Ever since the North Avenue dam was torn down in 1998, the city has battled with Mother Nature and the forces of water to keep the river in check. The river is winning.

After the dam was removed, the channel upstream of it was lined with a concrete mat with open pockets so dirt could settle in and plants on the shoreline could grow through. It was called state-of-the-art then and hailed as an environmentally sound way to channelize a river without being terribly unsightly. The uneven surface also created a great place for whitewater canoeing and kayak surfing. But the first big rainstorm flooded the better part of the matting downriver.

The next step called for heavier mats, better anchors and bigger rocks. That's kind of worked until now, however, as the matting has deteriorated and chunks of it are actually creating boating hazards as flotsam is piling up in the channel.

The City of Milwaukee now appears to have grown tired of being environmentally sensitive and plans to essentially throw big rocks all over a new mat in the river and on the shore to keep everything from floating away. That doesn't sit too well with folks who actually recreate on the river.

In a letter to the Department of Natural Resources, Cheryl Nenn, Riverkeeper for the Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers, urges the parties involved to keep paddlers in mind when trying to tame the river in what is turning out to be a continuous effort. (The city had to go to court over the first failure.)

"Natural round stone is far preferable to many angular pieces of rip rap, which are very painful to walk on and through," writes Nenn.

FMR recently completed the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail, which highlights various access points along the river where people can launch or take out their boats. The North Avenue stretch is of particular import, since the stretch of river downstream of the bridge has a few standing waves that can wipe out the novice paddler.

In higher water it is still an exhilarating, albeit quite fast, run until clearing the site of the old dam. But it also creates the need for a decent well-marked portage so boaters can carry around it, since wiping out in the Milwaukee River is still an unpleasant thought.

"It is preferable to have stone that is easy to traverse and that won't 'cut up' paddlers, generally walking in wet, slippery shoes," Nenn says of the portage.

She also asked the DNR to make sure the chunks of the old matting are removed from the channel. The debris creates paddling hazards, she says.

The city also plans to again re-vegetate the area, hoping to use willows and native species. The first effort resulted in invasive species of weeds sprouting everywhere.

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Posted by Paddler on Feb. 5, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. (report)

I agree with Doug that the old dam site is a hazard for paddlers and not very pretty to look at either. Maybe it's time for the city to sit down with Cheryl and others from Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers and other interested parties to conduct visioning sessions. Maybe the discussion could be, create a very short, (relatively) safe, whitewater run for kayaks and open canoes. And it could be a bit longer by starting under the North Ave, Bridge and continuing the rapids to the walking bridge. Heck, we could even hold events there and create competitive paddling opportunities for all. And, since it is Milwaukee, beer would be welcomed.

Posted by viva_bill on Feb. 1, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (report)

In regards to Katie on Scott Walker. Of course she is all gushy and finds his decisions fiscally responsible. Wisconsin Lutheran must be quite happy that such a small minority with so much money was able to have their buddy Scott Walker give them such a wonderful piece of the Underwood Parkway. Now the tranquil northern woods feeling and buffer from the wonderful people who created our beautiful parks and parkway system is now a wonderful private athletic field for a very small, but rich college. If you belief it is Scott Walker's right to sell out and off our parks piece by piece just for the sake of staying within the budget then he is your man. If you believe he uses small thinking, and sacrifices quality of life for present and future generations then I hope come election day you look elsewhere. God Bless.

Posted by jakeryan on Feb. 1, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (report)

Doug consistently writes some of my favorite articles on onmilwaukee.com. Well written, informative and about topics important, though generally not covered elsewhere. Thanks.