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Stream Crossing Project Final Reports

2022
2021
2020

Oneida County Stream Crossing Project Summary

      In 2020, Oneida County Land & Water Conservation staff began a project to examine and assess roadway stream crossings in Oneida County. Primary goals focused on preventing/minimizing environmental damage, protecting public safety, prioritizing culverts in need of repair or replacement and sharing this information with infrastructure managers. Surveys continued in 2021 and were completed in 2022, covering the majority of roadway stream crossings on public roadways in all 20 Towns in Oneida County.  A summary of completed surveys is shown in the table below.

Completed Surveys

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     The ideal crossing permits water and debris to move downstream unimpeded, does not obstruct fish and other aquatic life from moving up and downstream according to their needs, and allows water to flow downstream after major rainfalls.
 
      Important parameters to include when designing a culvert crossing:
  • ​Maximize structure width (at least half as wide as the average stream width)
  • Structure length less than 30 feet, if longer than 30 feet provide refuge inside the structure
  • Floor of the structure should be as deep as and parallel with the streambed
  • There should be natural substrate inside the structure
      Of the 308 crossings, 77% posed at least a partial barrier to fish passage, with 18.3% creating a complete barrier. A portion of structures (15.8%)  did not create a barrier to aquatic organisms.  Condition of the structure is a common issue, with 34.4% showing major to severe deterioration.  Erosion can have multiple deleterious effects on waterways, especially after heavy rain events: 9.4% of crossings were evaluated with erosion levels near or exceeding two tons per year.  In addition, 76.2% of culverts were assessed as undersized relative to the waterway they were serving. ​
      It is important to remember that the effects of all culverts in a watershed are cumulative.  Data from on-the-ground surveys coupled with improved communication between conservation and infrastructure managers is essential to making positive landscape-based changes that minimize environmental impact. 

Individual Town Reports

2022 - Individual Town Reports 
cassian_town_report.pdf
File Size: 2005 kb
File Type: pdf
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nokomis_town_report.pdf
File Size: 2039 kb
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stella_town_report.pdf
File Size: 2110 kb
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sugar_camp_town_report.pdf
File Size: 2179 kb
File Type: pdf
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newbold_town_report.pdf
File Size: 2057 kb
File Type: pdf
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pine_lake_town_report.pdf
File Size: 1938 kb
File Type: pdf
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three_lakes_report.pdf
File Size: 2026 kb
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woodboro_town_report.pdf
File Size: 2022 kb
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2021 - Individual Town Reports 
monico.pdf
File Size: 1383 kb
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crescent.pdf
File Size: 1364 kb
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enterprise.pdf
File Size: 1391 kb
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pelican.pdf
File Size: 1494 kb
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schoepke.pdf
File Size: 1388 kb
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piehl.pdf
File Size: 1405 kb
File Type: pdf
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2020 - Individual Town Reports 
lynne.pdf
File Size: 1298 kb
File Type: pdf
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lake_tomahawk.pdf
File Size: 1225 kb
File Type: pdf
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hazelhurst.pdf
File Size: 1237 kb
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little_rice.pdf
File Size: 1256 kb
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minocqua.pdf
File Size: 1291 kb
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woodruff.pdf
File Size: 1224 kb
File Type: pdf
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River Mussel Monitoring Update

      In 2021 and 2022, Oneida County LWCD staff conducted river mussel monitoring surveys.  Mussels provide an important ecological service: they are efficient filter feeders, removing particulate and chemical pollutants from our waterways.  Declines in freshwater mussel populations have been documented for decades, making them some of “Wisconsin’s most imperiled animals”.  Restoring native freshwater mussels to rivers and streams is of growing interest as a potential strategy for improving water quality and aquatic ecosystem health.   All results were entered into the Wisconsin Mussel Monitoring database through the iNaturalist website:  https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wisconsin-mussel-monitoring-program.

​      We found 13 species overall at nine locations in Oneida County in 2022.  The greatest variety of verified species were from two locations: Nine Mile Creek in the Town of Three Lakes (n=9), and the Wisconsin River in the Town of Crescent (n=6).  Two species of particular interest were included. The Elktoe Mussel (Alasmidonta marginata), a “Species of Special Concern” in Wisconsin, was identified from the Wisconsin River location.  The Eastern Pondmussel (Ligumia nasuta) is a “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” in Michigan’s Wildlife Action Plan 2015-2025, and was identified during surveys at Nine Mile Creek.  This mussel was first documented in Wisconsin in 2014.

​      For more information on mussel monitoring activities and results see the Stream Crossing Final Reports from 2021 and 2022 above.

Sample Mussel Photos

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For additional information see - Fish Friendly Culverts:
https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/UWEXLakes/Documents/ecology/shoreland/background/fish friendly_culverts.pdf

All completed survey data may be viewed at the Michigan DNR HUB site:
https://great-lakes-stream-crossing-inventory-michigan.hub.arcgis.com
(scroll to bottom of page, access surveys using the Stream Crossing Viewer or the Stream Crossing Dashboard)  AND

Oneida County Interactive Land and Water Mapping app:
https://www.co.oneida.wi.us/departments/li/land-records-system/

Presentations

Click on the files below to view the Presentations

rivercrossingcurrent.pdf
File Size: 6853 kb
File Type: pdf
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 Aired on March 25, 2021
presentation2021.pdf
File Size: 19570 kb
File Type: pdf
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​Aired on January 25, 2022
presentation2022final.pdf
File Size: 22453 kb
File Type: pdf
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​Aired on January 17, 2023

Stream Crossing Workshop Videos

Chat Box Questions
Stream Crossing Survey Demo
Invasive Species Equipment Decontamination
COURTHOUSE
​1 S. Oneida Ave
P O Box 400, Rhinelander, WI 54501
(715) 369-7835
www.oclw.org 
[email protected]

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