Incidental Take Notice For Portage County

MADISON, Wis. –  The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to issue an authorization for the "incidental taking" of a rare turtle, which may result from the County Road WW – Four Mile Creek Bridge Project in Portage County.  

Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the species' overall population at risk.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s project will replace the structurally deficient steel culvert, P-49-001, with a two-span concrete haunched slab bridge, B-49-198, on CTH WW over Fourmile Creek. Constructing a lengthened bridge will reduce scour potential at the crossing, creating more stable bed conditions and improving water quality. The proposed bridge will provide a naturalized bottom and maintain the wetted stream width. The project is 0.073 miles long and will include 0.92 acres of ground disturbance. Four Mile Creek is a trout stream, and all land is existing county highway right-of-way.

The presence of the state threatened wood turtle is confirmed in the vicinity of the project site. DNR staff determined that the proposed project may result in the incidental taking of some turtles.

The DNR concludes that the proposed project will minimize the impacts to the species by adhering to conservation measures; is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence and recovery of the state population of the species or the whole plant-animal community of which it is a part; and has benefit to the public health, safety or welfare that justifies the action.

Conservation measures to minimize the adverse effect on the threatened species will be incorporated into the proposed Incidental Take Authorization. Copies of the jeopardy assessment and background information on the wood turtle are available by visiting the DNR Incidental Take Public Notices webpage or upon request from Wisconsin DNR conservation biologist Stacy Rowe at Stacy.Rowe@wisconsin.gov or 608-228-9796.

The public is encouraged to submit written comments regarding project-related impacts to the wood turtle by July 15, 2025 to:

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
c/o Stacy Rowe, DNR Conservation Biologist
2514 Morse St.
Janesville, WI 53545
Stacy.Rowe@wisconsin.gov or 608-228-9796