About half a dozen volunteers from Rehrig Pacific, a manufacturer located in Pleasant Prairie, helped plant hundreds of native plants plants along the newly created scrapes south of the Somers Branch of the Pike River. The plants and labor is valued at approximately $12,000.  

The plants were provided through grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Monarch Habitat (one of only 10 grants awarded in the country this year) and Monarch Watch.  The native plants, in combination with the newly created scrapes, will retain additional water and alleviate flooding downstream. The one-acre project is now holding about 600,000 gallons of additional stormwater in addition to create habitat for wildlife. The newly planted vegetation will fill in over the summer and further enhance infiltration and pollutant processing.

Since the original wetlands in the Pike River watershed have been altered, every new acre restored makes a difference. Root-Pike WIN is utilizing grants from the Fund for Lake Michigan, Great Lakes Commission, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Microsoft, and the Enroth Foundation to help restore the natural environment.