Cat Island Chain Restoration Project Brown County Port & Resource Recovery Department

Transcription

1 Cat Island Chain Restoration Project Brown County Port & Resource Recovery Department February 2, 2015

2 Fox River and Lower Green Bay

3 Cat Island Chain Cat Island Brown County Aerial Photography, 1938

4 Cat Island Chain Cat Island Brown County Aerial Photography, 1960

5 Historic Western view of lower Green Bay Expansive emergent marshes (e.g. Duck Creek delta, Peats Lake) Numerous small islands Beaches and mud flats Submerged aquatic plant beds Photo Courtesy of Tom Erdman, 1966

6 Bass Islands Willow Island Cat Island Lone Tree Island Grassy Island 1966 during low water levels Islands extend 2.5 miles into Green Bay Photo Courtesy of Tom Erdman, 1966

7 Islands survived historical water level fluctuations Why not this time? Water levels rose rapidly to record highs and remained elevated for two decades Repeated severe spring storms Shorelines hardened by rip rap deflect wave energy and exacerbate erosion Poor water clarity from runoff pollution reduced aquatic vegetation and their wave dampening benefits

8 Rising Great Lakes water levels and severe storms in 1970s caused wetland and island erosion

9 Long Tail Point Bass Islands Cat Island Duck Creek Delta Marsh Landfill I-43 Construction 90% of Coastal Wetlands Lost from Southern Green Bay Agriculture Photo by WDNR, 1969

10 Little Tail Point Long Tail Point Peter s Marsh Cat Island Chain Duck Creek Delta Municipal incinerator and landfill Rock dikes hardened the shoreline Photo Courtesy of Tom Erdman, 1970

11 Willow Island Cat Island Lone Tree Island Green Bay islands during high water levels in 1976 Photo Courtesy of Tom Erdman, 1976

12 Cat Island Willow Island Lone Tree Island Brown County Aerial Photography, 2008

13 Lost habitat affects Colonial Nesting Water Birds Shorebirds Waterfowl Fish Spawning Fish Nurseries Turtles Amphibians Invertebrates

14 Annual Dredging In order to maintain an active Port annual maintenance dredging is necessary Annual dredging of 100,000 to 250,000 cy of sediment that has settled into the 14 mile long navigational channel

15 Cat Island

16 Dredging Crisis No Open Water Placement Renard Island CDF at Capacity Expansion Denied Upland Site Limited Port Recognizes Cat Island Project as Potential Win-Win Solution in late 1990s

17 Project Beginning The Cat Island Chain project developed out of the 1988 Lower Green Bay Remedial Action Plan (RAP) and was the top priority project for habitat restoration. Members of the Citizens Advisory Committee and DNR staff worked together to develop the Lower Green Bay Remedial Action Plan. (Photo by Dave Crehore)

18 Project Goals Disposal Capacity Beneficial use of dredged material for maintenance of the Port of Green Bay Restore diversity of island and aquatic habitats Recreate 1960s island footprint Photo by WDNR 1969 Enhance spawning and nursery grounds for various fish species (e.g. yellow perch, musky, pike, walleye, sunfish)

19 Project Partners Project s primary focus continues to be habitat restoration Added benefit of beneficial reuse of dredge material Partnership between: Brown County, WDNR, WDOT, US Fish & Wildlife Service US Army Corps of Engineers, USEPA, UW-Sea Grant, UW-Green Bay Port Operators and the Fox River Group of paper mills

20 Lake Bed Grant

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23 Fisheries Benefits from Recreation of Cat Island Chain Increased Vegetation Nursery habitat Habitat for sunfish sp. Spawning habitat Increased Water Clarity Predation by visual predators

24 All Photos Courtesy of Tom Prestby, UWGB, 2013

25 Construction Begins Phase I - June 2012

26 Wave Barrier Cross Section

27 August 15, 2012 June 30, 2012

28 June 2012 Cat Island Brown County Aerial Photography, 2012

29 December 17, 2012

30 May 16, 2013

31 August 23, 2013

32 Shipping Channel August 6, 2013 May 16, 2013

33 November 12, % Complete

34 December 7, 2013

35 Disposal Capacity Island Area (acres) Storage Capacity (yards 3 ) West Island ,000 Central Island ,000 East Island 106 1,000,000 Only outer harbor clean sediments will be placed onto the islands Spine of islands will be initially constructed and provide immediate wave protection and environmental benefits

36 September 9, 2014

37 September 9, 2014

38 November 26, ,000 yd 3

39 Public Access

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42 Project Outcomes years worth of disposal capacity Beneficial reuse of dredged material Sustain jobs, industries and economic outputs of the Port of Green Bay for NE Wisconsin 2.5 mile wave barrier and re-establishment of 272 acres of islands Wave barrier will protect 1,225 acres and provide critical habitat for birds, fish and mammals Improved water clarity increasing weed grown for fish spawning and serve as a nursery and improved migratory bird sanctuary/lay over

43 Cat Island Chain Cat Island Brown County Aerial Photography, 2010

44 Cat Island Chain May 2014 Brown County Aerial Photography, 2014

45 Shorebird migration 34 species migrate through the Great Lakes 25 nest in arctic/boreal areas Some species migrate 15,000km+ per year Such as Hudsonian Godwit (pictured below) Photo: University of Delaware

46 Shorebird Conservation Concern Up to 75% decline over last 35 years North America and possibly globally Trans-continental migrants are most vulnerable 12 Great Lakes species in high peril or high continental concern Piping Plover: Federally endangered Red Knot: Federally threatened

47 Importance of the area Interior sites gaining recognition for importance Lower Green Bay identified as important shorebird staging area 35 species reported via ebird in Wisconsin portion of Green Bay American Avocets

48 Findings 30 Shorebird species detected 29 in in 2014 All 12 conservation concern species Endangered Piping Plover and Threatened Red Knot seen 10 times 4 Tern Species detected Forster s Tern successfully bred on floating USFWS/DNR platform First local breeding in 20+ years

49 Shorebird Species per site Total Spring Fall 5 0

50 Public Access Cat Island Advisory Committee Primary Concerns Public Safety U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction site Dredge Material = Quicksand Sensitive Wildlife Habitat Area Threatened/endangered shorebird species Nesting Season (April August) Achieve project goals

51 Current status Public Access Closed to General Public 2 Gates First OK, Second Prohibited Special request site visits reviewed by the Cat Island Advisory Committee Case-by-case basis Ongoing Activities Management Monitoring Research Shorebird and submerged vegetation surveys

52 Public Access Public Access Plan Collecting information (safety, ecological, etc.) Formal access policy and procedure development Stakeholder input Publish plan Timeline: May 2015 (goal) Julia Noordyk - UW Sea Grant noordykj@uwgb.edu

53 Questions? Cat Island Chain Restoration Project Brown County Port & Resource Recovery Department Port of Green Bay, WI