The Menasha lock on the Fox River is closed June 25, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Fox River Navigational System Authority has approved an agreement with the Department of Natural Resources on the Menasha Lock.
The Menasha Lock has been closed for more than a decade. It was originally closed due to an invasive species of fish, the round goby, being found below the Neenah Dam.
Last year, round gobies were found in the Winnebago system. Last week, the DNR announced a new emergency rule for round gobies.
Per the agreement, the Wisconsin DNR will apply rotenone, a fish toxicant, to prevent the spread of round gobies into the Winnebago system while commercial boats move through the Menasha Lock.
The DNR previously used the same tactic from 2015 to 2024.
“[The agreement] Formalizes the process and then also gives a mechanism for the person who’s passing through the lock to pay the Fox Locks for their passage. Then, associated with that, we reimburse the DNR their associated costs,” said Phil Ramlet, Fox Locks Executive Director.
“It is solely to help the Department of Natural Resources get reimbursement for the cost of treatment because the DNR does not have the funding anymore to be able to assist in this matter,” said Ashley Dooley, a representative at the meeting from the Wisconsin DNR.
The agreement will remain in place until Nov. 1, 2026.
The agreement does not include any language about reopening the lock for recreational boaters. However, the FRNSA says opening the lock is at the top of its priority list.
So, what needs to happen for the lock to reopen?
“I think there has to be close coordination between the Fox Locks, the Department of Administration, and the DNR, so that the State of Wisconsin really has an aligned vision of what’s going to happen at the Menasha Lock. I believe it’ll take place over the next year to do that. We’ve got a lot of testing going on this summer and I think once the test results are available, that’ll kind of dictate the pace that we move at,” said Ramlet.
However, it’s not as simple as just opening the lock.
“100 to 120 people an hour go over that bridge in front of the lock. So, there’d have to be close coordination to make sure that people on the trail are satisfied and also that the boating public is too,” said Ramlet.
Ramlet says the FRNSA will really look at opening the lock in the next year or two.
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