January 9, 2023 at 1:09 p.m.
County cost share programs help landowners protect resources
Oneida Land and Water department brings 2024 cost share projects to committee
County cost share programs help landowners protect resources
This reimbursement program includes projects such as shoreline protection, critical area stabilization, well abandonment, wetland restoration and much more. Creating buffer zone and restoration zones is something the county cost share program deals with on a regular basis.
Buffer zones are usually in the 35 feet adjacent to a lakeshore. They are a "no mow" area containing wildflowers, grasses and sedges. They highlight native vegetation that requires less maintenance and fertilizer. Buffer zones can bring all of these benefits while still offering a viewing corridor to the lake.
The monies for the program come from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). The program is administered by the county land and water conservation department. Landowners can be reimbursed up to 80% of their total project cost for qualified projects, or up to the current year's maximum reimbursement amount, whichever is less. Qualified costs include things, such as the cost of purchasing and planting native trees, shrubs and plants or other practices covered under the cost share program.
There are several other practices that are covered in the program. The following are some of those practices:
• Restoration of the buffer zone with native plants, trees or shrubs.
• Permitable erosion control methods necessary to reduce runoff and protect water quality.
• Structural methods may be considered for severe erosion concerns in conjunction with a natural buffer.
There are also specific activities that are covered under the cost share program. Covered costs include:
• Native vegetation.
• Rock rip rap/fill.
• Bioengineering.
• Excavation/grading.
• Labor for installation of practices.
• Mulch, erosion control blankets.
• Compost.
• Rain gardens.
• Limited watering. and fencing practices.
Each project that comes to the land and water department is given a priority. Those who best illustrate how their project will improve water quality, and the importance of their project, are given priority. Priority is base on a number of factors. Simply put, the amount of impact a project will have will increase its priority, especially if that project is located in an Area of Special Natural Resources Interest or is on a body of water considered high priority, 303(d) impaired water. Projects must be maintained for 10 years to qualify for the cost share program. County staff makes visits to the sites of cost share projects to ensure these practices are being maintained.
The Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department website contains a copy of their cost share program brochure as well as an application for a cost share project. As projects come to the department, department head, county conservationist Michele Sadauskas brings them to the county land and water conservation committee for approval.
Oneida County 2024 projects
During the December land and water conservation committee meeting, Sadauskas brought forth three cost share projects for approval. The county's five projects for 2023 had already been approved by the board, she said.
One of those 2024 projects was on Pelican Lake. The other two were on Lake Nokomis, with one being on Nokomis itself and the other on Bridge Lake.
She said would likely be one, or possible two, more projects for 2024, but those would depend on what the county was awarded from DATCP.
Sadauskas started with the Froenek project.
The parcel, she said, has great vegetation on part of the shoreline, but there was a good deal of bare bank underneath that vegetation. The landowner is looking at doing a native planting, some rock rip rap and some vegetation filled soil bags to shore up their banks.
Due to the fluctuation of Lake Nokomis, at higher water levels, the landowners were experiencing erosion issues.
The next project, the Marnocha project, is on Bridge Lake on the Lake Nokomis chain.
Sadauskas showed a photograph of the property to the committee that showed an older wooden seawall across most of the 122-foot parcel. Behind the seawall was only a manicured lawn, she said.
With that project, she said, they would look to replace the aged seawall with rip rap and would look to establish at least a six foot buffer down to the shoreline. The property owner, she said, was interested in establishing an even larger buffer. She said she did not see the need for vegetative bags or anything of that nature above the sea wall for this particular project.
The third project for 2024 is the Held project on Pelican Lake. Sadauskas said this was her top pick for the projects they looked at this past season. She said the large storm on Pelican Lake caused the bank to slip down toward that water. There was a good deal of open bank below the vegetation along the shoreline and a large crevice up on top of the rip rap. Talking with the owners, she said, the mutual agreement was to get rid of the rock wall and change it into more of a living wall by installing vegetative bags to secure that piece of shoreline. She said she was most excited about this project.
Committee chair Jim Winkler asked how long it would take for the bags to decompose to create the natural looking shoreline landowners were looking for. Sadauskas said the bags themselves do not decompose quickly, but the vegetation grows rapidly enough that a passerby could no longer see the bags themselves, which were still serving to hold the bank in place with the help of the vegetation growing out of them. The bags, she said, are meant to degrade, but it can take many years.
The committee approved all three cost share projects for 2024.
For more information on the cost share program, see the Oneida County land and water conservation department website at oclw.org.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
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