Renard Island Strategic Master Plan

History of Renard Island

In 1977, Brown County and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) executed a memorandum of agreement to construct the Renard Island Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) on a legislative lakebed granted by the State of Wisconsin to Brown County for disposal of material generated from annual maintenance dredging in the Green Bay Harbor and navigation channel. From 1978 to 1997, approximately 2.7 million cubic yards (CY) of dredged sediments were placed on the island which then remained uncapped for the next decade. In 2002, Brown County received funding from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) to develop a Closure Plan for the island. Eventually, the County, the Corps and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) agreed to a final Closure Plan detailing the construction of a cover protecting human health and the environment; however, it did not address the final end uses for the island. Beginning in 2010, Brown County and the Corps began the process of closing the island and installing an engineered soil cap. As part of the closure process, the Corps built a causeway to access the island. In 2010, Brown County received a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant to move approximately 230,000 CY of capping material to Renard Island from the Bay Port Dredge Material Storage Facility. From 2011 to 2014, an additional 430,000 CY of clean dredged material was placed on the island as a final cap shaped to meet the requirements of the WDNR-Approved Closure Plan. In 2015, the WDNR approved the final cap and subsequently, in 2017, the Corps transferred ownership of the causeway and island to Brown County.

Renard Island End-Use Plan

Renard Island is one of the only areas in the Green Bay metropolitan area that provides direct access to the waters of the bay of Green Bay. With the transfer of ownership, the County is now looking at end-use options for the 55-acre island. In 2018, the County received a grant from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and matching funds from McDonald Lumber, NEW Water and WPS to complete an End-Use Plan for the island. In order to accomplish this, Brown County worked with a group of stakeholders to review and provide input for the plan and design process. After more than 18 months of work and numerous public meetings, the final Renard Island Strategic Master Plan was adopted by the Brown County Board on December 16, 2019.

Renard Island Working Group

The Renard Island Working Group is a group of stakeholders that includes Brown County, the city of Green Bay, WDNR, UWGB, adjacent landowners, agencies, and other interested individuals who have volunteered their time to review consultant materials and help advise the Brown County Port & Resource Recovery Department and the Harbor Commission throughout the Renard Island strategic planning process. The working group members have participated in regular meetings since 2016 and, with the completion of the master plan in 2019, will continue to assist with the evaluation and implementation of built projects.

Existing Conditions (2018)

Process & Schedule

The Brown County Port and Resource Recovery Department hired a team of design professionals to work with the community to envision the future of Renard Island. Throughout the fall of 2018, interested individuals were invited to contribute their thoughts and ideas for how the 55-acre man-made island could best serve the Green Bay region. The consultant team led by SmithGroup led a National Charrette Institute process for community engagement on civic planning projects. This included a series of public outreach events and a multi-day charrette with the public and stakeholders for this important piece of land.