Public Notice ISSUED: 22 October 2018 EXPIRES: 21 November 2018

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1 SPONSOR: Wisconsin Wetland Banks, LLC Public Notice ISSUED: 22 October 2018 EXPIRES: 21 November 2018 REFER TO: SECTION:404 - Clean Water Act 1. WETLAND COMPENSATORY MITIGATION BANK PROPOSAL 2. SPECIFIC INFORMATION SPONSOR S ADDRESS: SPONSOR S AGENT Wisconsin Wetland Banks, LLC S15535 County Road I Eleva, WI Kyle Brockman PROJECT LOCATION: The project site is located in the E ½, SE ¼ of Section 21, Township 32 North, Range 7 East, in the Town of Merrill, Lincoln County, Wisconsin. The approximate coordinates are Latitude , Longitude BANK SERVICE AREA: The proposed service area is the Upper Wisconsin Bank Service Area. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: The Sponsor is proposing to develop the Prairie River Wetland Mitigation Bank (Site). The Site is approximately 80 acres in size, including upland buffer areas as shown on the enclosed figures labeled Page 1 of 8 through Page 8 of 8. NEED AND OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT: There is currently one federally approved wetland mitigation bank located in the Upper Wisconsin Bank Service Area (BSA) totaling approximately 6.38 available wetland credits. The purpose of this project is to create a private commercial mitigation bank to serve the need for wetland compensatory mitigation within the Upper Wisconsin BSA and throughout the Mississippi River Basin. Permanently converting agricultural land to prairie and wetlands will also improve water quality and restore/preserve habitat within the Prairie River watershed. The primary objective of the proposed bank is to generate approximately 53.8 approved wetland mitigation credits from a combination of re-establishment, rehabilitation, enhancement, and buffer. ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT: The Sponsor is proposing to re-establish wetlands within 41.1 acres of farmed wetland, 0.06 acres of residential area, and 0.85 acres of northern sedge meadow. Rehabilitation is proposed within 0.35 acres of wooded area and 1.61 acres of northern sedge meadow acres of northern sedge meadow will be enhanced to forested wetland. Wetland buffers will consist of the enhancement of 0.49 acres of wooded area to forested wetland, and 2.25 acres of farmed wetland, 1.76 acres of northern sedge meadow and 0.03 acres of residential to sedge meadow and fresh (wet) meadow. Upland buffer will consist of 20.2 acres of fallow agricultural field enhanced to upland prairie. As proposed, the bank could generate approximately 53.8 wetland credits.

2 Regulatory Branch () The Site is located in the Forest Transition Ecological Landscape, and the Lake Dubay HUC-8 watershed. Historically, this watershed has seen a historic loss of approximately 78,759 acres of wetland, with the largest historic loss of wetlands (19.96%) occurring in the Upper Wisconsin BSA. These characteristics make the Site suitable to compensate for wetland impacts in the Upper Wisconsin BSA and Mississippi River Basin to achieve the stated objectives of the proposed mitigation bank. HYDROLOGY: Restoring hydrology to the Site would involve the infilling of an extensive ditch network, as well as regrading man-made swales to pre-agricultural, nearly level conditions. There are no existing or anticipated rights of the landowner or others to remove water, soil, minerals or biomass from within or adjacent to the Site boundary. Wisconsin Wetland Banks, LLC assures that sufficient water rights exist to support a long-term, sustainable wetland mitigation bank on the Site. These modifications will be designed to avoid any unintended adverse off-site impacts. CURRENT LAND USES: The Site is comprised of an existing residence with agricultural lands currently managed for row crops and hay production, along with interspersed uplands and wetlands. The site is bordered by Prairie Road to the north and east, County Highway C to the south, and privately owned cropland and forestland to the west. COORDINATION WITH RESOURCE AGENCIES: This project has been coordinated with the following members of the Interagency Review Team (IRT) and other resource agencies: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 3. FEDERALLY-LISTED THREATENED OR ENDANGERED WILDLIFE OR PLANTS OR THEIR CRITICAL HABITAT None were identified by the bank sponsor or are known to exist in the action area. However, Waupaca County is within the known historic range for the following Federally-listed species: Northern Long-Eared Bat Gray Wolf Hibernates in caves and mines swarming in surrounding wooded areas in autumn. Roosts and forages in upland forests during spring and summer. Northern forested areas. This notice is being coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Any comments it may have concerning Federally-listed threatened or endangered wildlife or plants or their critical habitat will be considered in our final assessment of the described work. 4. JURISDICTION This proposal is being reviewed in accordance with the practices for documenting Corps jurisdiction under Sections 9 & 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act identified in Regulatory Guidance Letter HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL The Corps will review information on known cultural resources and/or historic properties within and adjacent to the project area. The Corps will also consider the potential effects of the project on any properties that have yet to be identified. The results of this review and the Corps determination of effect will be coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Officer independent of this public notice. Page 3 of 4

3 Regulatory Branch () The proposed plant communities include native sedge meadow, fresh (wet) meadow, wooded swamp, and upland prairie. Vegetation will be managed through the establishment of native, non-invasive plant species as well as the control of invasive non-native plant species. The anticipated design concept includes restoration of historic plant communities on the Site to pre-settlement vegetation conditions where feasible. The Site will be planted with native upland and wetland plant communities, which will serve as a protective buffer for the restoration areas against weeds, sedimentation, excess nutrients, agricultural chemicals and other impacts from surrounding lands. The anticipated acreages for each proposed plant community were determined based on preliminary wetland delineation and vegetative community mapping. Subsequent agency consultation and future hydrology monitoring will further determine the final acreages and credit ratios for each proposed plant community. A summary of the proposed compensation methods, proposed and existing plant community types and associated acreages are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Compensation Summary Restoration Type Compensation Proposed Type Current Type Acres Wetland Re-establishment Forested Wetland Residential 2.14 Sedge Meadow/Wet Farmed Wetland 41.1 Northern Sedge 0.85 Residential 0.06 Rehabilitation Forested Wetland Wooded 0.35 Sedge Meadow/Wet Northern Sedge 1.61 Enhancement Forested Wetland Northern Sedge 6.58 Wetland Buffer Enhancement Forested Wetland MWooded d 0.49 Sedge Meadow/Wet Farmed Wetland 2.25 Northern Sedge 1.76 Residential 0.03 Upland Buffer Enhancement Upland Prairie Agricultural 20.2 Total 77.4 OWNERSHIP AND LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Wisconsin Wetland Banks, LLC will maintain ownership of the Site and will be responsible for long-term management. is expected to perform all monitoring and maintenance activities for the Site on behalf of Wisconsin Wetland Banks, LLC. The long-term protection will occur through a conservation easement with an appropriate third party (e.g. State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources). It is anticipated that long-term management will primarily consist of invasive species control. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY AND QUALIFICATIONS: The Sponsor has retained the services of a consultant, (), to serve as their authorized agent for the proposed Bank. currently manages 10 mitigation banks throughout Wisconsin, that are active or in various developmental stages. has also worked with the WWCT program on the NFF Wetland Preserve ILF Site. ECOLOGICAL SUITABILITY: The Site has undergone extensive agricultural conversion and hydrologic alterations via man-made ditches and large swale complexes. The existing network of ditches converges in the south-central portion of the Site, where it then flows west off-site and eventually draining to the Prairie River, a trout stream. The entire Site, except for the ditches, is currently used for agricultural production. A small portion in the southeast portion of the Site is sparsely vegetated with woody species. Reed canary grass and other introduced grasses (forage species) were observed throughout the Site. A complete vegetative survey is planned for fall Page 2 of 4

4 Regulatory Branch () Any adverse effects on historic properties will be resolved prior to the Corps authorization of the work in connection with this project. 6. PUBLIC HEARING REQUESTS Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests for public hearings shall state, in detail, the reasons for holding a public hearing. A request may be denied if substantive reasons for holding a hearing are not provided or if there is otherwise no valid interest to be served. 7. REPLIES/COMMENTS Interested parties are invited to submit to this office written facts, arguments, or objections within 30 days of the date of this notice. These statements should bear upon the suitability of the location and the adequacy of the project and should, if appropriate, suggest any changes believed to be desirable. Comments received may be forwarded to the applicant. A copy of the full prospectus submitted by the Sponsor is available to the public for review upon request. Replies may be addressed to: Kyle Zibung Regulatory Branch St. Paul District Corps of Engineers 2926 Post Road, Suite B Stevens Point, WI Or, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT, call Kyle Zibung at the Stevens Point office of the Corps, telephone number To receive Public Notices by , go to: and add your information in the New Registration Box. Enclosure(s) Chad Konickson, Chief, Regulatory Branch Page 4 of 4

5 Lake Superior BSA South Fork Flambeau River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Oneida County Peshtigo River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Legend Prairie River AOI Page 1 of 8 Upper Wisconsin River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Forest County Price County Jump River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Lower Chippewa River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Lincoln County Langlade County Oconto County Oconto River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Taylor County Black River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Lake Dubay 8-Digit HUC ( ) Marathon County Upper Fox River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Menominee County St. Croix BSA Chippewa BSA Upper Wisconsin BSA Eau Claire River 8-Digit HUC ( ) Clark County Shawano County Upper Mississippi-Black-Root BSA Lower Wisconsin BSA Northwestern Lake Michigan BSA Fox BSA Rock BSA Wood County Castle-Rock 8-Digit HUC ( ) Portage County Waupaca County Outagamie County Upper Mississippi-Maquoketa-Plum BSA Southwestern Lake Michigan BSA Upper Illinois BSA Figure 2 Notes: WATERSHED MAP Miles SCALE (11 x 17): 1 in = 8.95 miles 9/11/2018 FIELD DATA COLLECTED BY: PROJECTION: Transverse Mercator COORDINATE SYSTEM: NAD 1983 UTM Zone 15N

6 Prairie Rd W Prairie Rd Legend AOI Roads Page 2 of 8 Co Rd C Figure 1 Notes: The 80-acre site is located northwest of the instersection of County Road C and Prairie Road in the Town of Merrill, Lincoln County, Wisconsin. The site is approximately 4 miles northeast of Merrill, Wisconsin. LOCATION MAP Feet FIELD DATA COLLECTED BY: SCALE (11 x 17): 1 in = feet PROJECTION: Transverse Mercator COORDINATE SYSTEM: NAD 1983 HARN WISCRS Lincoln County Feet 9/19/2018

7 Legend AOI Compensation Methodology Buffer - Enhancement, Forested Wetland, 0.25 Buffer - Enhancement, Sedge Meadow/Wet Meadow, 0.25 Wetland Restoration, Rehabilitation, Sedge Meadow/Wet Meadow Enhancement, Forested Wetland, 0.25 Re-establishment, Forested Wetland, 1 Rehabilitation, Forested Wetland, 0.75 Re-establishment, Sedge Meadow/Wet Meadow, 1 Enhancement, Upland, 0.25 Page 3 of 8 Figure 9. COMPENSATION MAP Feet FIELD DATA COLLECTED BY: SCALE (11 x 17): 1 in = 300 feet PROJECTION: Transverse Mercator COORDINATE SYSTEM: NAD WISCRS Lincoln Feet 9/19/2018

8 Ms Legend AOI Page 4 of 8 AoB Map Unit Symbol; Map Unit Name; Drainage Class AoB; Antigo silt loam, 1 to 6 percent slopes; Well drained FsB; Freeon-Sconsin silt loams, 2 to 6 percent slopes; Moderately well drained OsA ScB Ms MgB; Magnor-Ossmer silt loams, 0 to 4 percent slopes; Somewhat poorly drained Ms; Minocqua and Capitola mucks, 0 to 2 percent slopes; Poorly drained Ms NpC; Newood-Pence sandy loams, 6 to 15 percent slopes; Moderately well drained OsA OsA; Ossmer silt loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes; Somewhat poorly drained ScB; Sconsin silt loam, 1 to 6 percent slopes; Moderately well drained Drainage Type Ditch Swale MgB ScB FsB NpC Ms OsA MgB Figure 4 Notes: SOILS AND DRAINAGE MAP Feet FIELD DATA COLLECTED BY: SCALE (11 x 17): 1 in = feet PROJECTION: Transverse Mercator COORDINATE SYSTEM: NAD 1983 HARN WISCRS Lincoln County Feet 9/19/2018

9 Wisconsin Wetland Inventory Page 5 of 8 Legend Wetland Identifications and Confirmations Wetland Class Points Dammed pond Excavated pond Filled excavated pond Filled/drained wetland Wetland too small to delineate Filled Points Wetland Class Areas Wetland Upland Filled Areas Wetland Class Points Dammed pond Excavated pond Filled excavated pond Filled/drained wetland Wetland too small to delineate Filled Points Wetland Class Areas Wetland Upland Filled Areas Potentially Restorable Wetlands (2016) Municipality State Boundaries County Boundaries Major Roads Interstate Highway State Highway US Highway County and Local Roads County HWY Local Road Railroads Tribal Lands Rivers and Streams Intermittent Streams Lakes and Open water 0.1 NAD_1983_HARN_Wisconsin_TM Miles 1: 3,960 DISCLAIMER: The information shown on these maps has been obtained from various sources, and are of varying age, reliability and resolution. These maps are not intended to be used for navigation, nor are these maps an authoritative source of information about legal land ownership or public access. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding accuracy, applicability for a particular use, completeness, or legality of the information depicted on this map. For more information, see the DNR Legal Notices web page: Notes Figure 5 Index to EN_Image_Basemap_Leaf_Off

10 Legend AOI Elevation (ft) High : Page 6 of 8 Low : Figure 6 Notes: DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL Feet FIELD DATA COLLECTED BY: SCALE (11 x 17): 1 in = feet PROJECTION: Transverse Mercator COORDINATE SYSTEM: NAD 1983 HARN WISCRS Lincoln County Feet 9/13/2018

11 Legend Page 7 of 8 AOI Figure 7 Notes: HILLSHADE MAP Feet FIELD DATA COLLECTED BY: SCALE (11 x 17): 1 in = feet PROJECTION: Transverse Mercator COORDINATE SYSTEM: NAD 1983 HARN WISCRS Lincoln County Feet 9/13/2018

12 Legend AOI Baseline Land Use Agricultural Farmed Wetland Northern Sedge Meadow Residential Wooded Page 8 of 8 Figure 8. BASELINE LAND USE MAP Feet FIELD DATA COLLECTED BY: SCALE (11 x 17): 1 in = feet PROJECTION: Transverse Mercator COORDINATE SYSTEM: NAD WISCRS Lincoln Feet 9/19/2018