Ecologist, Michael Reitz, shared, “The design details are still in the works, but our goal is to create more engagement with the wetlands. What began with three people talking at a meeting has now become a group of 11 or 12 people from a wide range of agencies, all working together to improve the hydrology along Plum Creek.” According to Tracy Hames, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, there is a lot of work to do. He explained, “Other states have been working on strategies like this, but these methods have not been used much in SW Wisconsin so far. Our goal is to demonstrate that we can create a cost-effective, creative solution to reduce flash flooding and improve the hydrology of a stream so that this technique can be applied to other similar watersheds across the Driftless Area.”
Abbie Church, Conservation Director at the Conservancy shared that the income from the sale of this streambank easement will help offset the expenses involved with the conservation activities at this property. “As everyone knows, owning land is expensive. Mississippi Valley Conservancy paid over $9,000 in property taxes in 2023 for this site alone. Habitat management is also expensive, and as an organization supported by the donations of our members, having the added income provided by the purchase of this streambank easement gives us the confidence to know we have the funding necessary as we plan this floodplain restoration project,” Church explained.
Carol Abrahamzon, Executive Director at the Conservancy added, “We are better together, and we can’t do this alone. By bringing all of these talented individuals together who have a deeply engrained passion for protecting the land, we are all learning and growing as we work together to develop a process that will eventually help everyone in the Driftless Area who has been affected by flash flooding.”
Local landowners who have a stream on their property may also be eligible for a streambank easement purchase with DNR. To see if you qualify, visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/streambank. If you meet the criteria, a member of the DNR Fisheries Department will come out to do a site visit, talk about your goals for the property, and if it is a good fit for both parties, they will come back with an offer to purchase a permanent streambank easement and, potentially work with you to restore and enhance your streambank. Kirk Olson, DNR Senior Fisheries Biologist noted, “The DNR has worked with a lot of farmers to purchase streambank easements, providing some supplemental income for the farmers while still allowing grazing practices to continue, improving the quality of the stream and decreasing the destructive properties of floods.”
Mississippi Valley Conservancy owns and manages over 5,000 acres in their nine-county service area. Additionally, the Conservancy has worked with landowners on over 20,000 acres for the legal protection of private lands through conservation easements. To learn more about how to set up a conservation easement for your property, visit: https://www.mississippivalleyconservancy.org/land-protection/conservation-easements
For more information about the Plum Creek Conservation Area, please visit: MississippiValleyConservancy.org/protected-land, or contact Restoration Ecologist Michael Reitz at [email protected].