Categories: LocalNews

Design to begin on Pike River Rearing Pond

Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) has received a $45,000 grant from the Fund for Lake Michigan to help the Kenosha Sport Fishing and Conservation Association (KSFCA) and the City of Kenosha improve the natural area around the salmon and trout rearing pond near the mouth of the Pike River.

The design phase of program to restore the area has also received funding from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and We Energies Foundation

The rearing pond improvemnts will deliver a number of benefits.

The Rearing Pond and surrounding park land are located east of Seventh Avenue along the Pike River before it exits into Lake Michigan. The Rearing Pond raises and imprints juvenile trout and salmon so that mature fish then return to the Pike River to spawn. Fishing for trout and salmon creates recreation and revenue for the City of Kenosha and provides an important connection to the Pike River – a Lake Michigan watershed.

Root-Pike WIN and the KSFCA have set out to fortify the rapidly eroding stream bank along the Pike River, create a small outdoor education “patio,” convert unused turf areas and remove invasive species to erosion-reducing native plants, and install swales to lessen the stormwater impacts to the pond, as well as provide better fishing opportunities, and canoe/kayak access.

Built in the late 1960s to raise salmon to control the over-population of alewife and other small bait fish, the pond is currently threatened by environmental impacts on all sides. The first phase of the project will address these issues with resilient solutions that also enhance the space’s recreational opportunities. Strand & Associates will lead the design and engineering process that should take about a year to complete.

When complete, the near the Pike River mouth will have a fortified stream bank that stops the erosion threatening the rearing ponds stability, a replanted native buffer that stabilizes the bank and provides a habitat for threatened pollinators, and a storm water management feature to mitigate runoff pollutants before they enter the river.

The Rearing Pond is also being redesigned so that salmon and trout fingerlings have a more protective shelter, and a durable and more attractive enclosure. Kenosha’s Partners in Design Architects have already begun volunteering design time to create the new Rearing Pond enclosure concept. 

Sponsored Content

Recent Posts

New York Times bestselling author JENEVA ROSE coming to Kenosha!

KENOSHA – Blue House Books is thrilled to host NYT-bestselling author Jeneva Rose in Kenosha…

2 hours ago

5 Ways to Support Small Businesses During the Holidays

The holiday season offers a wonderful opportunity to support small businesses. From shopping locally to…

2 hours ago

Community State Bank’s Annual Gift2Giving Campaign Tops $15,000

Seventeen Local Nonprofits Set to Receive Donations

2 hours ago

‘True heroes’: Kenosha deputies awarded Carnegie Medal for heroic Lake Michigan rescue

Two Kenosha County sheriff's deputies were honored with a Carnegie Medal, one of the nation’s…

1 day ago

Unifying Voices, Amplifying Impact: United Way of Kenosha County Raises Over $20,000 at Live UNITED Spectacular Gala!

Kenosha, WI – November 20 – United Way of Kenosha County’s annual gala, The Live…

1 day ago

Uniquely Wisconsin Video on Kenosha Comets Wins Emmy Award: Kenosha County’s “Field of Dreams: AAGPBL 80th Reunion” Recognized

Uniquely Wisconsin has received an Emmy Award for a story featuring Kenosha County’s “Field of…

1 day ago

This website uses cookies.