Sheboygan River and Harbor Area Restoration Meeting

December 2 - A public input session on the Restoration Goals (Delisting Targets) for the Sheboygan River and Harbor Area of Concern (AOC) will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Wombat Room (Room 2114) of the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan, One University Drive, Sheboygan. The meeting will provide a venue for open discussion about future remediation and the possible next steps. Input received from you at this session will be included in the Sheboygan River AOC delisting targets report that will be finalized near the end of 2008. The session will include informational displays and experts will be on hand to discuss the AOC impairments and restoration goals for: fish habitat and populations; wildlife habitat, communities, health and consumption; fish consumption, fish tumors, river bottom dwelling plants and animals; restrictions on dredging; and nutrient pollution, undesirable algae and impacts to plankton The lower 14 miles of the Sheboygan River and Harbor (below the Sheboygan Falls Dam) were designated a Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) in 1985. A Great Lakes AOC is an area where contaminated sediment, poor water quality or habitat problems affect the use of the waterway such that it needs priority attention. The end goal is for all of the AOCs to be restored and protected so that they can be “delisted,” or removed from the list of Great Lakes AOCs. Goals or targets must be set and then met for each of the problem areas listed above so that the AOC can be considered cleaned up. The process takes time and commitment, and like most of the other AOCs, ours is still in progress. Of the 43 Great Lakes AOCs designated in the United States and Canada, only three have been delisted and two more are considered to be in recovery. More information on the Sheboygan River and Harbor AOC, are available on the Sheboygan River Partnership Web site at [http://sheboyganrivers.org/shebarea.html] (exit DNR). For more information or to RSVP, contact Laurel Last at (920) 892-8756 ext.3022 or laurel.last@wisconsin.gov.