DNR Seeking Public Comment For Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan Update

MADISON, Wis. – As part of the process to update the Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in partnership with the United States Forest Service (USFS) and Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (LCO), is seeking public comment about the Chippewa Flowage.

The Chippewa Flowage is a 15,300-acre impoundment in central Sawyer County, 15 miles east of Hayward. Dotted with about 200 undeveloped islands, it is Wisconsin’s third-largest lake and boasts a highly irregular, wooded and generally undeveloped 233-mile shoreline.

The islands and surrounding shorelands on the flowage are owned by public, tribal and private landowners. The flowage supports a wide range of popular recreational opportunities, is important to the local economy and includes culturally important sites and features.

In 2000, the DNR, USFS and LCO ratified the inaugural Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan. The plan was collaboratively developed to provide information and guidelines for each party to consider in planning, designing and implementing management activities on their properties and other areas within their respective jurisdictions in the area. The DNR, USFS and LCO are now working together to review and update the plan.

Members of the public are invited to engage in the early stages of this unique joint agency planning process by providing input on how they use the flowage and the topics they consider important to update the management plan.

Comments can be submitted through Jan. 31, 2025, using the following methods:

1. Submit your comments using an online form.
2. Submit a hard-copy public input form. This form can be downloaded online and mailed to:

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
C/O René Buys, DNR Property Planner
101 S. Webster St. PO Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707

3. Contact one of the following individuals:
   • René Buys, DNR property planner, at ReneJ.Buys@wisconsin.gov or 608-982-1688
   • Brett McConnell, LCO environmental specialist, at Brett.McConnell@lco-nsn.gov or 715-634-0102 (ext. 7726)
   • N. Ginger Molitor, USFS District NEPA planner, at Nicole.G.Molitor@usda.gov or 715-638-0272

The planning team will review and consider all comments. When a draft of the updated plan is available, another public comment period will be initiated.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.