Reviving a watershed mission

One of the largest land features in Ozaukee County is the Ulao Creek Watershed that most people only know of as an unusual, hard-to-pronounce name they see on road signs east of I-43.

But the Ulao (yoo-LAY-oh) Creek Watershed, a 16-square-mile area mostly in the town and village of Grafton, is of vast importance to area wildlife and the people who live there.

And so, like any living thing, the watershed needs to be nurtured and cared for, especially in these days of rapid development.

“We’re all like-minded landowners,” said Mitch Vincent, president of the Ulao Creek Partnership, a group of mostly landowners that was launched in 1995 for the purpose of taking care of the watershed.

Over the years, the group has seen increased water levels, a proliferation of invasive plant species and the loss of ash trees due to the emerald ash borer. 

“A lot of landowners haven’t been able to access their land as they used to. We’re trying to figure out why this is happening,” Vincent said. “It’s not just here. Some of these things are happening across the state.”

The partnership lagged after one of its founders, Tim Kaul, died in 2012 and other members got older.

But Vincent, Vice President Rich Weber and his wife Laura says things are “picking up” now.

“We lost the momentum when Tim died,” Vincent said. “But (Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Director) Andrew Struck really kept this organization going.”

With the Partnership revived over the last two to four years, activity has increased, Vincent said. 

That includes working with Ozaukee County to create a nature preserve off Ulao Road, helping landowners obtain grants to combat invasive species, participating in a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee research project and collaborating with other organizations.

“We’ve been doing a fair amount building on the great work of the founders,” Vincent said. 

The watershed includes the nine-mile Ulao Creek and the 490-acre Ulao swamp.

According to the county website, the watershed contains 28% of the wetlands suitable for northern pike spawning in the Milwaukee River Watershed and provides fish refuge from drought and low-flow conditions in the form of pools and deep runs. 

Unfortunately, local farmers and landowners over the decades have dredged and straightened 90% of the creek’s channel, separating it from floodplains and wetlands and damaging local habitat for native fish, wildlife and migratory bird species.

The partnership and its board are working to plant trees, help remeander waterways and remove invasive plants. 

The partnership in the last couple years has applied for grants from the state Department of Natural Resources and contracted with a water management consultant to develop program and funding mechanisms.

The group has a mailing list of 60 individuals and groups who support what it’s doing.

Vincent was awarded a grant to remove invasive species on his land, and he said one of the group’s goals is to help other landowners in the watershed obtain funding to do similar projects.

The group’s members also have planted more than 1,000 trees with the help of Chief River Nursery in Grafton.

The group also is working with local developers to help manage their projects with the watershed in mind.

Rich Weber, whose career included time as an environmental engineer, has collaborated with organizations, collecting water samples for the DNR.

His work has shown increased chloride levels in water ways from road salt and probably from hard surfaces such as parking lots and roads in new developments.

“There has been a definite impact,” he said.  “The more pavement, the more runoff.”

The group is collaborating with UW-Milwaukee’s Geoscience Department and  a graduate student there to research connections between surface water and ground water.

Most of the watershed is on private land and inaccessible to the public.

One exception is the federal Bluewing Waterfowl Production area near the intersection of Highway C and Ulao Parkway South. It’s largely wetland, however, and inaccessible.

  Another more visible site is the Ulao Creek Nature Preserve County Park, a 400-yard long stretch of woods between Gateway Drive and the Union Pacific railroad tracks south of Ulao Road.

The county Parks and Planning Department has been improving the property for several years through stream restoration, native tree and shrub planting and invasive species management.

The hope is that it eventually will include a trail system and small parking area.

The group has its work cut out for it, but with enough volunteers and supports, they say it can be done.

“We’re all interested landowners and looking for those who are like-minded,” Vincent said. “It doesn’t cost a lot of money and sometimes it doesn’t cost any money.” 

For more information, visit www.ulaocreek.org.