Ashland County Land & Water Resource Management Plan 2020-2029

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Ashland County Land & Water Resource Management Plan 2020-2029 Ashland County Land & Water Resource Management Plan 2020-2029 ASHLAND COUNTY LWRM PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE Approved on August 6, 2019 by the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Board Approved on October 10, 2019 by the Ashland County Board of Supervisors LWRM Plan Advisory Committee Scott Caven, Ashland County LWCD, staff MaryJo Gingras, Ashland County LWCD, staff Brittany Goudos-Weisbecker, Ashland County GIS Coordinator & Land Information Officer Gary Haughn, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service George Mika, Ashland County LCC Charles Ortman, Ashland County LCC Elizabeth Osborne, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Caryl Peck; Ashland County LCC & Dairy Farmer Mike Pero, Ashland County LWCD, staff Gerald Richardson, Land & Water Conservation Committee, Farmer Joseph Rose, Ashland County LCC Joshua Rowley, Ashland County Zoning Administrator Pete Russo, Ashland County Board David Schultz, Ashland County LWCD, staff John Wiener, Ashland County LCC 3 Plan Contributors Bad River Natural Resources Department Andrew Craig, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Brittany Goudos-Weisbecker, Ashland County GIS Coordinator & Land Information Officer Gary Haughn, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service Sara Hudson, City of Ashland Matt Hudson, Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater; Northland College Elizabeth Osborne, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Ramona Shackleford, Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area Danielle Shannon, Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science Superior Rivers Watershed Association Michele Wheeler, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Plan Reviewers and Project Partners Lissa Radke, University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, Ashland County Brittany Goudos-Weisbecker, Ashland County GIS Coordinator & Land Information Officer Lisa Trumble, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Land and Water Conservation Department MaryJo Gingras, County Conservationist Mike Pero, Conservation Engineering Technician David Schultz, Wildlife Damage Abatement & Claims Program Coordinator Scott Caven, Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator Maps Ashland County GIS Coordinator & Land Information Officer Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science United States Geological Service Wisconsin Water Science Center University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education Cover Photo Joshua Rowley Plan Writing and Project Facilitation Ashland County Land and Water Conservation Department Plan Summary ........................................................................................................................ 8 Summary of Work Plan ......................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 12 Plan Requirements ............................................................................................................... 13 Performance Standards & Prohibitions ................................................................................. 13 Related Plans .................................................................................................................. 14-20 Ashland County Ordinances ................................................................................................. 21 Related Municipal, State, and Federal Regulations............................................................... 23 Chapter 2. Resource Assessment ........................................................................................................... 25 Geology ................................................................................................................................ 27 Soils ................................................................................................................................ 27-29 Ecological Landscapes ................................................................................................... 30-31 Vegetation and Land Cover .................................................................................................. 32 Climate Projections .......................................................................................................... 33-39 Agricultural Land ................................................................................................................... 40 Land Spreading .............................................................................................................. 44-45 Groundwater .................................................................................................................... 46-49 Surface Water Resources ..................................................................................................... 50 Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) / Exceptional Resource Waters (ERW) ..................... 54 Wetlands .............................................................................................................................. 56 Impaired Waters .............................................................................................................. 56-58 Shorelands ........................................................................................................................... 59 Transportation System .......................................................................................................... 59 Woodlands ........................................................................................................................... 61 Watershed and Surface Water Concerns .............................................................................. 61 Marengo River Watershed ............................................................................................... 61-63 Fish Consumption Advisories ............................................................................................... 64 Maslowski Beach Monitoring & Wisconsin Beach Monitoring Program ................................. 64 Invasive Species (Terrestrial & Aquatic) ............................................................................... 65 2014-2018 Plan Accomplishments .......................................................................................... 67-69 Chapter 3. Goals, Objectives and Activities ................................................................................. 70 Development of Plan Goals, Objectives and Activities .......................................................... 70 Implementation Strategies .................................................................................................... 70 Information & Education Strategy ......................................................................................... 71 GOAL 1 ................................................................................................................................ 72 GOAL 2 ................................................................................................................................ 74 GOAL 3 ................................................................................................................................ 79 GOAL 4 ................................................................................................................................ 81 Chapter 4. Plan Implementation ................................................................................................................ 82 Work Plan and Timeline .................................................................................. ……Appendix C Potential Funding Sources .................................................................................................... 84 Chapter 5. Monitoring & Evaluation ........................................................................................................ 85 Water Quality, Habitat, and Citizen Monitoring ................................................................. 85-86 Inventories ............................................................................................................................ 86 Project Tracking .................................................................................................................... 87 Plan Evaluation ..................................................................................................................... 87 References ............................................................................................................................................. 88 5 List of Ashland County Maps and Figures Figure 1. Farmland Preservation and Agricultural Enterprise Areas ....................................................... 17 Figure 2. Manure Storage Facilities ...................................................................................................... 22 Figure 3. Ashland County Boundary ...................................................................................................... 26 Figure 4. Soil Classifications .................................................................................................................. 29 Figure 5. Ecological Landscapes ........................................................................................................... 31 Figure 6. Land Cover Classifications ...................................................................................................... 32 Figure 7. Climate: Historical Change in Annual
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