• Protecting and Creating Healthy Fish Habitat

  • ​The desirable native fish populations in the Iroquois River and surrounding waterways are suspected to be in decline; we think it’s because of poor water quality and lack of good breeding habitat.

  • What we want: Appropriate and healthy populations of native species, protection of existing fish habitat and known fishing spots and creation of more favorable fish habitat, which will result in improvement of water quality. Open sealed backwaters and bayous, increase forested riparian buffer ones, and establish water quality baseline.

• Too Much Sediment in the Water

  • ​Soil erosion (both water and wind) are contributing to the scouring and sloughing of stream banks which appear to be negatively impacting water quality and reducing water capacities. We think preventing sediment from reaching the water and reducing stream flashiness may help.

  • What we want: We want to see our toes when standing in the water. To do this we must prevent soil from reaching the river via encouraging conservation tillage practices, installation of waterways, cover cropping, preserving riparian areas and encouraging other best management practices (BMPs).​​

• Lack of Recreational Access to the River​

  • The river watershed is desirable.  However,  lack of awareness, log jams, poor water quality, perceived poor fishing and eating quality, and a lack of public access points prevent widespread recreational use.

  • What we want: To increase the variety of uses of the river. We also would like to increase the number and quality of our access points. In addition. we want to clear log jams,  have verification of the safety of eating fish, create a map of access points and an area map, have a report of water quality and increase the public use of the Iroquois.

• Too Many Nutrients in the Water​

  • The Iroquois River and its tributaries are listed on the 303d list for “excessive nutrients”, which negatively impact aquatic wildlife and potentially can impact groundwater drinking supplies. We think failing septic systems, manure mismanagement, field soil erosion, nitrogen loss out of tile drains and lawn fertilizer, bare ground during the winter, stream access by livestock, lack of conservation tillage, and geological based hotspots may be significant sources of nutrients. 

  • What we want: Waterways delisted from 303d list, reduce nutrients reaching waterways, more acres in conservation tillage, use of cover crops, funding sources, filter strips, and septic management issues.

• High E. coli Levels​

  • Elevated levels of E.coli in the waterways DO make it unsafe to swim, fish, recreate, and impact other downstream uses. We know failing septics, combined sewer overflows, and other possible sources such as stream access by livestock, pet wastes, wildlife, and improper manure management may be key sources.

  • What we want: Reduce E. coli levels. Establish facts about septic systems and livestock access points, funding options to address septic, trends, policy changes to promote improved systems, cluster development for new subdivision, and reduce over-application of manure. 

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Watershed Management Plan

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The Upper Iroquois River Watershed Management Plan attempts to design a course of action to work cooperatively toward an environmentally and economically healthy watershed that benefits all stakeholders. The plan identifies pollutants and their sources, select, prioritize, and map the significant non-point source pollutants, and identify Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce these pollutants.

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Click below to view the different parts of the Watershed Management Plan:

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3 

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Final Grant Report

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Wondering what all we accomplished? Be sure to read our Final Grant Report to learn more about what we accomplished during this grant!

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Is it Safe to Canoe the Iroquois River?

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Below are live feed graphs from the US Geological Survey, along with charts developed by the District, to help you determine if it is safe to canoe the Iroquois River. Use the live feed gauge height and chart below to determine if it's safe to get on the river. Wondering how long it takes to canoe the Iroquois River? Check out our Iroquois River Canoe Mileage and Map Charts. 

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