Pre-Conference Activities

Field Trips

12-5 p.m.

Lower Menominee River AOC & Menominee Dam Fish Lift

Tour participants will depart from Green Bay and travel to Marinette, Wisconsin to visit the recently delisted Lower Menominee River AOC. Tour stops will include habitat restoration sites, a tour led by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy and the River Alliance at the Menominee Dam Fish Lift, and a sediment remediation site. On the way to and from Marinette, EPA, DNR, and local representatives will provide information about the 30-year efforts to restore and delist the Lower Menominee River AOC, the AOC delisting process, and needs for post-delisting restoration and conservation efforts.

For more information about the tour location and topic, check out these resources:

• Menominee River Area of Concern: Changing Waters
• Remediation, Restoration, Revitalization – Menekaunee Harbor
• Menominee River Fish Passage

1-5 p.m.

Lower Fox River Watershed Nutrient & Sediment Reduction Efforts

Tour participants will depart from Green Bay and travel to locations in the Lower Fox River Watershed Basin to learn about how the AOC is approaching the Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae BUI in context with broader TMDL implementation efforts. Tour stops will include locations where different kinds of best management practices (BMPs) are being implemented to create a treatment train approach, such as in-field and edge of field BMPs, downstream water storage and conveyance BMPs, and pilot BMPs such as phosphorus removal systems.

For more information about the tour locations and topic, check out these resources:

• Improving Soil Health in Outagamie County
• Agricultural Runoff Treatment Systems
• Two-Stage Ditch System
• What’s New in the Apple Creek Watershed

1-5 p.m.

Lower Green Bay & Fox River AOC Habitat Restoration Projects

Tour participants will visit several habitat restoration sites in the AOC in different phases of completion, including planning, design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance/monitoring.  WDNR and local partners will talk about the process to develop metrics for priority fish and wildlife populations, matching metrics to project locations and restoration goals, adventures in project management at complex project sites, and the importance of strong partnerships to sustain management and maintenance long term.

For more information about the tour locations and topic, check out these resources:

• Cat Island – Rebirth of an Environment
• Plovers Are Back in Green Bay

2-5 p.m.

Lower Fox River Revitalization Tour

Come and learn about how remediation and water quality improvement efforts have helped AOC communities return to the waterfront over the past several years. The first tour stop will be at the Shipyard Redevelopment Project site, where a City of Green Bay Economic Redevelopment Specialist will share how efforts are underway to transform a vacated brownfield into a destination for tourism and recreation. The Brown County Port Director will also share port expansion efforts that are currently underway and how this work connects to shoreline redevelopment along the Fox River. The second tour stop will be at Ashwaubomay Park, where Village of Ashwaubenon and Stantec will share efforts to restore the shoreline, increase recreational opportunities and  to redevelop the shoreline. The third stop will be in downtown Green Bay, where partners will share how the vision to redevelop the shoreline and create a social center has reacquainted the community with the Fox River, improved the local economy, encouraged investment and has drawn a creative workforce to live, work and play at the water’s edge along the CityDeck.

Special Sessions

The following sessions will be held at the KI Convention Center.

1-2:30 p.m.

AOC 101

This session will provide an introduction to the Areas of Concern program from a federal, state, and local perspective. This is a great opportunity for anyone new to the program to ask questions and connect with agency program managers.

1-2:30 p.m.

Sediments 101

Sediment contamination and abatement issues remain one of the biggest challenges for the AOC program. This session will provide background information regarding biogeochemical characteristics of riverine sediments, their natural affinity for contaminants, and remediation/abatement approaches.

Have Questions?
For special accommodations, please contact Kendra Axness, Wisconsin DNR, Kendra.Axness@Wisconsin.gov. If you have any other questions about the conference, please contact: