Menominee Park Shoreland Restoration Project at Ames Point in Oshkosh, WI. Presentation reviews first three years of the project. http://menomineeparkshoreland.blogspot.com

1. Fall 2014

2. Friends of Menominee Park Shoreland
Friends of Menominee Park Shoreland
Committee is the organizing and management
group of the restoration sites, and is comprised
of 10 representatives from throughout the
community, including:
• Janet Wissink, Winnebago Audubon
• Zaiga Freivalds, Wild Ones
• Carol Niendorf, Wild Ones
• Kathy Prop, League of Women Voters of Winnebago County
• Dani Stolley, Growing Oshkosh
• Bill Sturm, advisory, city of Oshkosh Parks
• Paul Van Auken, Menominee South Neighborhood
Association
• Samara Hamze, Oshkosh Sustainability Advisory Board
• Jan Scalpone, Winnebago Lakes Council
• Justin Mitchell, chair
Photo from first installation day,
taken by Mayor Burk Tower.

3. Goal of Shoreland Restoration
The goal of shoreland
restoration is to create a
natural area along the shore
utilizing native species that
help provide a visually
appealing and environmentally
beneficial buffer zone
between land and water.

4. Benefits of Shoreland Restoration 1 of 2
The Wisconsin DNR encourages natural
restoration along Wisconsin’s waterways,
citing numerous benefits including:
• Reduces shoreline erosion caused by wind and
recreational boat traffic
• Acts as an important filter strip to prevent
sediment, lawn fertilizer, pesticides and other
urban runoff from reaching the lake
• Deposits natural debris into water, improving
fish habitat
• Saves money, time and energy needed for
mowing and lawn maintenance
• Creates a biological barrier to deter Canada
geese
• Provides a seasonal array of colors, textures,
aromas and continual wildlife activity
“The Department certainly
supports your efforts to
restore native vegetation
and habitat along the Fox
River and Lake Winnebago.
Thank you for your
continued efforts.”
~ Scott Koehnke,
Water Management Specialist,
Wisconsin DNR

5. Benefits of Shoreland Restoration 2 of 2
• Serve as an increasingly unique habitat for birds,
helping the city of Oshkosh achieve its
committed goals as a Bird City Wisconsin
community. Native plant life provides seed and
nesting habitat commonly removed by a low-cut
grass or chemically treated shoreland.
• A restoration plot will also serve as host to an
array of butterfly and beneficial insect life,
including the monarch and swallowtail
butterflies, as well as rare and endangered
native species whose historic home has been
along the shore.
• For users of the Menominee Park trail system, the
absence of geese and correlating goose feces is a
welcoming benefit. Due to the slow response
and take off of geese, they will remain in wide-open,
grassy expanses that enable extended
vision. Trails along any shoreland restoration
area will remain fully free from any goose feces.
• Parks Department financial savings – staff time is
not dedicated to mowing or treating.

6. Native Plants
Native plant root systems are 20-100
times more extensive and deep than the
standard sod cover root systems (sod is
shown on the far left). These root
systems serve as avenues for water
infiltration, which helps prevent
pollutants from entering the lake. The
native plants utilize these nutrients as
food to assist in plant growth and development

7. Buffer Area
• Per the WDNR, the ideal depth of a
buffer is 30-35 feet, which maximizes
the filtration and absorption impact of
the plants.
• Many of the nutrients, pesticides and
other suspended materials that pollute
the waterway will be captured by the
plant growth, where they will be
broken down and absorbed as food by
the plant roots.
• Dissolved nutrients, such as nitrogen or
phosphorus, are taken up by plants,
thus removing them before they can
enter the lake. For the plants, these
elements are food; for an aquifer, they
are pollution and contribute
significantly to algae and other aquatic
plant growth.

8. Background Support For Restoration 1 of 3
Onterra Study: The Onterra report recommended a
shoreland restoration project that spanned the frontage
area around Miller’s Bay, citing that the restored
shoreland would improve water quality by filtering
out unwanted pollution and fertilizers.
Vision Oshkosh Report: Respondents overwhelmingly
supported implementing a natural shoreland for the
city’s urban waterfront, prompting the report to
include the following recommendation: "Maintain a
minimum vegetated buffer between all water bodies
and impervious surfaces.”

9. Background Support For Restoration 2 of 3
Oshkosh Sustainability Plan: The plan, which was adopted
in 2012 by both the common council and the city plan
commission, recommends and advocates for restoration of
the city's shoreland area in multiple sections of the plan,
including:
pg 22. restore native vegetative buffers on city shoreland to
protect against polluted run-off, improve aquatic habitat,
discourage geese and decrease algae growth
pg 24. encourage more native plantings on sites to reduce
irrigation, protect shorelines and provide natural
beautification.

10. Background Support For Restoration 3 of 3
Comprehensive Plan: The city’s
comprehensive plan, which outlines
the main goals and objectives of the
city, states the following (Ch 8):
Goal A: Protect and preserve
wetlands, shorelands.
Goal B: Protect aquatic and wildlife
habitat when managing
development in proximity to
environmental corridors, riparian
areas, and woodlands.
“In the community survey
conducted as part of the
preparation of this Plan,
respondents identified our
water resources as the most
important asset to the city.
Protection of both the
quantity and quality of
water is critical for health,
business, and recreational
opportunities.”
~ Oshkosh Comprehensive Plan
Pg 172

11. Restoring The Shore – Installation 1 of 4
• September 2011, over 50 volunteers
participated in the Phase 1 restoration
project.
• The following groups participated in the
project:
~ Oshkosh North High School
~ UW Oshkosh Students
~ Winnebago Audubon
~ Wild Ones
~ The Mayor & Oshkosh Common Council
~ The Oshkosh Sustainability Board
~ Menominee Park neighbors
~ Growing
~ Winnebago County Land & Water
Conservation Department.

12. Restoring The Shore Installation 2 of 4
• Extensive seeding of native perennial
shoreland and prairie species was
completed, along with about 200 2-
inch plugs scattered throughout.
• The total installation area was
approximately 10,000 square feet.
• Erosion control matting was placed
over the plantings, and wood chips
paths were installed for fishing and
other recreational use in the park.
• The total cost of the initial installation
was approximately $9500.00, which
was funded through non-municipal
sources.

13. Restoring The Shore Installation 3 of 4
Before

14. After

15. Collaboration Award Recipient
The Oshkosh Parks Department and
Justin Mitchell, on behalf of the
Friends of Menominee Park
Shoreland, were presented with a
community excellence award for
impact collaboration from Dorry
Wilner and the the Winnebago
Collaboration Working Group
(WCWG).
WCWG is comprised of over thirty
organizations from the community
including the United Way, the
Oshkosh Police, Winnebago County,
ADVOCAP, UW Extension, Habitat for
Humanity, and many other community
service groups.

16. Community Education
• Installed educational sign
providing information on
native plants and shoreland
buffers (image on right).
• Students from Oshkosh
North High School and UW
Oshkosh have participated
in installation and
maintenance days.
• A neighborhood
pre/elementary school
group participated in
plantings.
• Collaboration with Oshkosh
Communities High School
Program.

17. Maintaining and Enhancing 1 of 3 (2012)
The 2012 season was the first growing
season of the shoreline.
Year 1 entails the establishment of a
plant canopy to prevent erosion and to
eliminate competition from unwanted
“weed” seeds that are present in the
soil.
Because many native plants are slow
growing, an annual cover crop of grasses
was incorporated into the planting.
Year 1 maintenance entailed a spring
and fall weeding by volunteers, with
ragweed largely eliminated from the
bed.

18. Maintaining and Enhancing 2 of 3 (2013)
The 2013 season saw an excellent
establishment of yellow black-eyed
Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), as well as
the beginnings of many other native
plant species.
Two additional maintenance days
were conducted, with work including
the installation of mulched trails,
the planting of several hundred
perennial plugs (small, 2 inch potted
native plants), and installation of an
educational sign funded by the
Wisconsin Audubon Society.

19. Maintaining and Enhancing 3 of 3 (2014)
2014 has been a terrific season for the shoreland
site, with an impressive diversity of life present.
Native monarda, milkweeds, vervain, and
rattlesnake master have become established,
joining over 25 other plant species. An array of
butterflies and birds can also be found on site.
In early summer, a maintenance day was
completed to remove canada thistle and an
undesirable vine from the shore.
In addition, the cup plant, which is a vigorous
native that can exceed 8 feet in height, was cut
back to the ground to remain consistent with the
goal of growing low and medium height plants. A
goal for 2015 is to dig up the cup plants by May
and transplant them to another area of the park
where height is not a concern.
50 additional new native plugs were installed in
areas along the shore.

20. Addressing Concerns 1 of 5: Geese / Animals
Geese stay away from the
plantings and prefer open grass
areas. The trail along the
restoration is clear and free of
goose waste.
In addition, there have been
no sightings of raccoons or
other urban pests, as
suggested.
In early summer 2014, one
duck was seen nesting. In
addition, the nests of several
small bird species was
identified by Oshkosh Bird
Festival Committee members.

21. Addressing Concerns 2 of 5: Location
The current site of the
restoration is in an area of the
park that is often filled with
parked cars. This area has the
park’s only north end driveway
and parking area. Across the
driveway is a field with trees,
followed by Menominee Drive.
This area was selected by city
parks staff due to the minimal
impact it would have on lake
view disruption.
All proposed expansions in
the 5 year plan would take
place in areas that have no
residential neighbors,
including areas like Webster
Stanley Elementary and the
Water Treatment Facility.

22. Addressing Concerns 3 of 5: Height of Plants
Restorations typically include trees
and tall shrubbery, in addition to
native perrenials.
The Menominee Park Shoreland
Restoration site at the base of Ames
Point does not include any newly
planted trees or shrubs (park trees
were present prior to any
restoration work).
In addition, species that are
present that are tall growing are
being removed, as seen in the
photo.

23. Addressing Concerns 4 of 5: Other
Claim: There won’t be
access for fishing.
Response: The several
hundred feet of restoration
does not have an impact on
fishing accessibility in
Menominee Park, which
boasts over 13,000 feet of
shoreline frontage.
However, in recognition of
the positive benefits a
restoration site can have
for fishing, a mulched trail
was installed near the
shore, allowing access for
fishing, hiking, bird
watching, and other
recreational park uses.
Claim: It will turn into
an unusable wetland.
Response: Unlike much of
the park strip running
along Menominee Drive,
the restoration site will
not have standing water
and will not be wet,
unless the lake rises
significantly.
The ground was not dug
out or lowered during
installation. The root
systems help water
infiltrate, while the
plants absorb water
quickly.
Claim: The site will not
be well cared for.
Response: All gardens
require care, including a
natural native shoreland
planting. And the
Oshkosh community has
responded very positively
with the restoration
project. Since 2011, over
120 volunteers have
together dedicated over
300 hours caring for the
restoration site.
This dedication and
commitment to improving
our city’s parks and water
system is highly
commendable.

24. Addressing Concerns 5 of 5: Response
The committee has, from the
beginning, completed everything that
the parks staff has requested,
including maintenance, improvements,
planning, and more.
The committee has gone farther,
sponsoring a full-park shoreland
cleanup which included 40 UW Oshkosh
students who picked up trash and
completed maintenance throughout
the zoo.
The committee has been responsive,
transparent, dedicated to improving
the shoreland habitat as recommended
throughout city policy.

25. Conclusion 1of 3: Next Steps
1. 5 Year Management and Expansion Plan
a. Plan was requested by parks department, and provides comprehensive
details on history of restoration, management expectations, and future
plans.
b. Plan is being presented to community partners such as the Winnebago
Lakes Council, the Sustainability Advisory Board, The Menominee South
Neighborhood Association, Winnebago Audubon, City of Oshkosh Bird
Committee, and others throughout September and the first week of
October 2014.
c. Present plan to Parks Advisory Board in October 2014.
d. Possible presentation to common council in late October 2014.
2. Complete Fall 2014 work day late October, which includes a partnership
with Oshkosh North High School Communities Program, UWO ERIC, and local
elementary school students.

26. Conclusion 2 of 3: Supporters of Restoration
Oshkosh
Sustainability
Advisory Board
Environmental Research
& Innovation Center
Land & Water Conservation
Department