above: the Village of Mount Pleasant's restoration of the North Branch of the Pike River

History

A RIVER RESOURCE SINCE 1998

Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network is a 501(c)3 non-profit formed in 1998 by the Department of Natural Resources and other watershed stakeholders to restore, protect and sustain the five watersheds of Southeastern Wisconsin. Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network brings municipalities, private citizens, donors and environmental experts from the Root-Pike basin together to improve water quality, restore natural habitats, reduce storm water runoff and create places where people want to live, work and invest. In 2007, we helped design and implement the Keep Our Waters Clean program to help municipalities meet their storm water permit requirements. In 2008, we began the Rain Garden Initiative, which put in place more than 100 rain gardens and 60 rain barrels. We also awarded over $545,000 in small grants to more than 100 local conservation projects in the Root-Pike Watershed since our inception.

Over the past five years, we have helped SEWRPC with the planning, and now leading the implementation of the EPA-approved, 9-element Root River Watershed Restoration Plan. We took the lead in planning and implementation of the 9-element Pike River and Wind Point Watershed Plans. Currently, we are assisting SEWRPC in the planning process for the Oak Creek Watershed Restoration Plan. Our intent is to begin the fundraising for a Watershed Restoration Plan for the Pike Creek watershed in 2017. We believe our next 20 years is best served restoring the five watersheds via EPA-approved, 9-key element Watershed Restoration Plans.