The Long Road to Ecological Recovery in the Lower Fox River Basin

 

While I am from California, my family has owned a home in Neenah, WI for decades, so I am interested in learning about its watershed! Neenah is located in the Little Lake Buttes des Morts watershed within the Lower Fox River basin shown below. The Lower Fox River runs from the north side of Lake Winnebago to Green Bay. The major waterway has been a key resource in the area and has led to the region becoming heavily developed. Unfortunately, human development leads to environmental degradation and because of the region's proximity to major waterbodies such as Lake Winnebago, the Wolf River, and Green Bay, there has been severe impacts on really important water resources.

Figure 1: Land Use in the Lower Fox River Basin

Source: UW Green Bay Lower Fox River Watershed Management Program

Figure 1 shows the Lower Fox River Basin and its many land uses. It may be tough to read, but the important colors are dark purple being high density urban regions and the dark brown representing agricultural lands. Due to the large amounts of urban, industrial, and agricultural development, the Basin has been plagued by severe water quality issues such as excessive loadings of sediment, nutrients, bacteria, heavy metals, and other contaminants. As a result, aquatic habitats have been degraded, fish populations have declined, and algal blooms in Green Bay have become a persistent problem (WI DNR). As was mentioned in our lecture, this region has had a really high concentration of industrialization, especially from paper mills. These industries are point sources for sediment and water contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and more (EPA). Nutrient and sediment runoff largely comes from agricultural fields and poses many threats, especially algal blooms which are common in Green Bay, the waterbody that all the contaminants in the basin ultimately end up in. Urban runoff, especially from the heavily populated areas such as Green Bay & Appleton, also contributes to water pollution.

The good(ish) news is that the water quality got so bad that it forced action to be taken. In 1987, the Lower Green Bay and Fox River was designated an Area of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (EPA). Figure 2 shows a general snapshot of the decline and recovery efforts in the Basin. Basically, the region was destroyed by human activity and development for decades, and remediation/protection efforts have only recently begun. Significant efforts have been underway to reduce BOD loading from point and nonpoint sources, as several management plans run by government and non-profit organizations have been developed and implemented (LOWER FOX RIVER BASIN PLAN (wi.gov), (Lower Green Bay & Fox River Remedial Action non-Plan 2019 Update (widen.net). Largescale cleanups of toxic waste have even been completed to remove PCB-contaminated sediment from the river-bed (WI DNR). Cities have also ramped up stormwater management plans to reduce the environmental impact of their runoff. Neenah for example has to comply with standards set by the Lower Fox Total Maximum Daily Load and the Upper Fox/Wolf Total Maximum Daily Load which limits how much total suspended solids and total phosphorous that the city’s storm system can release into waterways that flow into Green Bay (City of Neenah). While the effort has been underway to fix the water quality in the Basin, there is still a long way to go as dead zones in Green Bay are still common and are even projected to potentially get even worse due to a variety of factors (Clean Water Action Council).

Figure 2: Timeline of Environmental Decline and Recovery in the Lower Fox River Basin

Source: Taken from Clean Water Action Council

Invasive species also play a role in the Lower Fox River Basin. Invasive phragmites and Japanese Knotweed have been invading and can wreck havoc on ecosystems by crowding out native plants and reducing habitat heterogeneity (Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance). Lake Winnebago, while being a neighbor of the heavily invested Great Lakes, has been able to remain relatively clean of invasives and is estimated to generate over $200 million in annual revenue due to its walleye and sturgeon fisheries. There is constant concern of it being invaded by harmful invasives like Sea lamprey and Asian carp (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Zebra mussels are already in the lake which has resulted in clogged pipes and damage to recreational boats (Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance). While Lake Winnebago has remained relatively clean of invasives, Green Bay has not been so lucky due to its direct connection to the Great Lakes. The number of invasives in Green Bay have been increasing dramatically over the past 100+ years (UW - Sea Grant). A full list and description of the invasives in Green Bay can be found here: State-of-the-Bay-Report-2013.pdf (wisc.edu) As we have read in Egan’s book, controlling invasives in waterbodies this large is quite challenging, so these issues will persist in the Lower Fox River basin and will require constant monitoring and controlling strategies.

Figure 3: Invasives in Green Bay 

Source: Taken from UW Sea Grant

The Lower Fox River Basin is an interesting and vital system for the Fox Valley region. Keeping the waters clean (or rather continuing to clean them up) will remain a persistent challenge due to the wide variety of problems plaguing the area. Reducing nutrient or sediment runoff from urban stormwater runoff will likely be easier than from agricultural fields. Regulating the pollution from agricultural fields will always be a battle for any region with agriculture because of how much influence the industry has in politics. Similarly, controlling invasives in Green Bay will be a significant challenge because of the scope of the system. Hopefully, Lake Winnebago can remain a productive fishery and harmful invasives such as Sea lamprey and Asian carp that could destroy the delicate balance we see in lakes are kept out of the system. That will be a really interesting story to follow in the coming years because of how persistent and elusive some of the invasives seem to be.

Sources: 

Lower Fox River basin | | Wisconsin DNR

Lower Green Bay/Fox River AOC | US EPA

LOWER FOX RIVER BASIN PLAN (wi.gov)

Lower Green Bay & Fox River Remedial Action Plan 2019 Update (widen.net)

Historic Cleanup Of Lower Fox River Completed After 17 Years News Release - Wisconsin DNR

City of Neenah | Stormwater

cwac-fall-2020.pdf (cleanwateractioncouncil.org)

Target Invasive Species Mapping Project Kicks Off at Fox-Wolf » Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance (fwwa.org)

Plan to bypass Fox River lock prompts concerns over invasive species (jsonline.com)

AIS Spotlight- Zebra Mussel » Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance (fwwa.org)

State-of-the-Bay-Report-2013.pdf (wisc.edu)

Images: 

Tributary Maps - Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program - Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program - UW-Green Bay (uwgb.edu)

cwac-fall-2020.pdf (cleanwateractioncouncil.org)

State-of-the-Bay-Report-2013.pdf (wisc.edu)