Bear Creek Streambank Project

Bear Creek is a beautiful meandering trout stream located in southwest Sauk and eastern Richland counties. It is classified as a cold water Class II trout fishery. Based on extensive fish and aquatic insect surveys conducted in 2001, the stream condition was rated as “fair.” Class II means the stream may have some natural reproduction but needs some additional stocking to maintain a fishable population.

The Sauk County Land Resources and Environment Department has a long history of stabilizing erosion along streams that flow through Sauk County. This has been done in many ways, but the most common method is to grade the banks and place rock over the graded banks down into the streambed to protect the bank from erosion. This process is called riprap. Riprap protects the bank and prevents silt from falling off the bank and into the stream. Over the years our staff has worked with many of the landowners along Bear Creek. Hundreds of feet of riprap have been installed, along with crossings which allow cattle access to the stream for water and to pasture areas on the opposite banks. Crossings further reduce erosion to the stream and improve the water quality. This project is having a major impact on the stream and will continue to do so.

For more information on this project, see the links below or contact Mitchell McCarthy at (608) 355-4836 or mitchell.mccarthy@saukcountywi.gov.

All project updates/documentation can be found in the links below, as well as a photo/slide show of the process.