The Lake Wissota Stewardship Project (LWSP) is entering its 14^th year of operation.  It is a joint public-private venture with Chippewa County’s Land Conservation and Forestry Department (LCFM) and the Lake Wissota Improvement and Protection Association (LWIPA) with the goal of reducing nutrient and sediment deposits in Lake Wissota.  Originally focused on the Little Lake Wissota and funded by the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewery as a 5-year pilot project, it was expanded in 2018 to include the Yellow River Watershed, encouraging landowners to install stream buffers, sediment basins, and other conservation practices.   Most recently, an emphasis has been placed on promoting cover crops, an agricultural practice that will protect both surface water and groundwater.   Cover crops can also improve soil quality, while reducing fertilizer costs.  Truly a win-win for farming and conservation. 

Those of us living on the shores of Lake Wissota see the day-to-day changes in water quality. We know there are clear days and green days and the difference might be which way the wind is blowing.  But measuring progress needs to be a long-term scientific process with established baseline data.  To do that our LWSP project manager wrote a Nine Key Elements Plan, with terms like phosphorus load, Secchi Disk, and Trophic State Index (TSI).  While confusing for ordinary folks, these tools and benchmarks allow provide objective measurements for recording progress.   Monitoring practices will continue in both the Little Lake and Yellow River watersheds, with the DNR and LWIPA sampling water quality over multiple years.   We know that progress will be slow, but it is being made.

Between 12 landowners, 135.7 acres of wetland and stream buffers were installed.  The buffers were planted to either grasses or trees.     Under this project over 40 sediment basins are “filling in” providing visible proof to even ordinary citizens of sediment diversion.  Total phosphorus, which is a measure of unused particulate and plant bound phosphorus, is down slightly in the Little Lake. Water clarity as measured at specific locations with a Secchi Disk has, over a 10-year period, improved by a foot.   The much larger Yellow River Watershed  Project, with different soil conditions and more agricultural activity, is only 5 years into interventions with data still being collected.   A much longer measurement regarding the entire Lake Wissota is the Trophic State Index (TSI).  The TSI measures biological productivity (nutrient content).  Water bodies with a TSI of 0 -29 are minimally productive, 30-45 are moderately productive, 46-70 generally are sufficiently productive.  Over 71-100 indicates an overabundance of nutrients.  The average TSI for the entire Lake Wissota over the last 22 years is 59.26, which is a good number.  More importantly the variability caused by extreme rain events has decreased significantly over the last nine years.  Excessive nutrients aren’t being washed into our lake. So perhaps our efforts are showing promise for the future.   Conservation of our land and water is a long-term goal that needs short term wins to maintain motivation.     Sometimes, “not getting worse” is a victory for conservation.

Beginning in 2022 our contract with LCFM was changed to a rolling three-year contract renewed annually.  The continuity of such an arrangement is one that is good for landowners and will be viewed favorably by those agencies offering grants.  Our current Stewardship Fund is adequate through 2024.  To continue our efforts beyond the time the LWIPA will be starting a fundraising campaign in the future.   We’re hoping that everyone will continue to be Stewards of Lake Wissota.