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Fenwood Creek watershed work nears grant closeout; pilot payments and conservation projects continue
Summary
County staff reported closeout of a DNR-funded Fenwood Creek watershed phase (2023–2026) with nearly 1,000 acres of cover crops, reduced tillage and multiple waterways installed; a five-farm pilot program that paid incentives for reduced phosphorus continues with participants reporting they will maintain practices.
Marathon County staff told the Environmental Resources Committee on Oct. 14 that the second phase (2023to2026) of Fenwood Creek watershed work funded with a DNR grant is nearing closeout and that the program has delivered multiple conservation installations and measured reductions in phosphorus and sediment.
Staff reported the Fenwood program supported roughly 1,000 acres of cover crops, 146 acres of reduced tillage, several grass waterways, manure pit abandonments and other practices under a roughly $350,000 DNR grant. Planned closeout work for 2026 includes four additional waterways, another manure-pit abandonment and additional cropping practices.
A related pilot program within the Fenwood watershed provided incentive payments to five farms that agreed to reduce their phosphorus-index values below state targets. Staff said incentive payments in the program have already been reduced by about 60% from initial levels; the five participating farms have continued the practices with little or reduced payments and told staff they do not plan to revert to previous practices.
Staff also described outreach successes, including a 2023 public event that drew roughly 120 landowners, and emphasized the program's technical work: designing waterways, obtaining permits for sites with hydric soils, and coordinating contractor work on waterways and manure-pit abandonments.
Why it matters: Fenwood Creek has been treated as a model watershed: the work combines cost-share grants, incentive pilots and technical assistance that staff described as generating measurable water-quality improvements. Staff said they will provide a final report to the committee when the grant period closes in 2026.
No committee action was taken Oct. 14; staff requested continued referrals of sites and landowners to the Fenwood program where appropriate.
