2025 Environmental Corridors Report Approved by WDNR
The Dane County Water Quality Plan now includes an updated version of the Environmental Corridors Report. The revised report includes updated background information, clarifications for consistency with current data and practices, and new information related to Voluntary Environmental Corridors (first introduced as Stewardship Areas in the 2050 Regional Development Framework).
Update Process
CARPC staff prepared the updated report in consultation with a variety of organizations, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Dane County, municipalities, the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and other subject matter experts.
Beginning in 2022, a steering committee met to inform the update. After reviewing a final draft in late 2024 and considering public comment in early 2025, the Commission voted to amend the Dane County Water Quality Plan by adopting the report as an appendix in February. The adopted report was then officially approved by the WDNR in March.
About Corridors
Environmental corridors are generally contiguous systems of open space and environmentally sensitive areas within urban service areas that are protected from development. These corridors include environmentally sensitive lands, natural and cultural resources requiring protection from disturbance and development, and lands needed for open space, stormwater management, and recreational use.
Outside of urban service areas, lands with these features are mapped as Estimated Environmental Corridor (formerly known as Protection Areas). On undeveloped lands, natural resources that lack regulatory protection from development are mapped as Voluntary Environmental Corridor.
In Dane County, environmental corridors are managed through a cooperative working relationship between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), CARPC, and area communities to preserve natural resources and protect water quality.
Next Steps
With a completed EC Report in place, CARPC staff will now begin reviewing the existing Environmental Corridor Policies and Criteria to ensure alignment between the report and the policies. This review will include an outreach effort to involve municipal staff and the public in the update. Potential updates to the policies and criteria could include:
- Clarifications to match how these policies are implemented and to address uncertainties or ambiguities,
- Revisions to correct discrepancies between our understanding of the policy intent, the more recent Environmental Corridors Fact Sheet, and our implementation of the policies as written, and/or
- Additions to enhance protections and exemptions based on new information and shifting public opinion.