The Revitalization of Shoreland Vegetation Project (RSVP) was developed by the Green Lake Association and is dedicated to the preservation or restoration of native trees, shrubs, grasses or wetland plants along the shores of Big Green Lake.

RSVP encourages regeneration of shoreland vegetation through educational efforts targeted at property owners, businesses that provide property management service to those property owners, i.e., nurseries, landscapers, lawn services, contractors, and realtors.

Healthy, diverse native vegetation along a shore has many benefits:

1. It improves water quality by reducing shoreline erosion, increasing infiltration of runoff, and reducing or eliminating the need for fertilizer and pesticide applications.

2. It enhances enjoyment of lakeside property by diminishing the noise of motorboats and personal watercraft, by breaking cold winter winds, and by increasing privacy, through screening unsightly views and framing good ones.

3. It provides essential breeding grounds, food sources, and cover at critical life stages for many reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and other species.

4. It creates a travel corridor for many species of birds and mammals.

5. It encourages a sustainable and diverse ecosystem.

RSVP provides workshops and forums to teach the principles and practices of shoreline revitalization. In addition, RSVP partners and core neighborhood groups initiate contact with property owners and provide information relating to the project. Demonstration properties that showcase preserved shoreland vegetation, as well as properties that are allowing natural recovery or encouraging accelerated recovery of native habitat, are available for visits.

Property owners can enhance native vegetation on their shores in the following ways:

1. Preserving the existing vegetation.

2. Allowing the natural recovery of the native species by reducing or eliminating the amount of cleared, mowed shoreland.

3. Accelerating natural recovery by introducing more mature plants, shrubs, and trees to the shoreland.

Partners with the Green Lake Association in RSVP include the Green Lake Sanitary District, the Green Lake County Land Conservation Department, the Green Lake County Land Use Planning & Zoning Department, the UW-Extension, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and local biologists, educators, and realtors.

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Copyright © 1999 Green Lake Sanitary District
Last modified: July 02, 2008