Enjoying Lakes and Rivers Today—Leaving a Legacy for Children and Grandchildren

A refreshing dip in clean, clear water. Waking up to songbirds and going to bed to a chorus of frogs. Pulling in panfish one after another. These experiences all depend on having a healthy system of native plants and trees next to and in the shallow water.

Friends playing in Wisconsin waters—priceless.
Photo by Robert Queen, Wisconsin DNR

Projects that eliminate or reduce this foundation add up and chip away at what we treasure. To protect clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, and natural scenic beauty, Wisconsin laws limit what changes can be made to land next to lakes and rivers and in shallow waters. Shoreland protection rules regarding changes on the land are found on these Web pages; rules regarding changes proposed for shallow water and near-shore areas are found on Waterway and Wetland Permit pages.

The Water´s Edge [PDF 1.6MB].

The Living Shore [VIDEO Length 1:39]

Proposed Changes to the NR 115 Shoreland Protection Program Minimum Standards

Rule Revision Information - 2008

NR 115 Public Hearing and Comment Period Information - 2007

After five-plus years of advisory group meetings, nearly a dozen public meetings and 50,000 public comments, another round of draft recommendations were written to update the 40-year-old rules. The goal remained to better protect the healthy system of native plants and trees that are the foundation for clean water, good fishing and scenic beauty while increasing flexibility for property owners and making the rules easier to administer and enforce.

The comment period opened when the draft was presented to the Natural Resources Board for public hearing approval in May 2007. Public hearings on the rule changes were held in July and August 2007. Each hearing began at 4:30 pm with a formal presentation and opportunity to ask questions. The formal, recorded public testimony began at 5:30 pm. Dates and locations of hosting facilities were as follows:

July 24, 2007: Wausau—North Central Technical College—Health and Science Building Auditorium—1000 West Campus Drive
July 25, 2007: Rhinelander—High-School Auditorium—665 Coolidge Avenue
July 26, 2007: Rice Lake—Blue Hills Masonic Center—225 West South Street
July 31, 2007: Tomah—Farmers & Merchants Bank, Community Room—1001 Superior Avenue
Aug. 2, 2007: Green Bay—Neville Museum Theater—210 Museum Place
Aug. 7, 2007: Pewaukee—Waukesha County Technical College—Richard T. Anderson Education Center—800 Main Street
Aug. 8, 2007: Stoughton—Opera House—381 E. Main Street
Aug. 15, 2007: Oshkosh—Oshkosh North High School Auditorium—1100 West Smith Avenue

The DNR sought input on the proposal to amend NR 115. Comments and feedback were accepted by any means through September 7, 2007.

Comments were received via the internet or by e-mail to Toni Herkert
Comments were submitted as formal testimony at the public hearing listed above
Comments were received via ground mail sent to Toni Herkert, Bureau of Watershed Management, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921

2007 Draft and Public Hearing Documents

The proposed rule, environmental assessment, hearing presentation, fiscal estimate, background memo and rule comparison document were all made available to the public to inform their comments. People were encouraged to contact Toni Herkert with additional questions or if they required additional information.

2007 Public Hearing Fact Sheets

View 2006 and Earlier News

For more information, contact:

Gregg Breese, Shoreland Team Leader,
(608) 261-6430

Last Revised: Friday August 08 2008