Oneida hosts first trustee meeting of Fox River restoration By Monique Balas News-Chronicle Representatives from different government and tribal groups charged with balancing the Fox River and bay of Green Bay's ecosystem decided to look into 17 new restoration projects at a meeting Tuesday. A public meeting offered by the Trustee Council met at the Oneida Radisson Hotel to address new decisions for restoration projects and allow room for the public to comment. The council includes representatives from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the state Department of Natural Resources, the Oneida and Menominee Tribes, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the state of Michigan, who are in charge of helping restore the river and bay. The goal of restoration is "to try to get the ecosystem back, the native species," said Colette Charbonneau, Fish & Wildlife's Fox River restoration coordinator. "We're trying to get the community balance so when the pollution is gone, the fish will still be there." The restoration is separate from the Environmental Protection Agency and DNR-controlled sediment cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls deposited into the Fox River by paper companies in the 1950s-1970s. It is a process designed to rebalance the natural system of the river in conjunction with the cleanup. After a voting period which began in the morning and continued through the afternoon, the trustees announced the decision to look into 17 new restoration projects. The types of projects include habitat preservation, wetlands acquisition, wetlands enhancement and fishery-related projects. Others include replacing species of fish, such as yellow perch and spot muskie. In the bay, some of those projects will take place in the Cat Island chain and around the bay's western shore, said Charlie Wooley, assistant regional director of ecological services for Fish & Wildlife. "What we have is a nice mix of projects that provide environmental benefits to fish and wildlife," Wooley said. "We're real proud of that." A general plan of implementation for the restoration will begin within the next three or four months, Charbonneau said. The project will be paid for with the $333 million settlement funds agreed on by the paper companies. Some of those who attended the public forum said they felt the forum was insufficient because the council had already voted on the decisions. "It isn't that these are necessarily bad programs, but a lot of times the public can provide valuable information that can help prevent mistakes," said Rebecca Katers, director of Clean Water Action Council, a Fox River watchdog group. Wooley said the public's comments have been used in past meetings for projects, and he feels Tuesday's session did provide valuable feedback - in particular, of how to conduct further meetings. "We need to get more community involved, get more focused, provide better advance notice for meetings," Wooley said. "We heard those comments."