Aug. 1 – 13

• The City of Sturgeon Bay endorsed a plan to establish a 322-acre nature preserve along Lake Michigan and the Ship Canal. Sturgeon Bay Utilities, which owns the property, will enter into an offer to purchase with the Door County Land Trust. The Land Trust has applied for $1.7 million in grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund. If those grants are awarded, the Land Trust will try to raise $300,000 in private donations to fully fund the project.

• The Emerald Ash Borer was found in Green Bay for the first time at the end of July. The invasive borer has killed tens of millions of trees in the U.S. and was found near the Fox River just south of Green Bay. The insect harms only ash trees. Their larvae live beneath the ash bark and interrupt the flow of nutrients in the tree. The borer arrived in North America via wooden shipping crates from China.

“We have to try to determine if there are infested trees nearby, or from some far away source,” said Jennifer Statz, EAB program manager with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. “This beetle may have emerged from a tree across the street, across the river, or across the county. At this point, we just don’t know.”

• Baileys Harbor discussed the possibility of creating an Architectural Review committee at its Aug. 3 meeting. No decision was made, but the town will continue to discuss the idea at future meetings.

• Wisconsin’s unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June, up 0.5 percent over May, and 4.5 percent over the same month in 2008. The U.S. unemployment rate for the month was 9.7 percent. Unemployment in Door County rose 0.2 percent to 7.8 percent in June, up from 4 percent a year ago.

• Door County ranks sixth among 10 northeast Wisconsin counties in the amount of federal stimulus funds received, with $13,110,976. Brown County led the way with over $78 million in allocated funds, while Kewaunee lagged with $7 million. Over 67 percent of Door County’s stimulus funds were designated for environmental purposes, with education getting 16.5 percent.

• The village of Sister Bay, in conjunction with the Door County Real Property department, has made plat maps for the village and the Town of Liberty Grove available at http://intranet.sisterbay.com in the Official Documents section.