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DNR Resources for Local Government

Local governments (towns, cities, villages and counties) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) work together in many ways. We partner to enhance natural resources, ensure the health and safety of our residents, and strive to ensure our respective rules and regulations support our common goals.

This site is designed to help you and local government partners find all the DNR resources you need in one place, including grants and loans, reporting requirements and forms, permit information and applications, regulatory authorities, sample ordinances, and best management practices.

Public Participation

If you or your residents are interested in learning more about and weighing in on DNR topics, our Get Involved page provides an overview of public participation opportunities that range from newsletter subscriptions to study groups.

For specific meetings and proposed rules, see the Public Input Opportunities page.

Tips for using this page

The same information is offered on each tab, one sorted by government department and the other sorted by environmental topic. If you prefer to search the page for a keyword, click on the tab that is sorted by department and Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on a Mac) on the keyboard to search the list of resources and regulations.

Unless otherwise noted, grants and resources apply to all levels of local government.

by local government department

Information for local governments – sorted by department

Development & Planning

Economic development & business support
  • List of resources curated for businesses, including links to business support programs, a comprehensive list of links for permits and reporting and a direct link to the DNR switchboard.
  • Toolbox of DNR business support resources for economic development professionals, including:
    • Ready-to-publish newsletter articles describing DNR's Business Support programs
    • Brochures explaining each of our programs
    • Archives of past email news for economic development professionals
    • Subscribe to our email news for economic development professionals
Contamination & clean-up
Erosion, Storm water, Floodplains, & Waterways

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Forestry, Parks & Recreation

Forestry
  • County Forest information
    • Forms and handbooks
    • Public lands toolkit (regeneration, subcontractors, timber sales)
    • Timber sales reports
    • Monitoring reports
  • Grants to purchase forest land available to counties with lands entered under the County Forest Program
  • Grants to fund County Forest Administrators available to any county employing a professional forester in the position
  • Grants for special, short term, or unanticipated projects that promote sustainable forestry available to counties with lands enrolled in the County Forest Law
  • Reimbursement grants for local fire departments to purchase equipment to prevent and fight wildland fires
  • Urban forestry grants, including
    • Cost-sharing for new, innovative projects that develop sustainable urban and community forestry programs
    • Cost-sharing for starting or restarting an urban forestry program
    • Funds to repair, remove or replace urban trees after catastrophic storms
Shoreland, streambanks & wetlands
Land acquisition, maintenance & improvement
  • Stewardship grants to buy land for stream bank protection, easements, natural areas, county forests, recreational boating facilities, snowmobile & ATV trails, community gardens, local parks and urban greenspace
  • Grants to cover 50% of acquisition and/or development of land to provide high-quality outdoor recreational opportunities
  • Grants for Weed Management Groups to remove invasive plants and provide education, information and outreach
  • Grants to support development, maintenance, preservation, restoration and maintenance of wild turkey, pheasant and waterfowl and their associated habitats
  • Grants for wildlife habitat management, improvement, inventories and education available to counties that have lands in the County Forest Program
  • Grants to help develop wildlife plans, implement damage abatement and/or control measures for white-tailed deer and/or Canada geese in urban areas
  • Grants to improve fish and wildlife resources available to counties and tribes, including infrastructure, habitat and stocking projects
  • Cost-sharing grants for surface water protection and restoration including education, ecological assessments, planning, implementation and aquatic invasive species prevention and control
  • Grants to construct fishing piers that are primarily designed to provide public access for shore fishing
  • Grants to construct motorboat access projects
  • Grants for constructing, renovating and maintaining boating infrastructure facilities for transient recreational vessels at least 26 feet long
  • Grants construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of pump-out and dump stations
  • Grants for recreational boating facility projects, including channel dredging, construction projects, improvement and repair of locks, navigation aids, rehabilitation, trash skimming equipment and weed harvesting equipment
  • Grants for boating enforcement efforts available to counties and municipalities
  • Cost-sharing reimbursement grants to develop and maintain recreational trails and facilities
  • Grants to acquire, insure, develop and maintain ATV/UTV trails, areas and routes
  • Grants for ATV enforcement efforts available to sheriff departments
  • Grants to develop and maintain a statewide system of snowmobile trails available to counties and tribes
  • Grants for snowmobile enforcement efforts available to sheriff departments
  • Cost-sharing reimbursement grants to ensure the education, training and development of safe and ethical hunters and mentors with a preference towards applicants focusing on adults, women and families
  • Cost-sharing reimbursement grants to assist in shooting range construction

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Health & Safety

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Public Works & Utilities

by DNR topic

Economic development & business support
  • List of resources curated for businesses, including links to business support programs, a comprehensive list of links for permits and reporting and a direct link to the DNR switchboard
  • Toolbox of DNR business support resources for economic development professionals, including:
    • Ready-to-publish newsletter articles describing DNR’s Business Support programs
    • Brochures explaining each of our programs
    • Archives of past e-mail news for economic development professionals
  • Subscribe to our email news for economic development professionals
Air
Community health
Permits & reporting
  • Overview of the types of air permits and the air permitting process
    Air permits might be needed for:
    • Construction of new sources of air emissions
    • Boilers and generators
    • Fleets and garages
    • Highway departments
    • Public works departments
    • Landfills
    • Waste handling facilities
    • Wastewater treatment plants
    • Municipal utilities
  • Air emissions inventory and reporting, including historical emissions data, electronic reporting tutorials, and Emissions Reduction Credit Registry
Waste & Materials Management
Recycling & Composting
Solid waste
Contamination
Water
Permits & reporting
Surface water
  • Comprehensive beach information, including current beach status, advisories, beach health database and historical monitoring and assessments
  • Cost-sharing grants for surface water protection and restoration including education, ecological assessments, planning, implementation, and aquatic invasive species prevention and control
Water supply
Wastewater
Storm water & nonpoint pollution
Parks & habitat management
Shoreland
  • Shoreland Protection – Model County Shoreland Zoning Ordinance for Wisconsin's Shoreland Protection
  • Resources for local government to safeguard our shorelines, including:
    • Laws and regulations
    • Model zoning ordinances
    • Newsletters, handbooks and other publications
Financial resources
  • Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust - sells wetland credits to permittees needing to offset authorized wetland impacts
  • Stewardship grants to buy land for stream bank protection, easements, natural areas, county forests, recreational boating facilities, snowmobile & ATV trails, community gardens, local parks and urban greenspace
  • Grants to cover 50% of acquisition and/or development of land to provide high-quality outdoor recreational opportunities
  • Grants for Weed Management Groups to remove invasive plants and provide education, information and outreach
  • Grants to support development, maintenance, preservation, restoration and maintenance of wild turkey, pheasant and waterfowl and their associated habitats
  • Grants for wildlife habitat management, improvement, inventories, and education available to counties that have lands in the County Forest Program
  • Cost-sharing grants for surface water protection and restoration including education, ecological assessments, planning, implementation and aquatic invasive species prevention and control
  • Grants to improve fish and wildlife resources available to counties and tribes, including infrastructure, habitat and stocking projects
Forests
  • County Forest information
    • Forms and handbooks
    • Public lands toolkit (regeneration, subcontractors, timber sales)
    • Timber sales reports
    • Monitoring reports
  • Grants to purchase forest land available to counties with lands entered under the County Forest Program
  • Grants to fund County Forest Administrators available to any county employing a professional forester in the position
  • Grants for special, short term, or unanticipated projects that promote sustainable forestry available to counties with lands enrolled in the County Forest Law
  • Reimbursement grants for local fire departments to purchase equipment to prevent and fight wildland fires
  • Urban forestry grants, including
    • Cost-sharing for new, innovative projects that develop sustainable urban and community forestry programs
    • Cost-sharing for starting or restarting an urban forestry program
    • Funds to repair, remove or replace urban trees after catastrophic storms
Outdoor recreation
  • Cost-sharing reimbursement grants to ensure the education, training and development of safe and ethical hunters and mentors with a preference towards applicants focusing on adults, women and families
  • Cost-sharing reimbursement grants to assist in shooting range construction
  • Cost-sharing reimbursement grants to develop and maintain recreational trails and facilities
  • Grants for ATV enforcement efforts available to sheriff departments
  • Grants to develop and maintain a statewide system of snowmobile trails available to counties and tribes
  • Grants for snowmobile enforcement efforts available to sheriff departments
  • Grants for boating enforcement efforts available to counties and municipalities
  • Grants to acquire, insure, develop and maintain ATV/UTV trails, areas and routes
  • Grants for constructing, renovating and maintaining boating infrastructure facilities for transient recreational vessels at least 26 feet long
  • Grants to construct fishing piers that are primarily designed to provide public access for shore fishing
  • Grants to construct motorboat access projects
  • Grants construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of pump-out and dump stations
  • Grants for recreational boating facility projects, including channel dredging, construction projects, improvement and repair of locks, navigation aids, rehabilitation, trash skimming equipment and weed harvesting equipment
Wildlife damage
Transportation & fleets

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