Anglers who fish the Rush River are assured bank access to nearly 3 miles of the Pierce County, Wis., trout stream as a result of recent land purchases and easement deals.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month purchased 74 acres on the west side of the river just north of Hwy. 35, and plans to restore the farmland to forested floodplain, said Dan Wilcox, a corps fisheries biologist. The land, including more than a half-mile of river frontage, will be open for nonmotorized recreation, he said.
The Wisconsin DNR has acquired six easements with Rush River property owners to assure angler paths remain open on 2.1 miles of the river, near Martell, El Paso and south of Hwy. 72, said John Cole a retired agency wildlife biologist who has been negotiating the deals. The permanent easements, the first on this river, allow angling access only.
Separately, the West Wisconsin Land Trust purchased 1.8 acres with 600 feet of riverfront on the west side of Hwy. 63, just south of the bridge in Martell. The $75,000 parcel, purchased with state grant money, soon will be transferred to the local government for a walk-in and handicapped fishing access, said Rick Gauger, executive director of the land trust.
The corps' $313,800 purchase of the Hwy. 35 property is the first of several floodplain-restoration efforts it plans on the Rush River, Wilcox said. The corps is doing the work as mitigation for the environmental effects of a Mississippi River Lock and Dam rehabilitation.
DAVID SHAFFER
