Partners Celebrate Completion Of Estabrook Falls Fish Passage Project
 Crews lowered the ledge at Estabrook Falls on the Milwaukee River to create a gentler ramp for native fish to swim upstream. / Photo Credit: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Partners gathered for a news conference on May 5 to celebrate completion of the Estabrook Falls Fish Passage Project. Native fish such as lake sturgeon and northern pike can now swim farther upstream on the Milwaukee River than they have in more than a century.
Estabrook Falls is a remnant from historical bedrock mining of the riverbed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The quarried headwall in the riverbed created the waterfall. The waterfall also created a barrier for many native fish that cannot jump over the ledge to swim upstream. The project lowered the bedrock ledge to create a gentler incline for native fish to swim upstream at different flow conditions.
Together with several other completed fish passage projects, the Estabrook Falls project allows fish to travel from Lake Michigan to over 30 miles of the Milwaukee River. It also reconnects access to upstream tributaries and 2,400 acres of wetlands that provide spawning, nursery and feeding opportunities.
Watch the Estabrook Falls Fish Passage video to learn more.
Our efforts are working. Monitoring by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Program shows a measurable increase in the numbers of lake sturgeon and other fish returning to the river and attempting to move upstream. Notably, the first adult lake sturgeon was observed swimming through the fish bypass at the Mequon-Thiensville Dam in Ozaukee County on March 30. This lake sturgeon was released in 2011, and it’s the furthest documented upstream movement of sturgeon in the Milwaukee River in over a century.
This project is part of a larger effort to restore the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern (AOC) and is one of many projects benefiting from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Federal GLRI funding helps restore healthy populations of fish and wildlife species and their habitats in the Milwaukee AOC.
Project partners with the DNR include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Milwaukee County Parks, Ozaukee Fish Passage Program, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Restoring Lands, Riveredge Nature Center and many others helping to return sturgeon to the Milwaukee River.
Project Updates Newsletter
Many projects are underway in the Milwaukee Estuary AOC to clean up pollution, improve public health and safety, restore fish and wildlife habitats and enhance economic and recreational opportunities. The DNR is part of the Waterway Restoration Partnership, a group of over 20 long-standing, trusted partners in the community who have been working together for years to improve water quality in the region. With this unique opportunity through GLRI funding, we have all leaned in on our commitment to work together to complete the remaining AOC projects.
For more news about these projects, check out the newsletter series on the Waterway Restoration Partnership website.
|
