Helping you become more informed about the extended drawdown of the Forestville Millpond and nearby watersheds is the goal of a study potentially receiving grant funds this week. The Door County Board of Supervisors will vote to approve a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Lake Planning Grant for the evaluation of the Forestville Millpond after a two-year drawdown effort that began in November 2019. The county’s Soil and Water Conservation Department received the partially matching grant for $9,237.80 from the DNR, one of 13 lake planning grants awarded by the state for the 2023 fiscal year. Add in what the county is contributing over $13,000 would be made available to address the drawdown and where to go from there. 

The drawdown brought mixed reviews in the community and eventually saw the Friends of the Forestville Dam take the county to court over it before the case was dismissed in early 2022. The Friends of the Forestville Dam charged Door County officials with mismanaging the millpond with its drawdown efforts. The county began the process in 2019 in an effort to stave off future invasive plants and fish. The group has said the drawdown sent sediment downstream, which would wreck other habitats along the way. It wants the millpond to be kept at a consistent depth of just under 600 feet. In the view of the county, the hope was the drawdown would improve water quality, compact the sentiment, as well as suppress invasive species and the carp that are in the millpond. It was considered to be a less costly alternative to dredging. 

The Door County Board will also approve a gift to the ADRC, discuss its involvement in the opioid settlement, and the appointment of Ethel and Tom Davis to the position of Poet Laureate when they meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday at the Door County Government Center.