The Burke Center for Ecosystem Research in Ashland has completed a natural resource restoration effort on North Fish Creek, one of the region’s most important contributors to the health of Chequamegon Bay and, ultimately, Ashland’s drinking water supply. Backed by roughly $500,000 from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the project rerouted nearly 500 feet of the creek, moving it about 50 yards away from an eroding bluff that had been sending massive amounts of sediment into Lake Superior.
To restore the waterway, crews built a temporary access road, removed select trees, excavated a new stream channel, relocated fish and other aquatic life, and diverted the creek into its new path before filling the old streambed. The on-the-groundwork began in August and was completed within a month.
The reroute is expected to reduce sediment entering Lake Superior by an estimated 2,800 tons each year. Sediment from North Fish Creek has been the single largest contributor to Chequamegon Bay’s turbidity for decades—an issue rooted in widespread deforestation more than a century ago. Excess sediment smothers fish spawning habitat, muddies clear waters, increases drinking-water treatment costs, and can fuel blue-green algal blooms. Restoring natural sediment levels will help revive fish habitat and strengthen the Bay’s critical coastal wetlands.
This project is one of several restoration efforts the Burke Center has led near Ashland and is partially funded with federal dollars.
The Burke Center for Ecosystem Research is a nonpartisan nonprofit founded to continue the work of the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation at Northland College following the college’s closure in May 2025.
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