DNR Ramps Up Effort To Increase Public Access To Trout Streams

Anglers may soon be able to access more public lands along Wisconsin’s trout streams, as the state steps up its efforts to acquire easements from landowners.

Through the Stream Bank Protection Program, the Department of Natural Resources purchases easements from landowners. The DNR takes over the land management in exchange for public access to streams that are popular with anglers. The program has been around a long time, but in the last state budget, the Legislature gave it a financial boost.

The DNR now has a goal to acquire 100 miles of stream bank easements in the next year and a half, and endeavor that’s anticipated to cost $6.3 million. The DNR is concentrating efforts around the Driftless Region and a smaller area near Kettle Moraine State Forest, where trout and bass streams are abundant.

“These are some of our highest-quality streams that represent some of our premier fisheries,” said Paul Cunningham, a DNR fisheries ecologist. “The goal of the program is really to purchase angling and recreational access to these streams and protect water quality and fish habitat as well.”

The DNR has had plenty of help identifying potential sellers, including from Trout Unlimited.

Western Great Lakes Conservation Coordinator Duke Welter is working with landowners in Vernon County. He said it’s a good place to start because of the area’s strong conservation history.

“What are we going to pass on? Are we going to pass on a healthy stream (where) our grandkids will have access to fish?” said Welter. “It’s a project now, but it’s a legacy that we’re hopeful people want to leave.”

Welter said the fishing industry already gives small Driftless communities an economic boost, and that adding more public land for anglers could help it grow.