The Milwaukee River Work Group includes: Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers (FMR), River Revitalization Foundation (RRF), Urban Ecology Center (UEC), local residents and neighborhood groups that have a shared vision for the Milwaukee River valley. We believe there is increased credibility given to our position statements by working together.
We were concerned that state shoreland law does not protect natural areas in Milwaukee’s river valleys while the state does have a role in all the other counties in Wisconsin. It is up to city government to adopt rules to protect the land and water in Milwaukee County.
The city has begun a multi year planning process for the North East side of Milwaukee. It seemed appropriate to get our views down on paper and hold community information sessions to involve the public in these decisions. We are promoting land use concepts that promote preservation of natural assets while improving public access to these same lands and the Milwaukee River.
FMR leads in water quality protection as the designated “Riverkeeper” for Milwaukee’s rivers.
RRF is our urban land trust dedicated to assure protection through land ownership and stewardship, public access and environmental protection easements.
UEC is a leader locally, statewide, and nationally in environmental education. They provide an access point for all to experience our natural world right here on the banks of the Milwaukee River.
Below are each groups perspectives on stewardship and access to natural lands and our rivers in an urban environment. We encourage you to read them. Please join us.
See back cover for contact information.
Milwaukee Urban Water Trail Paddle the rivers in your own back yard
When asked what they value most about the greater Milwaukee region, people frequently refer to the close proximity to Lake Michigan or one of the area’s three rivers. This is reflected in the building and redevelopment boom along Milwaukee’s rivers, improved public access to the waterways, and increasing numbers of anglers and paddlers using Milwaukee’s rivers and the lakefront.
This change in perception has been brought on in part largely through improved water quality and river conditions, such as the removal of North Avenue Dam. As a result, residents and visitors increasingly use our rivers for recreational boating and to enjoy the natural, cultural, and historical attractions that can be discovered from the water.
However, a growing gap existed between interest in riverfront recreation and information about public access to our rivers. The lack of information on legitimate public access points lead people to use makeshift, and at times illegal and unsafe, access points. In addition, increasing riverfront development has made it harder for paddlers to find access points from the land and distinguish between a throng of unsigned private and public piers from the water.
Due to these reasons, Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers (FMR) developed the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail in 2005, in collaboration with a variety of government, non-profit, and private stakeholders. The Milwaukee Urban Water Trail is a canoe and kayak route through the urban portions of the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic Rivers containing more than 25 miles of paddling opportunities. The trail includes 33 access sites (including portages), passes through portions of five cities and two coastal counties, and connects the three rivers to paddling opportunities on Lake Michigan. The map can be obtained at the Milwaukee Environmental Consortium, Urban Ecology Center, Laacke and Joys, the DNR, and many other locations. It is also available on the FMR website at: http://www.mkeriverkeeper.org/watertrail/map.htm. Most of the Water Trail sites have posted signs identifying them as official public sites to minimize confusion about which sites are public and private.
In 2006, the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail was designated as a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior, as well as an American Canoe Association Recommended Trail. As the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail becomes more popular, residents increasingly realize that they do not need to travel long distances to go canoeing or kayaking. Instead, they can enjoy the rivers right in their own backyards.
See back cover for contact information.
The Good Earth Open land is a vanishing resource
The Milwaukee River valley is under pressure from development moving up the river from downtown. By purchasing some land in the valley, RRF has protected a section of the environmental corridor. By working to preserve the existing forested and undeveloped land in the Milwaukee River valley, RRF plans to leave a legacy of connected public lands that are accessible. This is a vital urban connection to the natural world.
The web of life on earth extends into our great cities. Natural areas are important not only for our survival but the survival of all those species, large and small that rely upon the complex nature of wild space to survive.
The preservation of natural habitat along the river is good for the economy, our water and our future. It is not a technique to prevent development but it does allow the beauty of the river and bluff system to remain and co-exist within the development. Just like Manhattan, a Milwaukee Central Park will be a destination sought by many.
We need to provide for wild spaces within our urban boundaries while the opportunities exist or we risk losing them. Not all urban dwellers are able to leave the city to experience the wonders of the natural world. They cannot value what they do not know. By preserving and providing opportunities for city dwellers, young and old, to walk in the green valley of the Milwaukee River, we are creating a citizenship with an understanding and appreciation for the natural world.
Time is critical. If residents and city and county government do not act now to protect these river lands, the opportunity to do so will pass. The cost of land all over our state is rising. The cost of land in the city along the river has skyrocketed. With the help of organizations like RRF, Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers and the Urban Ecology center, it can be saved.
If any thing is a finite resource it is our land and water. Our wise use of land and water helps us sustain life. As for the land, we have scoured it and dumped on it but the bedrock sits mostly quietly below, popping up to the surface at some points. As is our tradition and our law, mostly invisible lines of ownership mark the land.
In the quest to protect land in its natural form and provide the public access to our land and water resources, River Revitalization Foundation (RRF) was formed. RRF is our River Land Trust. The Foundation owns land in the public trust in the Milwaukee River Valley and is looking at other parcels to purchase.
Another option for RRF besides outright purchase, is to acquire easements from private landowners for access or conservation. An easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a qualified land trust to permanently protect the lands conservation values. The landowner retains ownership and use of the property. This preservation method allows non-profits, such as RRF, to protect more land because it is less expensive than buying land outright.
Placing a land preservation agreement along a portion of the river bank is a effective protection method. Unless we protect these areas now, there will be little remaining for future generations to enjoy.
The East Bank Trail was constructed last year and now legally allows public access onto private lands. We can thank the many property owners who shared our vision for the valley for this accomplishment.
Wisconsin Coastal Management provided a grant to build the trail. Volunteers worked with a landscaper and Milwaukee County Park employees to get the trail built. Construction firms donated materials. Donors gave the matching funds needed for the grant.
The result is improved access for all to areas of the river that were largely inaccessible before.
Protect the good earth.
4-Wheeling in the Park:
Opening the urban outdoors to persons with disabilities
This is Ken from UEC. For years I have had this crazy dream of one day going canoeing and fishing in Riverside Park with my good friend, Carijean Buhk. Carijean and I have done a lot of outdoor things over the years. We have been sledding together, we’ve gone calling for owls in deep snow with sub-zero temperatures and once we went sailing on Lake Michigan. These may not sound so crazy to most people, but Carijean has Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, which means she cannot walk, her arms and hands have limited mobility and she uses a wheelchair to get around.
Carijean is the longest lasting employee at the Urban Ecology Center. She has been a huge asset over the years in the development of our newsletter, website and PR materials. Yet I sometimes wonder how she feels as she hears us talk of the growing number of species of fish in the river, sees us run out to investigate the newly found beaver trees along the river’s bank and watches the weekly canoe trips take off from the Center during the summer. She sees and hears of all of this, places pictures of these activities in our brochures, but is not able to experience these things for herself. The banks in the park are too steep and the trails too rough. There is no place along the entire five mile stretch of natural urban corridor that has a wheelchair accessible route to easy fishing on the river.
It is for this reason, not just for Carijean but for all persons with disabilities, that a small but dedicated group of volunteers and professionals has spent the past year ironing out a complicated master plan for pathways and accessibility in Riverside Park. This was done thanks to a planning grant from the state’s Coastal Management Fund.
It is a tricky business. We want to keep the natural wild character of the park, yet as more people visit the area it becomes critical to improve the trails, stairways and river access. With a lot of citizen involvement -- as well as the support of landscape architects, civil engineers, County Parks and Department of Natural Resources personnel, with representatives from Independence First, Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers, the River Revitalization Foundation and our local elected officials -- I am absolutely thrilled to share with you our end result!
The full plan is quite ambitious and includes improved staircases, erosion control, a fishing pier, a canoe launch and an elegant pedestrian suspension bridge across the Oak Leaf Recreational Trail. We also plan to extend Park Place across the trail to a 50 to 60 car parking area (not in the park). From this parking area, a fully accessible path will lead both to the Oak Leaf Trail and the river.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our neighbor, Pieter Godfrey, much of the difficult stretch of the wheelchair accessible path has already been created … a beautiful winding path down the embankment to the flood plain of the river. This path will not only connect to our fishing and canoe area, but will lead south to North Avenue via the new East Bank trail constructed by our colleagues, the River Revitalization Foundation.
We have divided the park into three trail types:
• Natural trails that will remain essentially as they are as meandering narrow dirt pathways through the forest
• Improved trails which will convert some of the old asphalt trails into more natural but still wider pathways and
• Accessible trails graded and surfaced with crushed limestone that allows wheelchairs and walkers to maneuver, but not roller blades
See www.UrbanEcologyCenter.org for a map that shows the full details of the plan.
The plan is not going to happen overnight, but as the eternal optimist, come next fall I may be able to pull off a date with Carijean to fulfill a dream I’ve had for a long time.
Glossary of Terms
Greenway Task Force
A group proposed by the Milwaukee River Work Group. This diverse group of property owners, business representatives, river protection advocates and representatives of government agencies would work together to delineate a Milwaukee River Greenway, prepare design and development guidelines, and recommend a site plan review process.
Milwaukee River Central Park Area
A name proposed by the Milwaukee River Work Group for the approximately 800 acre area in the environmental corridor along the Milwaukee River from the North Avenue dam to the city limits at Silver Spring Drive. This area is roughly the same acreage as Central Park in New York City. The Milwaukee River Work Group is proposing that the City of Milwaukee adopt zoning to protect this area as a greenspace, and also protect the “viewshed” of this area from the imposition of urban views to preserve the natural experience of people using the river.
Milwaukee River Central Park Trust Fund
A fund proposed by the Milwaukee River Work Group to be set up and managed so that proceeds of the fund could be used to finance land and water maintenance into the future. There could be a special company set up – apart from any of the stakeholders or members of a governing board – to manage the fund. There are models for this kind of funding currently in place in other areas. The fund would grow through donations of concerned citizens and groups. This would be a community effort.
Milwaukee River Greenway
Milwaukee River primary environmental corridor, floodplains, and river bluffs between North Avenue and Silver Spring Drive. This Vision Paper suggests that this Greenway be preserved by establishing guidelines for new development projects along the river valley, that would protect water quality, preserve migratory pathways for wildlife, and minimize flooding.
Milwaukee River Work Group
A coalition of organizations concerned with the Milwaukee River, including representatives from the Urban Ecology Center, Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers, and River Revitalization Foundation, along with other interested agencies, businesses and individuals.
Viewshed
The concept that the view from the river and the greenway corridor should include natural elements as much as possible, and imposition of urban views would be kept to a minimum for people using the river valley, so persons enjoying the river or engaging in activities such as canoeing, kayaking, fishing, or hiking along the river’s edge will have a natural experience.