Habitat Restoration Planned in Kletzsch Park

Kletzsch Park Dam and fish passage. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Parks is planning to restore the habitat for native plants and wildlife in Kletzsch Park.

The project is one of many in the Milwaukee Estuary designed to remediate some of the negative impacts that settlement and heavy industry have had. Parks expects the effort can improve habitat for a number of forest and wetland-dwelling birds, as well as fish and amphibians.

The Milwaukee estuary — made up by the confluence of the Milwaukee, Kinnickinnic and Menomonee rivers — is considered an Area of Concern (AOC) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The designation was created in 1987 to identify environmentally degraded areas along the Great Lakes.

Milwaukee County Parks is one of a handful of governmental and non-profit organizations working on AOC projects. There are dozens of sites, including Kletzsch Park, within the Milwaukee Estuary that need to be addressed before it can be delisted.

The 112-acre park in Glendale sits on the western bank of the Milwaukee River. In 2023, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) completed a fish passage around the Kletzsch Park Dam. The project, which was part of the AOC effort, opened up 54 miles of spawning areas and tributary streams north of the dam for native fish species like northern pike, sturgeon and bass.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the EPA have both approved Parks’ general plan for the habitat restoration. Now, with $325,000 in funding from the DNR, Parks is moving the project forward and looking for a consultant to assist with detailed planning for the habitat project.

Restoration projects can take years from planning to implementation. Parks, which manages more than 10,000 acres of land, is currently working on a number habitat projects across the county that will contribute to delisting the estuary, including habitat work in the Little Menomonee River Parkway, the county grounds, the Milwaukee River Greenway and Kohl Park.

Other AOC projects include a major redevelopment of South Shore Beach in Bay View, a fish passage through the Estabrook Park Dam being designed and constructed by MMSD and a massive riverbed and harbor dredging project.

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