Struck honored for conservation work in county

Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck was recognized last week for his conservation work in the county, such as easing fish passage in local streams and preserving woods, prairies and other land.

Struck was one of five recipients of Land Conservation Leadership awards from Gathering Waters: Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts. The group presents the awards annually to “honor individuals and organizations that devote their time and talents to protecting Wisconsin’s land, water and wildlife.”

Struck received the Harold “Bud” Jordahl Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jordahl was a director of the state Department of Natural Resources, a regional director of the U.S. Department of Interior and was a member of the committee that created Earth Day. He also was a founder of Gathering Waters.

In its press release, Gathering Waters lauded Struck.

“Struck has dedicated more than 25 years of his career to preserving the natural landscapes and waterways of Ozaukee County. His visionary leadership has helped secure funding for some very special Lake Michigan coastal properties, including Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve, Forest Beach Migratory Preserve and Clay Bluffs Cedar Gorge Nature Preserve.”

The group also noted that Struck has spearheaded the Ozaukee County Fish Passage Program that removes stream impediments for migrating fish and has reconnected more than 200 miles of streams in the Milwaukee River watershed and direct tributaries to Lake Michigan and more than 11,000 acres of wetlands and floodplains to Lake Michigan.

To do so, Struck utilized more than $18 million in federal, state and local grants, working with nonprofit groups.

Affected streams include Mineral Creek in Port Washington, Mole Creek in the Town of Saukville, Sucker Brook in the towns of Belgium and Port Washington and Ulao Creek in the Town of Grafton.

The fish passage program scored a landmark achievement in March when a lake sturgeon made history by navigating two Milwaukee River fishways and swimming farther upstream than any sturgeon had in more than a century.

The success of the so-called Return the Sturgeon program hinges on allowing the sturgeon to reach the spawning grounds miles up river in Grafton. The Ozaukee County Fish Passage Project and similar efforts in Milwaukee County have proven critical to the effort.

Struck, the group noted, also has overseen the development of the county’s Farmland Preservation Plan, “which identified over 54,000 acres of agricultural land for long-term protection.”

In addition, Struck was a founder of Bird City Wisconsin, “which launched the Bird City Network, now spanning 300 communities in 13 states and three Latin American countries.”

“Andrew’s ‘partnership-first’ philosophy has made him one of Wisconsin’s most effective conservation leaders. His spirit of persistence and cross-disciplinary leadership have resulted in a lasting legacy of environmental stewardship.”

Struck also has been instrumental in creating the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, which stretches from Milwaukee County to Sheboygan County, and is currently overseeing the development of the Oxbow Nature Preserve in Saukville, where ancient Indian artifacts have been found and which will be incorporated into a new county park.

The park is being developed in conjunction with the reconstruction of Highway W to reduce flooding from the Milwaukee River.

Award winners will be presented with the Land Conservation Leadership Awards at local events throughout the year.

Gathering Waters: Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts is a nonprofit group that helps land trusts, landowners and communities permanently preserve woodlands and other natural areas.