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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2025
Contact: Stacy Rowe, DNR Conservation Biologist
[email protected] or 608-228-9796
Incidental Take Notice For La Crosse County
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to issue a permit for the "incidental taking" of a rare frog, which may result from the Xcel Energy W3444 Structure Replacement project in La Crosse County.
Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the species' overall population at risk.
Xcel Energy proposes to replace aging structures on a transmission line installed in the late 1960s. The proposed project plans to replace structures along transmission line W3444 that spans between an unnamed island and French Island.
Replacement of Structure 12 is needed due to its location below the ordinary high water mark of the French Slough, resulting from erosion of the banks of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service island on which it is located. Due to concerns around aging poles, reinforcement of structures 10 and 11 will take place in Fall 2025. The remaining construction activities are anticipated to begin in August 2026 and are anticipated to be completed by October 2026.
The presence of the state endangered Blanchard's cricket frog is confirmed in the vicinity of the project site. DNR staff determined that the proposed project may result in the incidental taking of some frogs.
The DNR concludes that the proposed project is not likely to appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival or recovery of the species within the state, the whole plant-animal community of which it is a part of or the habitat that is critical to its existence.
Conservation measures to minimize the adverse effects on the endangered species will be incorporated into the proposed Incidental Take Permit. Copies of the jeopardy assessment and background information on the Blanchard's cricket frog are available by visiting the DNR Incidental Take Public Notices webpage or upon request from DNR Conservation Biologist Stacy Rowe at [email protected] or 608-228-9796.
The public is encouraged to submit written comments regarding project-related impacts to the Blanchard's cricket frog by Aug. 16 to:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
c/o Stacy Rowe, DNR Conservation Biologist
2514 Morse Street
Janesville, WI 53545
[email protected] or 608-228-9796
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