Water Quality – Habitat Protection – Recreation
Wisconsin is home to some 2,900 trout streams and west Wisconsin is blessed to have a large share of these unique waters. These streams flow through a variety of environments, from open farm country to dense northern forests. They serve as important tributaries to larger rivers, and then ultimately flow into either the Mississippi River or Lake Superior. The management of these streams and their watersheds is complex and requires a wide range of interconnected efforts by conservation organizations, government, and individual land owners, as well as the input and care of thousands of citizens that enjoy the beauty and recreation opportunities that these waters provide.
Protecting Our Northernmost Streams
Cold, Coaster Brook, Boreal, Brule, Lynx, Fly Fishing, White Cedar, Aurora Borealis, Amnicon, Wild Rice, White River, Old Growth, American Marten, Paddling, White Pine, Bark’s Bay, Spruce Grouse, Cranberry Creek, Calypso Orchid …Deep, Dark, Quiet. The streams that feed Lake Superior are the life of not only our great lake, but the habitat, imagination, scenic beauty, and sense of place that color the Superior Coastal Plain. Totaling nearly 3,070 square miles, it is one of the smallest ecological landscapes in the state yet offers some of the greatest diversity. Along the riparian area of these streams is where the southern most limit of the boreal forest can still be found. Migratory birds use these south shore streams as important stop over sites after their energy-depleting journey across Lake Superior. The federally protected piping plovers nest on the sheltered beaches at the mouths of these streams. The stream watersheds may provide the last large block of forest for Canada lynx and American marten in Wisconsin.