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Committee approves $10,000 pass‑through grant for DNR Chippewa River fish passage monitoring
Summary
The Sawyer County Land, Water, and Forest Resources Committee unanimously approved applying for a $10,000 state grant that county staff will pass to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to support a fish‑passage and tag‑monitoring project on the Chippewa River focused on lake sturgeon.
The Sawyer County Land, Water, and Forest Resources Committee unanimously approved a motion to apply for a $10,000 state grant to support a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fish‑passage project on the Chippewa River.
The motion to apply was made by Supervisor Kay Wilson and seconded by Supervisor Dale Magnuson; the committee voted in favor and the motion carried. Conservation staff said the grant would be a pass‑through: the county would apply for the $10,000 reimbursement and the DNR would perform the project. Staff told the committee the county would have no further financial obligation beyond participating in the grant application process.
Conservation staff described the project as a combination of structural fish‑passage work at a dam and a monitoring array that uses tags and readers to register fish passing upstream. The DNR will lead the design and seek other funding sources; staff said the DNR referenced a total project ballpark but did not supply a finalized overall budget. Staff estimated a two‑year funding and planning timeline, with construction or implementation not expected until 2027.
The committee heard that a similar tagging effort approximately a decade ago had failed because the equipment was out of date; staff said the current attempt uses updated equipment and is expected to provide usable monitoring data for lake sturgeon and, to a lesser extent, muskellunge.
Committee action
• Motion: County to apply for a $10,000 grant and pass the funds to the Wisconsin DNR for the Chippewa River fish passage and tag monitoring project. Mover: Supervisor Kay Wilson; Second: Supervisor Dale Magnuson. Outcome: Approved (motion carried).
What happens next
Staff said they will complete the grant application and, if approved, the county will reimburse the DNR via the pass‑through mechanism and the DNR will proceed with design and installation of the passage and monitoring equipment. Staff did not identify additional county financial contributions beyond the $10,000 pass‑through.
