Photos

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Shoreline and shallow water areas are the cradle of lakes’ productivity and biodiversity. Scores of tiny plants and animals live their entire lives within the rooted aquatic plant beds in shallow water. Small fish, frogs, turtles and other wildlife find food, hiding places and spawning grounds in the plants, rocks, downed trees, undercut banks, and other features found in this zone. Songbirds, loons, eagles and other waterfowl nest in plants or trees.

Rooted aquatic plants in shallow water provide food, hiding places and spawning areas for fish.

Young muskies rely on submerged trees and logs for hiding places and to find food. Piers, beaches and other shoreline development often eliminate or reduce such important habitat. A 2002 Wisconsin study of musky spawning success on northern lakes found that good naturally reproducing muskellunge populations have on average only 20 percent of their shoreline developed while poor muskellunge populations have on average 40 percent of their shoreline developed.

Wisconsin's populations of Blanding's turtle, a state endangered species, along with bullfrogs, pickerel frogs, and other frog and reptile species, are declining due to seawalls, riprap and other projects that eliminate the shoreline habitat they need for food, shelter and hiding places, and make it difficult for them to move from water onto land.

Clear span bridges are eligible for a general DNR permit and a 30-day review if they meet certain design, location and construction standards.

While dredging by hand or in an established farm drain district can be exempt from permitting, most mechanical dredging with bulldozers, backhoes or hydraulic dredges to remove sediment from lake or stream bottoms requires a permit and review.

Riprap, placing large rocks along the shoreline, reduces the diversity and stability of the fish and wildlife community by eliminating the complex habitat they depend on. Repairing and replacing existing riprap doesn't need a permit if people meet location and design standards.

Fish cribs, like the one shown here, and other fish and wildlife habitat structures do not need a DNR permit if they are designed, located and built to standards.

Replacing culverts that had previously received a DNR permit and replacing culverts with a new one up to 24 inches in diameter do not need a DNR permit if the projects meet standards for their design, location and contruction.