Award funds to the county of ozaukee to complete a floodway reconnection construction project on the milwaukee river

The primary goals of the project are to reconnect important milwaukee river riverine, floodplain and wetland habitats, which includes a currently isolated oxbow, and to alleviate flooding of the active roadway by reconstructing county highway (CTH) w in the village of saukville, ozaukee county, WI. A secondary goal of the project is to improve the quality of the adjacent riparian, floodplain, and wetland habitat through the removal of invasive species and planting of native vegetation to increase ecological value for native migratory fish, birds, wildlife, and pollinators. The proposed objectives and activities of this project include 1. Acquire property (or portions of) adjacent to the highway right of way and project area along the milwaukee river for implementation of project plans (this action will not be completed with USFWS funding) 2. Design and engineer a new CTH w roadway with sufficient flood capacity that allows the reconnection of the isolated floodplain and oxbow 3. Roadway reconstruction that prioritizes aquatic organism passage and riverine connectivity into historic floodplain, wetland, and oxbow habitat, to maximize suitable hydroperiod using appropriately sized culverts 4. Habitat improvements through planting of native vegetation, invasive vegetation removals, and installation of aquatic and semi aquatic features to improve fish and wildlife habitat and overall ecologic function of the watershed 5. Conduct environmental monitoring to document the long term success of the project in the form of fisheries monitoring, pre and post construction, to assess the current fish community and utilization of the restored floodplain, as well as targeted avian and wildlife monitoring, to the extent practical, through visual, acoustic and or point count surveys.expected deliverables and outcomes include improved road safety and infrastructure through flood resilient construction designs, reconnection and restoration of important aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and invasive species removal and control. The intended beneficiaries include all public stakeholders who use CTH w, recreation river users, and the local governments who will benefit from the updated and improved infrastructure.sub recipients of this award will include the ozaukee county highway department who will be contracted to complete the highway construction.