Hundreds of small dams were built across northeast Wisconsin in the 1800s and early 1900s to support logging operations. Many of these remnant dams are undocumented, located in remote areas, and unknown to resource professionals. New technology using AI and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has made it much easier to identify them.

A grant from the Fund will support TU’s efforts to build a formal dam removal program, prioritize and implement removal projects, and increase collaboration with the Wisconsin DNR and other partners. These small dams create barriers to fish passage and fragment cold water tributaries that are critical to species like Brook Trout, particularly as climate change warms Wisconsin waterways. Removing them will reconnect stream habitat and improve climate resiliency across multiple northeast Wisconsin watersheds.