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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: *Sept. 29, 2025*
**Contact: *Scott Van Egeren, DNR Water Resources Management Specialist [email protected] <[email protected]> or 715-471-0007

Healthy Lakes And Rivers Initiative Celebrates 10 Years

A shoreline property's shore meeting a lake, in the process of Healthy Lakes and Rivers development, with fresh, native plantings growing.

The Healthy Lakes & Rivers program aims to protect and restore the health of the state’s lakes and rivers by increasing property owner participation in habitat restoration and runoff and erosion control projects. / Photo Credit: Dave and Kathy Littlejohn

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MADISON, Wis.* – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is celebrating a milestone year for the statewide Healthy Lakes & Rivers (HLR) initiative: 10 years of helping to protect Wisconsin’s waters.

Launched in 2015 in collaboration with the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership [ [link removed] ], HLR aims to protect and restore the health of the state’s lakes and rivers by increasing property owner participation in habitat restoration and runoff and erosion control projects. The initiative is based on five simple and inexpensive best practices: fish sticks (large woody habitat structures that utilize trees grouped together), native shoreline plantings, water diversion practices, rock infiltration practices and rain gardens.

“Wisconsin is unique in that it has a statewide shoreline health initiative and funding to help shoreland property owners take action to create habitat and improve water quality,” said DNR Secretary Karen Hyun. “You can apply inexpensive and simple best practices on your shoreland property, and together we can protect our waters for generations to come.”

An infographic depicting the various impacts of HLR, inlcludng an 1.82-million-dollar state investment.

Thanks to the efforts of local grant sponsors across Wisconsin, more than 1,000 landowners across 205 lakes and rivers have received funding assistance from the DNR to install HLR best practices since the program’s inception. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

Shoreland property owners and local partner organizations who want to make healthy lakes and rivers in their community can visit the HLR website [ [link removed] ] to find fact sheets and step-by-step technical guidance documents for each practice. The website also features a free shoreland evaluation tool, “Score My Shore [ [link removed] ],” that walks property owners through a series of questions about the physical aspects of their lake or river property and how they manage it. Survey users receive a unique shoreland health score and recommendations on protecting water quality and habitat, such as redirecting gutter downspouts away from waterbodies, stopping mowing near the shore and leaving fallen trees or branches in the water to promote woody habitat for fish.

Local partners such as lake and river organizations, municipalities, counties and tribal governments may apply for an HLR cost-share grant [ [link removed] ] on behalf of shoreland property owners. Funding is available for up to $1,000 per practice installed, with a grant cap of $25,000. Grant applications are accepted year-round through the DNR Surface Water Grant program. Eligible shoreland properties include those within 1,000 feet of a lake or 300 feet of a river or floodplain. 

Thanks to the efforts of local grant sponsors across Wisconsin, more than 1,000 landowners across 205 lakes and rivers have received funding assistance from the DNR to install HLR best practices since the program’s inception. These participants have shared remarkable stories: from observing nesting wood turtles for the first time to eliminating runoff and the subsequent shoreline erosion, and even having the grandkids visit more often because of all the new butterflies.  

Shoreland property owners and local partner organizations can learn how to start on the HLR website [ [link removed] ]. 







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