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May 16, 2008
Thanks for
celebrating with us!
Wednesday's Thank You! Celebration was
a blast-thank you to everyone who joined us! Colin O'Brien provided
delightful, spirited music, The River Art Project was unveiled with
student-artists from Hayes Elementary on hand, Lakefront Brewery provided an
informative private tour, and many important volunteers were
recognized during our awards ceremony. FMR would once again like to
thank all our sponsors, site captains, stormwater presenters, Senior
Water Advocates, and everyone else who makes our work possible.
Thank you!
 Check out photos from the cleanup!
Sponsors
May 16, 2008
FMR celebrates a huge victory
On Tuesday, May 13, the Empowerment
Village project was voted down by the City Zoning, Neighborhoods, and
Development Committee. After months of meetings where the
project was initially delayed and subsequently approved by the City
Plan Commission, the plan to build 48 units of housing for the
mentally ill on some of the last remaining green space on the
Kinnickinnic River was finally "placed on file". Aldermen Zielinksi, Wade, and Baumann
all voted
against the project. FMR was instrumental in defeating this
proposal, which would have involved selling land that was previously
acquired by the City of Milwaukee for the Kinnickinnic River Bike
Trail using Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)
funding. This would have required reimbursing
significant funding to the Federal government and while the project
is very honorable, the location was problematic. The Common
Council could re-hear the issue on Tuesday, May 20th, however, that
is unlikely.
Photos
of the proposed Empowerment Village site
May 16, 2008
More to celebrate- The Great Lakes Compact
This Wednesday, the state Senate
passed the Great Lakes Compact 32 to one, and the state Assembly
passed it 93 to one! Governor Doyle is expected to sign the bill in
the next week. Every legislator voted in favor of adopting the Great
Lakes Compact with the exception of Senator Lazich and
Representative Albers. Be sure to contact your legislator and thank
them for passing a Strong Great Lakes Compact. And thank you to all
of you who worked so hard for the Compact. You did it!
Information
on contacting your legislator
More
information on the Great Lakes Compact
May 16, 2008
Correction
Last week, we reported that sediment
was released into the Menomonee River from the Milwaukee County
Grounds Detention Basin project, and while we documented sediment entering
the River last fall (see photo taken 11-2-07), we did not document sediment
entering the Menomonee River after the most recent bank
collapse there last week (reported on the
Milwaukee Rising blog).
However, due to the fact that most of the basins are still unvegetated, soil washout into the river remains a concern. Please
keep your eyes and ears open and report any problems to us at (414)
287-0207 ext. 29, to the
MMSD Engineer on-site, and to DNR at 1-800-TIP-WDNR.
May 16, 2008
Village of Shorewood receives the Scenic Beauty Award
On Monday, May 5, Citizens for a Scenic
Wisconsin presented their 2007 Scenic Beauty Award to
the Village of Shorewood for their outstanding work in
the beautification of the Milwaukee River. FMR nominated
the Village for its unprecedented Shoreland Ordinance
that was crafted to protect the river banks from future
clear cutting and unsound development. The ordinance
serves to protect native vegetation and beauty, maintain
wildlife habitat, and improve water quality.
As part of its agreement with the planned
Sunrise Assisted Living Center (at the site of the
former Riverbrook Restaurant and Touhy apartments), the
riverbank will become Village property. In the latest
development, Shorewood has hired a local consulting firm
to create a master plan for the river district
restoration and trail design. There are plans for an
upper trail that will link Capitol Drive with the Oak
leaf trail, as well as rehabilitation of the lower
hiking trail along the river that links Hubbard and
Estabrook Parks. The firm will also make recommendations
for restoration of the bluff and wildlife habitat. FMR
would like to extend our congratulations to Shorewood:
Kudos!
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