WISCONSIN—Almost all activities on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest depend on roads, trails and waterways – from management of fish and wildlife habitat to timber hauling and recreational access. That’s why the forest – using the Good Neighbor Authority – partners with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and others to assess and improve stream crossings that provide safe and sustainable access to the Northwoods.

“Everything we do and everyone who visits the forest – for work or play – depends on climate-resilient infrastructure,” said Forest Supervisor Paul Strong. “The roads and trails we improve today will support our local rural economies and our outdoor pastimes for years to come.”
Recently, the Forest Service and the Department of Natural Resources partnered with Ashland and Taylor County Highway Departments to replace and improve stream crossings.

In Ashland County, partners removed an abandoned dam from a Namekagon Lake tributary that crosses Forest Road 191. The project included a new larger culvert installed at a lower elevation that allows the water levels to equalize up and downstream of the crossing. This provided more stability to the road and allows the stream to flow naturally.
In Taylor County, partners replaced six stream crossings. Some of the crossings support a new snowmobile connector trail between Taylor and Price counties, while other improvements will allow a logger to harvest aspen trees northwest of Medford. The new culverts will spare the loggers from building temporary stream crossings to transport equipment and timber.

“We’re pleased to be a part of this effort to benefit local residents and area tourism,” said Ben Stanfley, Taylor County highway commissioner. “This type of collaboration makes it possible to deliver more for the public good than any one of us could do on our own.”

The national forest and DNR are also working together on inventorying stream crossings under a Good Neighbor Authority agreement. “It’s all one big interdependent system across the landscape,” said DNR Chief State Forester Heather Berklund. “When we improve something as simple as a culvert, we’re helping restore water quality and forest health, which supports the forest products industry and recreation as well.”

Given the project size, the expected completion date is fall 0f 2023. “We’ll report our findings on an online stream crossing dashboard where other agencies also share similar information. Data sharing allows for collaboration among agencies and provides transparency to the public on the state of public infrastructure,” said Forest Hydrologist Chris Ester.

“There’s a lot of infrastructure on the national forest severely affected by flooding,” said Jon Simonsen, DNR environmental analysis and review specialist. “We’re using best management practices to accommodate natural river characteristics to withstand severe floods carrying not only water, but woody debris and sediment.”

DNR contracted a third-party to complete the inventory of all road and trail stream crossings on the national forest. The inventory will assess how the crossings are supporting aquatic passage, risk of failure and will help prioritize future stream crossing projects.