Public Notice ISSUED: September 17, 2018 EXPIRES: October 18, 2018

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1 SPONSOR: Southern Wisconsin Land Conservancy (SWLC) Public Notice ISSUED: September 17, 2018 EXPIRES: October 18, 2018 REFER TO: MVP RAN SECTION: Clean Water Act 1. WETLAND COMPENSATORY MITIGATION BANK PROPOSAL 2. SPECIFIC INFORMATION SPONSOR S ADDRESS: SPONSOR S AGENT Southern Wisconsin Land Conservancy N673 Mill Road Juda, Wisconsin Applied Ecological Services, Inc. P.O. Box 256 Brodhead, Wisconsin PROJECT LOCATION: The project site is located in Section 15, Township 2 North, Range 9 East, Green County, Wisconsin. The approximate UTM coordinates are N , E Latitude , Longitude BANK SERVICE AREA: The proposed bank service area is the Rock service area. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: The sponsor is proposing to develop the Sugar River Wetland Mitigation Bank. The sponsor owns a 57-acre public conservation site called Alice May Putnam Sanctuary. The proposed bank site is the southern 25 acres of the sanctuary, including buffer areas. See the enclosed figures labeled MVP RAN Page 1 of 5 through Page 5 of 5. NEED AND OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT: The goal of the proposed Sugar River mitigation bank is to restore 19.3 acres of turf/lawn to sedge meadow (9.6 acres), wet mesic prairie (2.2 acres), and mesic prairie buffer (7.5 acres), and enhance 5.7 acres of lowland wetland and open water oxbow to sedge meadow (3 acres) and emergent community (i.e. mudflats (2.7 acres). As proposed, the bank is expected to generate approximately credits. The bank would service both public and private entities who may require compensatory mitigation credits in the Rock Bank Service Area. The site would also restore the function and value of wetlands for recycling nutrients and improve water quality to the Sugar River and the Lower Sugar River watersheds. ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT: The sponsor proposes to enhance and restore the site by disabling drain tile according to NRCS standards, backfilling small ditches within the golf course, removing sections of berms previously used for flood protection, and managing vegetation through herbicide treatments, mowing, burning, and planting desired native species. OWNERSHIP AND LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: The bank would be managed perpetually by the sponsor. After the bank is completed and credits sold, the land itself may be conveyed to the City of Brodhead. If this occurs, the City of Brodhead (COB) would act as the long-term site manager. At that time, the bank would be government-owned by the COB and protected from future developments as a public conservation park. An endowment would ensure that monitoring and management of the park

2 Regulatory Branch (File No. MVP RAN) would be conveyed and held in trust with Southern Wisconsin Land Conservancy (SWLC) and the COB for covering long term management. SWLC and the COB would be the long term managers. Also, a deed restriction or conservation easement would be established for the Alice May Putnam Sanctuary prior to the transfer to COB. SWLC would be the holder of the deed restriction or conservation easement. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY AND QUALIFICATIONS: Members of SWLC have been active in the management of Decatur Lake and private conservation properties within the area of the proposed mitigation bank. AES has been involved in the design and permitting of two dozen wetland mitigation banks. The experience of SWLC and AES and the characteristics of the proposed site (soil, topography, current land use, and presence of wetlands and other waters) are indications of project success. ECOLOGICAL SUITABILITY: The site is ecologically connected to the Sugar River, Decatur Lake, the Mill Race, and protected oak forest and savanna remnants. Hydric soils and soils with a seasonally high water table are located on the site. The site would also extend an existing greenway, Pearl Island, and would provide a continuous stretch of land that would provide ecological benefits such as improved water quality and sediment, minor flood attenuation, and wildlife food and habitat. HYDROLOGY: Restoring hydrology to the site would involve reconnecting the land to the Sugar River/Decatur Lake floodplain by removing sections of small berms previously used as flood protection for the golf course. In addition, shallow ditches would be backfilled and drain tile would be disabled. There are no existing or anticipated rights to drain water through the property, from or onto the site, or impound water on the bank site. CURRENT LAND USES: The proposed site was previously the Decatur Lake Golf course which was constructed in Currently, the golf course is no longer in operation and the land has been planted in a crop of oil seed sunflowers. The site is bounded on the west and south by the Sugar River; the east by Golf Course Road; and the north by residential lands. North of the proposed bank site is the remainder of the Alice May Putnam Sanctuary. COORDINATION WITH RESOURCE AGENCIES: This project has been coordinated with the following members of the Interagency Review Team (IRT): The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 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, Green County is within the known historic range for the following Federally-listed species: Northern Long-Eared Bat Hibernates in caves and mines swarming in surrounding wooded areas in autumn. Roosts and forages in upland forests during spring and summer. Whooping Crane Open wetlands and lakeshores. Mead s Milkweed Upland tallgrass prairie or glade/barren habitat. Prairie bush-clover Dry to mesic prairies, with gravelly soil. Page 2 of 3

3 Regulatory Branch (File No. MVP RAN) 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. 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: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District, Regulatory Branch Brookfield Field Office 250 N. Sunnyslope Road, Suite 296 Brookfield, WI Or, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT, please contact Rachel Nuetzel in our Brookfield office at (651) or Rachel.A.Nuetzel@usace.army.mil. To receive Public Notices by , go to: and add your information in the New Registration Box. Enclosures Todd Vesperman Chief, Southeast Section Page 3 of 3

4 MVP RAN Page 1 of 5 Exhibit 1. SRWMB Bank Service Area Map 15

5 MVP RAN Page 2 of 5 Exhibit 2. Recent Aerial Image 16

6 MVP RAN Page 3 of 5 Exhibit 3. Soils Map 17

7 MVP RAN Page 4 of 5 Exhibit 7. Existing Conditions Map 21

8 MVP RAN Page 5 of 5 Exhibit 8. Proposed Plant Community Map 22