Environmental Stewardship Regional Practices

Stewardship Main | Regional Practices | Training Events | Workshop Archive | Submit Material

The Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission (BLRPC) began the Environmental Corridor Mapping project in 1997 with funding from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. In 2005, the RPC completed the project with publications for each of the region's eight counties and a regional report. Although the major motivation for mapping has been to protect water quality, the maps have also been useful for land use decisions.

In each county, BLRPC formed a group of citizens and natural resource professionals who determined which types of resources were significant for their area. These local decisions guided how the corridors were defined in each county report.

Environmental corridors connect a variety of significant natural resource areas. For most of the counties involved, these resources include wetlands and buffers, lakes, ponds, rivers, intermittent streams, 100-year floodplains and recreation areas. Historical, archaeological and scientific sites are also present. Large swathes of natural habitat allow for safe wildlife movement and promote good storm water management and pollution filtration.

The mapping project takes on great significance considering the increasing development pressure on areas of coastal wetlands, waterways and wildlife habitat. Water quality is an especially critical issue because all eight of the region's counties border Lake Michigan or Green Bay. In addition, the environmental corridor project identified over 600,000 acres of wetlands, 1,314 lakes with an area of about 38,000 acres, and over 300 major waterway systems.

Angela Pierce, Natural Resources Planner II, describes the success of the project: "All the counties quickly took ownership of the mapping project. We've found that when we go into communities to assist with their comprehensive planning, they immediately pull out their environmental corridors map to include that information in the plans."

Using information from the project, communities are making long-term plans that impact their economies and can mitigate some development-related expenses, such as re-building structures in floodplains. It also allows counties and towns to recognize the contribution that a healthy natural environment makes to quality of life through viewsheds, recreation and good health from clean air and water.

In addition, Pierce says, "Some counties are looking more toward nature-based tourism as a growing area of their economy. In particular, Door County, which consists of a peninsula in Lake Michigan, has plant and animal resources that are found nowhere else. Door County residents value their unique natural resources." The mapping project assists communities with improving their economies while protecting the resources on which the tourist industry relies.

Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission Ste 211, Old Fort Square, 211 N Broadway Green Bay, WI 54303 Tel: 920.448.2820 Fax: 920.448.2823 http://www.baylakerpc.org