Sawyer County committee approves applying for $10,000 pass-through grant for Chippewa River fish-passage project

The Sawyer County Land, Water, and Forest Resources Committee voted unanimously to authorize staff to apply for a $10,000 state grant that would be passed through to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a fish-passage project on the Chippewa River.

Committee members were told the DNR plans to modify a dam and install monitoring readers to detect tagged lake sturgeon as they move upstream. Conservation staff said the DNR will lead the project and seeks the county’s assistance in applying for the eligible county reimbursement grant; if awarded, the grant funds would be given back to the DNR to pay project costs.

Conservation staff said the total project is expected to rely on multiple funding sources and that the $10,000 county-eligible grant would function as a reimbursement to the county, which would then provide the money to the DNR. The staff presentation noted the project timeline anticipates funding decisions in 2026 and construction in 2027. The committee was told a similar monitoring attempt about a decade ago failed because the equipment was outdated; the current effort uses modern tag-readers and is aimed primarily at lake sturgeon (other species such as muskellunge were mentioned as secondary beneficiaries).

Supervisor Kay Wilson moved to authorize the county to apply for the grant; Supervisor Dale Magnuson seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote with the committee chair stating "Aye" and the chair saying the motion carries.

The committee packet included a proposed resolution authorizing the committee chair to sign and named staff (Natalie and another staff member) as the county’s representatives for the application. Staff said the DNR and UW Extension would assist in writing the grant application.