Photo Credit - Wisconsin DNR
A wetland project in the Brillion State Wildlife Area will be happening after all.
Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin DNR announced that they will fund the project after first vetoing it in the 2025-27 state budget.
The north branch of the Manitowoc River will be dredged, and excess cattails will be removed to improve flow and prevent flooding.
Evers says the project will be funded by a mix of state Waterfowl Stamp funding awarded by the Waterfowl Advisory Committee in April, as well as a portion of the DNR’s Wildlife Management program’s Segregated Conservation funds.
According to Evers, he vetoed the project last week because of “a last-minute effort by the Wisconsin State Legislature that would have changed the funding source for this project, opting instead to use existing state resources the administration had already spent months planning to use on the wetland project.”
Republican State Senator Andre Jacque doesn’t see it that way.
While he said he’s glad to see the project move forward, “it’s clear the Governor needed to save face once the public became aware of the impact of his political games. Today’s announcement by the DNR proves how false, contradictory, and concocted both his veto message and his administration’s prior communications to legislators and residents regarding this project really were.”
The project will be created and done by a group called Wisconsin Ducks Unlimited and includes providing project design and leading construction contracting and oversight.
The DNR and Ducks Unlimited plan to begin engineering work for the project this fall, and dredging is anticipated to begin in 2026 pending engineering details, site conditions, and contracting.
