State backs more wetland filling, city opts for restoration, amenities

Apparently, there is a way to manage wetlands in Wisconsin without destroying them.

This solid report in Urban Milwaukee lays out the city's plan to restore the Bay View wetland and add water and trail access for public enjoyment.

At a press conference Tuesday, Benji Timm, a project manager with the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee, called the site a “jewel” in the harbor district. Restoring the jewel will mean improving and protecting critical habitat for the spawning of Northern Pike, for threatened species like the Butler’s Garter Snake, for breeding and migrating birds and numerous species of native plants.

And once the wetland is restored, Timm said, it will have a trail system through the property and canoe and kayak launches on the Kinnickinnic River. 

It's a welcome respite from the relentless permissions granted by the state under Walker's GOP thumb to fill wetlands statewide by the tens of thousands of acres, serve a sand mine, a high-end golf course and, worse, to heap environmental favors including large-scale wetland filling for Foxconn.

Remember that Walker has been the rule-breaking, wetland-filler-for-insiders since he took office more than seven years ago.

You could not ask for a sharper contrast between politicians' mindsets and agendas as we approach Earth Day on the 22nd than Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's intention to add value to a neighborhood through improvements which work with the landscape and Walker's commitment to adding value to his donors' and special interests' bottom lines through bulldozing and dredging that furthers his 'chamber of commerce mentality' assault on the public trust and state law.