Eastern States Fisheries and Aquatics
Many of the surface tracts managed by BLM Eastern States are associated with water. Whether it’s beachfront on the gulf coast in Alabama, the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area in Florida, the shoreline of the historic Lower Potomac River, or hundreds of islands in the rivers and lakes of Wisconsin and Minnesota, this interface with aquatic and marine habitats make the Fisheries Program an important part of our biological resources management program.
With such range in habitats from cold water northern rivers to semi-tropical shores of the Atlantic, the diversity of fisheries managed by BLM Eastern States is vast. Accordingly, the variety of workload for the Fisheries Program is equally diverse - embracing everything from public outreach and education, to shoreline and submerged habitat enhancement projects such as the construction of a mangrove lagoon at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area.
The Northeastern States District assists Wisconsin state and local agencies with fish inventories on the Milwaukee and Sheboygan Rivers. BLM relationships with Ozaukee County and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, ensure the most accurate monitoring and efficient information sharing. The BLM also helped to fund a fish monitoring system on the Menominee River that is designed to monitor sturgeon use of a fish passage system.
BLM-managed public islands on Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota provide a scenic backdrop to a world-class fishery. Islands on the Menominee and Sheboygan Rivers have been central to wildlife habitat restoration projects developed to delist the Menominee and Sheboygan Rivers Areas of Concern.