What's hindering progress

Fewer Wetlands

Healthy wetlands can capture phosphorus from water that flows through them, which helps keep the nutrient out of lakes.

Prior to Euro-American settlement, the Yahara Watershed had over 45,000 acres of wetlands. Today, wetland acreage is 23,090, roughly half of the original land coverage, and many of the remaining wetlands are degraded. This loss of wetlands means we have less of the phosphorus-reducing benefit these ecosystems provide.

Data sources: Gillon et al. (2015), USDA-SSURGO