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| 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
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