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What we are doing

Safeguarding our shorelands

In 1997, the department underwent an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the shoreland program in meeting the legislative goals of protecting water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and natural scenic beauty.

Rulemaking process

As a result of these assessments, the department initiated the rulemaking process to address the concerns of counties, property owners and the issues described in the 1997 assessments.

After a 10-year rulemaking process, the shoreland zoning standards in NR 115 were approved by the legislature. In 2011, the legislature requested that the department complete an Economic Impact Analysis of the revised standards in NR 115. The 1997 assessments and economic impact analysis may be found below.

Publications from Wisconsin