Effort to protect state rivers advances with appointment of statewide river coordinator

What you won't read in this article:

1) DNR Todd Ambs is the former Director of the River Alliance;

2) The River Alliance is a forceful advocate for removal of all dams;

3) "Conflicitng Interests" of water users will be repeated ad-nauseum at our RKLD contested case hearing'

4) "Broad Involvement" translates into the recruitment of additioanal pro-DNR groups;

5) The DNR fails to acknowldge statutorily created local governement entities, Lake Districts, among "River Group Users;"

6) The DNR hates dams so much that they want to challenge federal FERC permits and jeopardize the creation the clean energy alternatives of hydro-electric dams.

RHINELANDER – Efforts to bring together a statewide partnership focused on restoring and protecting Wisconsin’s rivers and streams have taken a step forward with appointment of a statewide river management coordinator within the Department of Natural Resources.

“We have 84,000 miles of rivers and stream in Wisconsin and it’s important we have a dedicated effort to protect, restore and enhance the health of these flowing waters,” says Todd Ambs, administrator of the DNR Water Division.

Ambs has appointed a veteran DNR staffer, Bob Martini, to the rivers team leader position that is charged with uniting diverse Wisconsin programs focusing on river issues and building a partnership of individuals, organizations and river users dedicated to protecting gains made in water quality and addressing polluted runoff, shoreline development and other continuing and new challenges.

The partnership effort will be modeled in many respects after the nationally-renowned Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, which involves DNR and University of Wisconsin-Extension (Exit DNR) working closely with citizens and lake communities, Ambs says. The state provides educational, financial and technical support to lake communities, and citizens provide local leadership and initiative.

Martini says that building a partnership around river issues will be challenging because there are so many different groups with conflicting interests. Anglers and paddlers use the rivers for recreation, industry and municipalities to discharge their wastewater, some utilities to generate hydroelectric power, and some farmers to irrigate their fields.

But he notes that the growing number of river organizations in Wisconsin can help this effort succeed. Where five years ago there were probably fewer than 50 organizations dedicated to specific Wisconsin rivers and streams, now there are more than 150. That growth has come in part because of a partnership between DNR and the River Alliance of Wisconsin to build and support river organizations; the DNR supplies grant money and technical support , and the River Alliance the organizational help.

“Because our river systems are so heavily used and so attractive to people, it’s all the more reason to get broad involvement from the broad spectrum of users,” Martini says.

Ambs notes that Martini is a 30-year veteran of river management and “has a wealth of background in river issues and is certainly one of the most knowledgeable folks in Wisconsin regarding rivers and streams of our state.”

Martini, who will be based in Rhinelander, has been involved with all aspects of river management issues since he started with DNR in 1976. He led the team for the cleanup of the Wisconsin River, which in the 1970s was a literal dead zone -- a place people didn’t want to be near let alone fish in or swim in. Now the river has been cleaned up to the point that it is well-known as a year-round walleye fishery and is attracting people who want to build along the river. He also helped write the nation’s first law to protect Wisconsin waters from acid rain, and has worked with owners of more than 60 hydroelectric dams to improve recreational access for citizens and habitat for fish and other aquatic creatures.

Ambs says the river team leader will focus on two key areas: building a partnership involving the broad spectrum of river user groups, river organizations like Trout Unlimited and River Alliance, and academic institutions like University of Wisconsin campuses and UW Extension with expertise in river
ecology , and coordinating the agency’s involvement in federal re-licensing agreements for hydroelectric dams operating on Wisconsin rivers.

“These citizen groups are coming together as the need for better river coordination
continues and grows,” Martini says. “We’ve had dramatic improvement in river quality since the Clean Water Act of 1972. Now, the goal is to protect those gains.”

Polluted runoff from urban areas, farms, roads and construction sites remain a big threat, and the pressure to develop shorelines is shifting from lakes, where much of the waterfront is already developed, to rivers with vastly improved water quality.

The other major responsibility will be for Martini to coordinate the agency’s role in advising the federal government on its relicensing of hydroelectric dams. About 130 large dams in Wisconsin are regulated by the Federal Energy Relicensing Commission, and required to get a new license every 30 years that sets the conditions for their operation. DNR is responsible for advising the commission on the conditions that should be included in the licenses to address the myriad of issues associated with large dams, everything from water levels on reservoirs and downstream reaches, to public access, to the presence of threatened and endangered species.

In all, each license requires 16 different plans and Martini will be involved in helping coordinate the local biologists, water management specialists and others
in helping set those conditions. More than 30 FERC licensed dams in Wisconsin were re-licensed under improved river management requirements through the 1990s.

“We have advisory responsibility to explain the best way to protect the public interest based on our expertise . It’s our job to help balance public and private interests in river management.”