Draft Master Plan for state Glacial Lake Grantsburg properties out for Public Review

Wildlife and natural areas topic of July 7 open house

SPOONER, Wis. – July 1, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The public has an opportunity to review and provide comments on a draft master plan for three wildlife area properties in Burnett County at an upcoming open house meeting, or comment by mail, or online. Topics addressed in the master plan include management objectives for recreation and resource protection.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has been developing a new master plan for the Glacial Lake Grantsburg properties, which includes Crex Meadows, Fish Lake and Amsterdam Sloughs state wildlife areas, in the Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape. The properties contain nearly 48,000 acres of oak/pine barrens and more than 50 percent wetlands within the St. Croix River watershed.

The area was once covered by a vast glacial lake created during the last advance of the Wisconsin glacier, as it blocked the St. Croix River. This natural ice dam gave the area its name, and when the dam melted, a series of shallow lakes and extensive marshes remained.

These properties are among the most popular and frequently visited wildlife areas in the state, known for their grand scale of wetlands and globally rare oak/pine barrens habitat. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come from all over the world for abundant hunting, trapping, gathering, wildlife watching, spectacular scenery and educational opportunities; many of which are supported in part by the Friends of Crex. The properties are:

Crex Meadows Wildlife Area – 28,553 acres
Fish Lake Wildlife Area – 13,649 acres
Amsterdam Sloughs Wildlife Area – 6,137 acres

“The Glacial Lake Grantsburg properties are flagship DNR wildlife properties. Their popularity is international in scope and they provide important recreational and economic benefits to the region,” said Frank Trcka, DNR Deputy Wildlife Program Director overseeing the planning effort.
The Glacial Lake Grantsburg properties are a vital contributor to the preservation of oak/pine barrens, a rare and globally imperiled natural community. The barrens extend from northern Polk County to southern Bayfield County and cover 1,900 square miles. Other important natural communities include: wild rice beds within vast emergent marshes, northern hardwood swamps, and northern dry-mesic forests.

Crex Meadows Wildlife Area is a recognized Wisconsin Important Bird Area (exit DNR) that draws significant numbers of visitors to view large populations of wetland, barrens and grassland species, including thousands of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds and sandhill cranes.

The open house will be held on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Crex Meadows Wildlife Education & Visitor Center, (102 East Crex Ave) located approximately one mile north of Grantsburg, Wisconsin.

Background information about the properties, maps, and a preliminary vision and goals document are available online. Search the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, for keywords “master planning.” Below the heading “Master Plans in Progress,” open “Glacial Lake Grantsburg Properties.” These materials are also available to the public at the Spooner DNR Service Center at 810 W. Maple Street, and the Crex Meadows Wildlife Education & Visitor Center at 102 East Crex Ave, north of Grantsburg.

Public input is welcomed throughout the master planning process. This is the second of two formal comment periods, with a final comment opportunity available at the time of presentation to the Natural Resources Board, anticipated later this year.
Comments may be provided at the July 7 public meeting, mailed, or submitted by July 21 through an online survey available on the on the Glacial Lake Grantsburg Properties page of the DNR website or mailed to:

Beth Kienbaum at Wisconsin DNR – LF/6, PO Box 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921 or beth.kienbaum (at) wisconsin (dot) gov

Contact(s): Beth Kienbaum, 608-266-3219 or Steve Hoffman, 715-463-2896