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>> Restoration toolbox >> Planning a Restoration Project page 1 Restoration Planning Considerations Water Quality: Treating Runoff- Initially you will probably be concerned whether you have enough water on your site for an effective wetland restoration. However, you will want to be choosy about your sources of water. Too much water that is high in sediment and nutrients can be as bad as too little water for your restoration. In areas of the state with urban development, stormwater runoff is typically routed to wetlands or directly into lakes and rivers. This water carries contaminants including sediment, nutrients, chemicals, and road salts. In a rural site, a neighbor’s cattle feedlot or livestock pasture, if untreated, may deliver runoff water loaded with nutrients to your wetland. Fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides may contaminate water flowing from cultivated lands onto your wetland. Nutrients and chemicals will degrade your site, facilitatie invasive species, and make it difficult to establish native vegetation.  Identify where and how much surface or stormwater is entering your wetland. If the overall amount of water delivered to your site is too high compared to what was historically present, you may want to set a spillway at an elevation to divert excessive water off the site. You may also want to treat stormwater or agricultural runoff entering your site. One way is to construct a shallow basin at the exit of the culvert or inlet onto your land that will collect water and slow it down long enough to drop sediment and nutrients. The size of this basin will depend on the amount and quality of water entering your site. A broad spillway allows water to enter the wetland after it has settled, or the water can flow as a sheet over the entire flat edge of the basin. This basin may need to be dredged out as sediment collects over time.
Don't Flood Your Neighbor- You need to pay attention to and understand how restored water levels on your property will impact adjacent land. Many former wetlands were extensively ditched and drained and your property may be only a fraction of the much larger historic wetland basin. To get a sense of the original basin, look carefully at the NRCS soils map for your land. Use a highlighter to mark all the wetland soils on your property and continue to highlight them off of your property. All areas where wetland soils have been highlighted that extend beyond your property boundary need to be evaluated during the design process. If one or several neighbors’ land will be impacted by your restoration work, the most obvious solution is to expand the scope of your restoration by working with your neighbors to jointly restore all of the original wetland. This may take the form of both properties being restored at once, or if your neighbors do not want to actively restore their affected properties, but do not mind if you restore your property and make their wetlands wetter, a good approach is to ask them to be a co-applicant on the permit.  Seeding & Planting- The vegetation that develops in your wetland is the cornerstone to the diversity of wildlife your site will attract. All the effort you put into understanding your site and its original vegetation is time well spent. In most cases small patches of native plants remain on your site. You will want to treat them carefully and take great care to work around them. Remnant areas of native plants are an indication of the original wetland plant community and may expand and re-establish within your site once your restoration is complete. Identify these areas for protection and avoid planning earthwork in them. If your site has a strong native seed bank available (see methods for seed bank study here), then you will need to do little or no seeding or planting. If your wetland has a poor seed bank, seeds blown or carried in can eventually colonize the site, but relying on passive re-colonization in a restored wetland may prove disappointing. In many cases you will want to give your site a year to respond after restoration before you seed it with purchased or gathered seed. One situation where you may want to seed immediately with native seed stock is if you are faced with encroachment of reed canary grass or another undesirable invasive plant, and are unsure of the viability of the seed bank. Plant a diversity of native species that are found in your area. Higher diversity will protect your site from colonization by invasive plants and make your vegetation will be to droughts, floods, and pathogens. Plan to plant a mixture of fast growing, pioneer (early successional) species and slower growing mid-successional species. Include species that will tolerate a variety of moisture conditions, and differing light conditions. Seeds for your wetland can be hand collected from wetland sites or purchased at Wisconsin native seed suppliers. If you intend to purchase seeds, work with a local supplier who sells local native plant stock, rather than buying seed from other states or regions that may not be adapted to Wisconsin and that could be less successful. Visit WDNR's website for a list of Native Plant Nurseries.
Invasive Species- Plant diversity is an important goal of many wetland restoration projects and invasive plants are a serious threat to diversity. It is critical that you address invasive plants as you plan your site restoration. Some of the most common invasive plants in wetlands include reed canary grass, purple loosestrife, giant (common) reed, and glossy and common buckthorn. For current recommedations about management and control of these and other invasive plants, visit Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin. Buffer Zones  - Planting a high quality upland buffer is well worth your time and resources. The edge of a wetland gradually merges with uplands, and wetland species such as ducks, cranes, turtles, snakes, and amphibians use uplands for nesting, feeding, and shelter. If disconnected from quality upland habitat the wetland will never be as useful to wildlife species as a wetland-upland complex. Current recommendations are for a minimum of a 100-foot wide upland buffer, with an optimum width of 300 feet or more. The vegetation you plant or manage should depend on where the site is located in the state (i.e. prairie vs. forest), the site’s specific features, and how you can manage it. Because prairie and oak uplands are so scarce on our landscape compared to pre-settlement times, planted and managed prairie and savanna buffers are an ecologically sound option that provide excellent wildlife habitat in those parts of the state that were once prairie. Be certain that you can ideally manage the site with prescribed burns before you spend money on prairie seed.
Regulations- When proposing a wetland restoration project, there are various federal and state laws, along with municipal and county ordinances, that have to be followed. Without these regulations in place to protect wetlands, many acres of wetlands in Wisconsin would have been filled. Regulation of wetlands also extends to their restoration. Permits are required for most wetland restoration activities, especially those that alter or impact a wetland or waterway including removing drainage features, diverting water, changing topography, moving soil, or other significant changes to the site. The first step in navigating regulations is to determine which regulations apply to your situation. For current information on wetland regulations, visit Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. >> Planning a Restoration Project page 1 Content for our restoration webpages is excerpted from WWA's Wetland Restoration Handbook for Wisconsin Landowners, 2nd Edition (2004) by Alice L. Thompson and Charles S. Luthin. Both editions of the Handbook have won the Wisconsin Library Association's Distinguished Document Award. To learn more about this publication and order a copy, see WWA's publications list. To download PDF versions of Handbook chapters, visit Wisconsin DNR's website. WWA thanks Wisconsin Coastal Management Program for providing funding support for our wetland restoration outreach efforts, including development of these webpages. |
Once you have assessed your site's