Public invited to comment on habitat restoration project for endangered birds on WI Point

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is seeking public comment from May 3 through June 2, 2018 about a proposed project that would restore habitat for the Piping Plover, a federal and state endangered bird. The project will improve habitat along about 1,700 feet of St. Louis River shoreline near Superior, Wisconsin in an area owned by the Wisconsin DNR called the Wisconsin Point Bird Sanctuary.

The project, which is intended to support re-colonization, will incorporate the use of dredged sand from the Duluth-Superior Federal Navigation Channel to improve habitat for the birds consisting of not only the shoreline, but eight acres of foraging and nesting habitat as well. The project is funded by the EPA and designed and constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in conjunction with the Wisconsin DNR. Construction is anticipated to take place during summer and fall 2019.

The public is invited to attend an informational session and provide feedback on the project at the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve located at 3 Marina Drive in Superior, Wisconsin on Thursday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m. Project team members will be available to answer questions and present an overview of the project at 5:15 p.m. Public comments about the program or specific plans can also be submitted in writing to:

ATTN: CELRE-PLE (Charles A. Uhlark)
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District
477 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48226-2550

If no comments are received by the end of the review period, it will be assumed that there are no comments and the project will be submitted for the appropriate permitting authorization during which another opportunity for public comment may occur.

The piping plover, a small shorebird found only in North America along the Atlantic Coast, the Northern Great Plain and the Great Lakes, was first listed as an endangered species in Wisconsin in 1979 and as federally endangered in 1986. The bird's population has continually declined due to hunting, habitat loss, shoreline development and recreational pressure. This project will help the US Fish and Wildlife Service meet its Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Goal.

For more information about the bird, visit dnr.wi.gov and search keywords "piping plover."