A win-win situation: Using partnerships to examine stream restoration efforts

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville and the Harry and Laura Nohr Chapter of Trout Unlimited established a unique partnership to examine stream restoration within southwestern Wisconsin. Undergraduate students are supported through an endowed internship and mentored by a university faculty member. This partnership provides a template to effectively address the current demand on undergraduates to acquire practical experience in addition to a strong academic foundation. The partnership also addresses the inability of resource agencies and conservation organizations to dedicate sufficient resources to monitor and evaluate restoration efforts. The logistics, structure, implementation, and initial results of this partnership will be presented. Particular attention will be given to the Blue River in southwestern Wisconsin where Trout Unlimited has invested a great deal of resources on stream restoration. Research by the undergraduate interns revealed stream restoration practices on the Blue River positively and negatively impacted stream habitat, macroinvertebrates, and fish. Multi-year comparisons also suggested some effects of restoration are persistent, some are short-lived, and others are overshadowed by impacts from elsewhere in the watershed.