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Ashwaubenon crews advance planning on ACDC creek-restoration projects; construction contingent on NRDA funding
Summary
Planning for two connected creek-restoration efforts — the Ashwaubenon Creek and Dutchman’s Creek projects (ACDC) — is about 60% complete, and village staff told the Park and Recreation Board that construction depends on NRDA council funding.
Planning for two connected creek-restoration efforts — the Ashwaubenon Creek and Dutchman’s Creek projects (the board referred to them as the ACDC projects) — is about 60% complete, and staff said the work relies on external grant funding and multi-agency approvals.
Rex (Park and Recreation staff) told the board the projects are being advanced by consultant Stantec and will be presented to the NRDA council (Natural Resource Damage Assessment) for funding consideration. "It's a 100% grant," Rex said of the NRDA funding structure; the village’s contribution would primarily be staff time and coordination.
Why it matters: The projects are designed to restore aquatic habitat, increase fish-spawning areas, add pollinator plantings and improve public access; if funded, construction would bring multi-year work to park shorelines and trails and involve coordination with Brown County and museum property owners.
Project elements described to the board include: - Installation of multiple engineered shoals and concrete culverts to anchor large ash-tree trunks placed in the water; the trunks are weighted and covered with rock to form spawning habitat. - Shoreline "step-downs" — stone steps leading to the water — to improve public access and viewing. - Several pollinator gardens and wood-duck and purple-martin nesting houses. - Inclusion of a kayak-launch element in the project scope.
Staff described the timeline and approvals: Stantec is producing plans this winter and spring; the DNR and Fish and Wildlife will review and the NRDA council controls the funding decision. If the NRDA council approves funding, staff’s goal is to bid construction in the fall; Rex said construction would likely span two seasons and, based on current expectations, most NRDA-related construction would not begin until 2026 (a 2026–27 project timeline was discussed).
The projects involve multiple property owners and jurisdictions: Dutchman’s Creek work touches museum property and land owned by Brown County, and staff said monthly coordination meetings include county and museum representatives. The board was told that project maps will be coordinated with the village’s trail-extension planning so steps and trail alignments match.
No board action was taken on the ACDC planning report at the meeting; staff said they will return with plan updates and, if funding is approved, construction bids.
