Sessions
Concurrent Session: Effective wetland restoration & mgmt techniques
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Wed
Co-authors: Joshua Brown, WDNR
Title: Hydrologic restoration of historically drained wetland in the Evansville Wildlife Area
Abstract: The Wisconsin DNR In-lieu Fee Program (Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust; WWCT) recently completed earthwork with the goal of restoring vegetation and hydrologic function on 80 acres of a historically farmed and drained wetland complex in the DNR-owned Evansville Wildlife Area in Rock Co. With the site's unique landscape position, DNR staff & Heartland Ecological Group realized a goal of full remediation of known drainage features along a seepage slope continuum from upland to surface water by breaking 20,000 feet of clay tile, scraping acres of Phalaris arundinacea sod for ditch fill, and level-filling 3,500 feet of deep ditch. While this restoration is far from complete, I will walk through critical data-gathering steps, planning considerations, and lessons learned for those considering hydrologic remediation of a drained site.
Bio: Chris Noll is currently a graduate student focused on wetland restoration in the Landscape Architecture program at UW-Madison. Prior to this, he spent 10 years at WDNR in a variety of roles, most recently with the In-lieu Fee Program, the Wisconsin Wetland Inventory, and the Water Quality Monitoring section conducting hundreds of wetland floristic surveys across the state.