Yesterday, President Obama announced his 2013 budget. It includes aquatic ecosystem restoration funding for a chain of islands in southern Green Bay.
Known as the Cat Islands, the small chain will be rebuilt using dredged harbor material. More than 40 years ago, the chain succumbed to the combined forces of high water levels, heavy storms and the refraction of waves from mainland shorelines hardened with riprap.
Sea Grant’s Vicky Harris, a water quality and habitat restoration specialist, and Gene Clark, a coastal engineer, are already involved in the project. Other collaborators include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Brown County Port Authority, U.S. EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, UW-Green Bay and private firms.
The restoration is expected to benefit fisheries, shorebirds and amphibians. It also provides a beneficial reuse of the harbor materials.
