White River Management Planning Open House July 26

White River by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

July 10, 2012

SPOONER, Wis. – The public will have an opportunity to contribute ideas and discuss how three properties in Bayfield and Ashland counties should be managed for recreation and resources protection at an upcoming open house.

The Department of Natural Resources is developing a new master plan for the three public properties that cover approximately 14,376 acres, along the White River corridor. The properties are the

•         White River Wildlife Area: 1,000 acres in northwest Ashland County.

•         White River Fishery Areas: 4,142 acres in various parcels in northwest Ashland and central Bayfield counties (includes 40 acre Sajdak Springs State Natural Area).

•         Bibon Swamp State Natural Area: 9,234 acres in southeast Bayfield County.

The western border of these properties neighbors the Chequamegon National Forest, where the headwaters of the White River form.  The eastern property border of the wildlife area neighbors Bad River Tribal Lands, where the White River joins with the Bad River and empties into Lake Superior. 

“The White River and its watershed are important recreational and economic resources,” says Terry Margenau, the DNR property manager who is coordinating the planning effort. “In addition to being one of the outstanding inland trout producing streams in northwest Wisconsin, it is an important tributary to the internationally recognized Kakagon-Bad River Slough, a wetland estuary complex of Lake Superior.”

The properties contain remnant Boreal Forests, steep slopes, and wetlands.  They form an environmental corridor along the White River, and with its tributaries, reside almost entirely within the Superior Coastal Plain Ecological Landscape.

The open house will be held on Thursday, July 26, 2012 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Northern Great Lakes Visitor  Center (29270 County Highway G) located in Ashland, Wisconsin.

Background information about the properties, property maps, and a preliminary vision and goals document are available by searching for “White River property group master plan,”on the DNR website.  These materials are also available to the public during office hours at the Spooner DNR Service Center at 810 W. Maple Street, and the Ashland Service Center at 2501 Golf Course Road in Ashland. 

Public input is welcome throughout the master planning process, and two formal 30-day comment periods are provided – initially surrounding the kick off meeting on July 26, and later for the release of the draft master plan sometime during the coming winter.

Comments can be provided at the July 26 public meeting or submitted in writing or email by Thursday, August 9 to the master plan contacts:

Terry Margenau at Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, 810 W. Maple Street, Spooner, WI 54801 or terry.margenau@wisconsin.gov

Beth Kienbaum at Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, 101 S. Webster Street - LF/6 Madison WI 53703 or beth.kienbaum@wisconsin.gov