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Kickapoo River Valley Wetland Restoration: Planning and Design Considerations

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  032325,  2003 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.14984) @2003
Authors:   Jill A. (Grodecki) Huenink, Anthony J. Vandermuss, Scott A. Mueller
Keywords:   wetland restoration, Conservation Reserve Program, Natural Resources Conservation Service, microtopography

As part of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Established in 1985, financial incentives are provided to landowners for restoring marginal cropland back to original wetland conditions. This program is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in partnership with state and county agencies. Two landowners having adjacent properties near Viola, Wisconsin, were accepted into the CRP to restore their currently uncultivated, marginal cropland to a natural wetland ecosystem. Because these two sites border the banks of the Kickapoo River, the primary goals of this wetland restoration project were to protect surface and subsurface water quality and stabilize flooding effects of the river.

Investigations of soil properties and vegetation were performed to determine historical conditions of the site, and a topographic map was generated from elevation data collected during a land survey. This data was useful in determining drainage patterns and location of the existing subsurface tile drainage system. The final design plan for the larger property owned by Haines includes the following: two ditch plugs with riprap, two scrapes, and one berm. The restoration design for the smaller Bermudo property consisted of one berm, one scrape, and two riser removals. Tile lines shall be broken on both properties to disable subsurface drainage and both properties will have designated areas for spoil disposal. As a result of this wetland restoration project, the ecosystem is expected to resemble its natural state prior to agricultural activity.

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