Green Bay site on track for National Estuarine Research Reserve status

GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- The process in making a Green Bay site a National Estuarine Research Reserve is moving forward.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has reviewed the nomination submitted by the state of Wisconsin for a multi-component site in the bay and determined that it meets all regulatory requirements for a NERR.

NERR is a national network of 30 sites across the coastal U.S. and the Great Lakes, designed to protect and study estuaries and their coastal wetlands.

Having this designation will help protect and restore the Green Bay water ecosystem, promote continued water research and enhance the region's economic, cultural and recreational offerings. It also brings the area national attention.

“Conserving and protecting our natural resources and land continues to be a top priority for my administration, and I am thrilled to see this important effort to designate a site along the Bay of Green Bay as a new National Estuarine Research Reserve move forward,” said Gov. Tony Evers.

The Green Bay ecosystem is the largest freshwater estuary in the world, in the largest reservoir of freshwater on the planet.

If selected, the reserve will be a non-regulatory entity managed by UW-Green Bay with program guidance and technical assistance from NOAA.

A joint public meeting will be held by NOAA and UW-Green Bay on Tuesday, March 19 to solicit comments on significant issues related to the development of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Bay of Green Bay NERR.

A virtual meeting will be held at 10 a.m. via Zoom, and an in-person meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the STEM Innovation Center on the UW-Green Bay campus.

More information on the public meeting will be released in February.