Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission releases draft Regional Natural Areas Plan web tool; Walworth County staff on technical advisory committee

Walworth County staff and Land Conservation Committee members reviewed a draft amendment to the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commissions (SEWRPC) Regional Natural Areas Plan and an accompanying interactive web map during the Jan. 20 meeting.

A county staff member who serves on the plans technical advisory committee demonstrated the SEWRPC web tool and said the amendment, the second to the plan first adopted in 1997, inventories significant natural areas, critical species habitats, and geologic and archaeological features across the seven-county SEWRPC region. The staff member said SEWRPC released the draft and has created a public-facing map viewer that displays primary environmental corridors, isolated natural resource areas and related management strategies.

The staff member showed how clicking features on the map pulls up summary details such as extent in acres, whether an area has public access, and named critical species where present. The tool also links to referenced national and state databases and is intended to simplify review of what would otherwise be a long printed document.

Committee members noted a February 4, 1:30 p.m. technical demonstration by SEWRPCs planning and research committee and encouraged colleagues to participate; staff said the draft comment period had recently closed but the technical committee would continue relaying feedback into the process. Staff estimated SEWRPC expected to complete adoption of the final amendment in late spring to early summer 2025.