Even the government answers to these citizens who protect the Wisconsin River’s scenery

By Alice Rossignol
Nov. 13, 2009

There are few places where a government agency lines up for a permit just like everybody else.

One of them is at the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board. Founded in 1989, the board is made up of Wisconsin citizens who enforce a series of aesthetic regulations along 92 miles of the Wisconsin River and nearly 80,000 acres of land.

“The uniqueness to having a citizen board is that it represents the people who live in the area. It’s one of the most unique systems in the country,” said Don Bates a Department of Natural Resources officer who works with the board.

The nine-member board dispels the traditional role of government dictating waterway management. It ensures that development along the river, including that of the government, strictly abides by a set of regulations.

Aesthetic regulations are as diverse as identifying what timber is harvested and painting houses to harmonize with their surroundings. Bright colors are out of the question.

The role of aesthetics in resource management is often overlooked, but physical beauty can indicate the ecological integrity of a waterway

“Over 20 years we’ve learned how protection of scenic quality is very symbiotic with every other natural resource protection,” said Mark E. Cupp, the board’s executive director.

This model of citizen involvement in waterway management is successful. Since the start of the board, the area has attracted wildlife such as bald eagles. The state of Wisconsin has recognized the river as an exceptional resource waterway.

The board works alongside the Department of Natural Resources, which oversees resource management and land acquisition.

“We have mutual goals and objectives, we truly are sister agencies. But just as sisters can have disagreements, the Department of Natural Resources and the riverway board do not always see eye to eye,” said Cupp.

Recently, the board opposed a permit approved by the state agency that would allow water to be pumped from Mud Lake to address flooding. The board objected due to concerns over water quality and whether the project would reach its objectives.

Nevertheless, the relationship remains cooperative. The two seem to benefit from each other more frequently than they butt heads.

This arrangement helps avoid larger conflicts and aids in getting information to the public. And the public may be more trusting of a board of its peers than a government agency, said Bates.

Brad Hutnik, a Department of Natural Resources forester, agrees.

Each year the department presents to the board plans for the next year’s timber harvest. According to Hunik, this presentation makes for clearer communication and no surprises to the community.

“The one thing you never want to do is surprise someone,” said Hutnik, “and in our situation, this is where it works.”

The board doesn’t play the traditional authority figure either. Rather than deny permits or cite violations outright, it works with government and citizens to reach a favorable outcome.

But there are incentives to comply. Citizens can be charged $1,000 a day if they ignore warnings.

Generally, they are cooperative. There has been only one court case regarding regulation noncompliance in the past 20 years.

The board’s recent problems are not citizens but cell phone towers. The aesthetic regulations do not account for airspace above land outside the board’s jurisdiction. Neighboring cell phone towers can negatively affect the aesthetics of the river.

“There have been four towers built visible along the river and that is four too many,” said Cupp.

Even with these new challenges, the board remains a model of community involvement in waterway management.

“I always encourage people to look at it as a model, a template, to choose salient points for their river and lake that would work for their local community,” said Cupp.

Replication of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board model is possible.

A similar waterway board has been established at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in southwestern Wisconsin. Unlike the Lower Wisconsin Board, this board is involved in land management as well as the enforcement of regulations.

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