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Four Projects Chosen in Lake Michigan Basin to Reduce Phosphorus

Four projects in Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan Basin will receive more than $400,000 to help reduce phosphorous and sediment pollution in the lake. The four awards are part of nearly $2 million given by the Great Lakes Commission to 14 projects across the region. Funding is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative under a cooperative agreement between the Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

  • Pipe “P” Trap: A Collaboration for Cleaner Waters ($175,728): This funding was awarded to Fond du Lac County Land and Water Conservation. While the Pipe Creek watershed may seem relatively small in relation to the Upper Fox, Lower Fox and Wolf River sub-basins, it contributes among the highest phosphorus loads. This watershed feeds into Lake Winnebago and has 74 percent agricultural land use. The LWCD staff will identify areas of priority within the Fond du Lac County portion of the Pipe Creek watershed and generate a map that prioritizes land parcels. The priority levels will be used by the county agronomists to set three different phosphorus index brackets for high, medium and low priority. Landowners or producers who wish to participate in a practice or project in the Pipe Creek Watershed will receive between 70-90 percent cost share rates for implementing practices/projects in high-, medium- or low-priority areas.
  • Lower Fox Perennial Forage Project ($164, 876): Managed by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, this project will provide technical assistance, cost sharing and outreach to increase the number of acres in a multispecies perennial forage. Targeting these multispecies perennial forage mix to high priority acres will provide benefits for the producer and improve water quality.
  • Applying Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to Reduce Phosphorous in the Lower Fox Area of Concern ($30,000): Funding to apply TEK on the Lower Fox was awarded to the Intertribal Council to work with Oneida White Corn Growers tribal farmers. This demonstration project is based on using traditional ecological knowledge, like no-till practices, and applying it to a traditional Oneida crop.
  • Mequon-Milwaukee Farmland to Pollution Control Project ($30,000): The project includes reclaiming 35 acres of agricultural land that is part of Milwaukee County Kohl Park (MCKP), owned and operated by Milwaukee County Parks, Recreation and Culture Department.

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