Waterfront Property Owners

We are all responsible for our waters. It's up to everyone who values Wisconsin's waters to keep them healthy and productive. And if you own waterfront property, you have a special opportunity and responsibility.

Fishing off a pier.

Many waterfront dwellers wonder how a single alteration to their property could make a difference to the health of a lake, stream or river. Unfortunately, the cumulative harm from single shoreline alterations by many property owners affects the quality of the swimming, fishing and wildlife watching -- the very attributes that brought many to purchase the property in the first place.

In partnership with the University of Wisconsin Extension Water Resources Program [exit DNR], several programs within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manage and protect Wisconsin's shorelines. The links on the left side of this page will take you information provided by several offices within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) which manage and protect Wisconsin's shorelines and lists of DNR and county staff, to help answer your questions about the joys and responsibilities of waterfront property ownership. You can also learn more about human influence on Wisconsin's shores by viewing the online presentation, Margin of Error [exit DNR].

Selected Publications

Here are a few publications to help get you started:

Last Revised: Tuesday March 11 2008