By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
The East Troy Village Board meet in a Committee of the Whole July 27 to hear about the weed removal and future vegetation options along the Honey Creek in the area of the former lakebed.
The board and residents listened to a presentation from Andy Nelson, president of Natural Resource Innovations, about what type of trees and plants can be used along the restored creek to maintain and beautify the wetland area.
Nelson discussed the different options for trees, shrubs, plants and flowers, which vary depending on topography and water content of the soil they occupy. He said the objectives of the Vegetation Management Plan were to identify desired vegetation communities, select preferred implementation approaches and consider the maintenance and management of the needs of the area.
“If things move forward with the dam removal there has been a lot of interest as to what it will look like,” Nelson said. There are several community types possible for the reclaimed impoundment area and hopefully this helps folks envision the mix of vegetation community types out there.”
Village Board President Scott Seager reminded the residents in attendance the purpose of the COW meeting was only to discuss they types of vegetation possible whether the dam is there or not, and the board would not be making any decisions at the meeting.
He added that while the Village Board has made the decision to remove the dam, the final authority for that lies with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and there would still be a public hearing with the village, DNR and residents before the village receives any approval to remove the dam.
Village of East Troy Department of Public Works Director Jason Equitz said he has been in discussion with the DNR about holding the public hearing in the near future.
For the full article, pick up a copy of this week’s East Troy Times/News.
