Reopening the Fox locks system isn’t just about providing safe travel up and down area waterways — it’s the centerpiece of a master plan designed to make Northeastern Wisconsin one of the most unique areas in the world with regard to public access to waterways.
A 140-mile stretch of the upper and lower Fox Rivers from Portage to Green Bay is destined to become the Fox River Heritage Parkway, complete with museums and historical sites, public parks, and plenty of access to the water.
Plans to develop pockets of public access adjacent to each lock within the system “makes a lot of sense,” said Neenah’s Tim Parker. “If they are going to go through the trouble of making the waterways navigable, they better give people a reason to stop.”
Creating those reasons to stop will be up to local municipalities up and down the waterways, but they do have some help.
Ed Kleckner, community development planner for East Central Regional Planning Commission, the quasi-public-private body helping to oversee a statewide effort to maximize public use of waterways, has been working on the project since 1995.
He points to benefits for local residents who simply would never be able to afford waterfront property but now will be able to use it at their leisure, and economic development opportunities for smaller communities to attract visitors.
While Kleckner works with 10 counties in east-central Wisconsin, the ultimate plan will involve a much greater portion of the state.
The official “Heritage Corridor” will connect the Mississippi River to the bay of Green Bay.
Kleckner describes three distinctly different river characteristics for communities to build around.
He calls the run from the Mississippi River in Prairie du Chien to Portage a “take it easy type river” that meanders through majestic hills and valleys.
A canal system in Portage will take visitors to Lake Winnebago via the upper Fox River, which Kleckner referred to as a focal point for tourism because of its “more laid-back environment.”
The third leg of the corridor runs from Lake Winnebago down to Green Bay where visitors experience the 50-foot tall riverbanks and the fastest water of the trip.
Once the river system is opened to boat travel, plans call for the development of public land to allow nonboaters to take advantage of the waterfront property.
Menasha residents are already getting a taste of what the corridor will mean as they celebrate the conversion of an abandoned railroad trestle bridge into largest pedestrian trail crossing a body of water in Wisconsin.
Fox Cities Trestle-Friendship Trail crosses Little Lake Butte des Morts and now completes a trail from Manitowoc to Stevens Point. It also bisects the Fox Cities Paper Trail, which crosses the Fox River and connects to the WIOWASH trail.
Menasha resident Tatiana Wayman said developing recreational areas along the waterways is a perfect way to keep all outdoor enthusiasts happy.
“You can bike, run, or boat to nearly anywhere in the state,” she said.
While organizers know development won’t happen overnight, they have established a system in which communities on the water can get free advice on how to maximize their involvement in the project.
The Riverfront Vitality Initiative, a combined effort between the nonprofit group Friends of the Fox and the East Central Regional Planning Commission, provides volunteer assistance in every aspect of development from construction and financing to engineering and landscaping.
Menasha is one of the few cities already taking advantage of their expertise, said Kleckner, who points to the new Trestle Trail Bridge as a shining example of giving the waterways back to residents.
“People that don’t have boats can go down to the water and enjoy it from the shoreline or like the Trestle Bridge they can enjoy it from the middle of the lake,” he said. “It a rare day when residents get a gift like this.”
