From the WDNR Website:
Contact(s): Shelley Warwick, DNR property planning, 608-266-2698, or Paul Holtan, DNR Office of Communications, 608-267-7517
Public comment period open through Nov. 13
BALDWIN, Wis. — The public will have an opportunity at a public meeting and through a comment period to provide input on the beginning stages of developing a master plan for Department of Natural Resources lands in St. Croix, and portions of Polk and Pierce counties.
This is the first public input period starting the master planning process for the Western Prairie region. The meeting will be open house-style with DNR staff available to answer questions.
Willow River State Park is one of the properties that will be included in the Western Prairie Ecological Landscape master planning process.Photo credit: DNR
The Western Prairie Ecological Landscape includes extensive grasslands, remnant prairies, savannas, the lower St. Croix and the Kinnickinnic River corridors, and various cold-water and cool-water streams. Some of the properties included in this regional plan are Kinnickinnic and Willow River state parks, Kinnickinnic River Fishery Area, Cylon Wildlife Area and the Western Prairie Habitat Restoration Area.
“The goal of this meeting is to let the public know of our intent to develop a regional plan for properties in the Western Prairie Ecological Landscape. We’ll also be collecting public feedback on the existing and future use and management of state-owned properties in the region,” said Shelley Warwick, a property planner in the DNR Bureau of Facilities and Lands.
The public meeting will be held Monday, November 5, 2018 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the St. Croix County Agriculture Services & Education Center, 1960 8th Ave, Baldwin. Property maps and other documents will be available for review.
Western Prairie Ecological Landscape. Click on image for larger size.Photo credit: DNR
Online public survey for comments on public use and management of state owned properties can be found at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/QNTVKLC. The public input period is October 23 through November 13, 2018.
Under the master planning process, guided by Chapter NR 44, Wisconsin Administrative Code, department staff develop a plan which describes the authorized land management, resource protection, facility development and management of recreational use for department properties. The department is conducting planning at a regional scale based on 16 previously defined Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin, areas with similar ecological attributes and management opportunities.
People can learn more about and engage in the Western Prairie regional planning process by searching the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, for keywords “property planning” and selecting Western Prairie Ecological Landscape on the map or drop down menu.
For additional information people may contact Shelley Warwick, property planner, DNR Bureau of Facilities and Lands at 608-266-2698 or shelley.warwick@wisconsin.gov, or US mail at Shelley Warwick, Wisconsin DNR, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI, 53707-7921.
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