A. Comply with Wisconsin's "Smart Growth" law for land use planning and resource management. This criterion is an option only for applications submitted before July 1, 2017.
The Village of Bayside adopted its Comprehensive Plan 2042, an update to the previous plan, on April 21, 2022, by Village Resolution 22-02. The Comprehensive Plan indicates the Village is in compliance with Wisconsin’s “Smart Growth” law.
E. Describe your community’s ordinance demonstrating that your community does not restrict natural/native landscaping that emphasizes native plants and non-turf lawns.
The Village does not have an ordinance that restricts natural or native landscaping. Village Ordinance 104-153 only requires that tress, shrubs, and other plantings be maintained as to promote a neat and attractive appearance. Residents may keep their properties in a natural state, and the Village does not have any plans to impose restrictions on this landscaping.
F. Show that your community offers the public information on how they can control and remove invasive species in order to improve or maintain bird habitat.
The Village of Bayside's website Residents section under Parks & Forestry links to information on Invasive Species which provides multiple links for residents to use to obtain more information about the various invasive species that may be affecting our community. The Village also includes a link to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, located within the Village of Bayside, that provides an abundance of information about bird habitat in our community.
G. Document that there is a segment of the Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail or a designated Important Bird Area within or adjacent to your community.
The Village of Bayside is home to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, which contains a segment of the Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail. The Nature Center offers six miles of trails that take visitors through 185 unique acres of forests, wetlands, restored prairies, ravines, bluffs, and Lake Michigan shoreline. The Nature Center is also a designated Important Bird Area because of the habitat provided by the lake for certain waterfowl and a birding hotspot due the location within a migratory flyway.
K. Implement a tree risk policy (see pg. 153) designed to leave dead trees standing as nesting and foraging resources for birds when it is safe to do so.
Village Ordinance 104-153 states that dead trees, limbs, and shrubs in contiguous wooded areas do not need be removed unless they pose a risk to neighbors, neighboring property, or the public at large. This exemption is particularly beneficial to birds, such as woodpeckers, who prefer dead trees for nesting.
N. Show that your community works on public lands to control invasive species that have significant negative impacts on bird habitat.
The Village works to control buckthorn and other invasive species within Village rights-of-way. The Public Works crew continually monitors rights-of-way throughout the entire Village and works invasive removal and landscape restoration into the summer schedule.
Community Forest Management
A. Demonstrate that your community has been awarded Tree City USA status by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
The Village has been recognized as a Tree City USA since 2008 and received the Tree City Growth Award since 2011. The Growth Award recognizes the Village’s innovative projects and programs as well as increased commitment of resources for the urban forest.
F. OTHER: Demonstrate in a narrative.
One of the ways in which the Village combats the negative impacts of pests and disease while maintaining a thriving urban forest is through the Adopt-A-Tree program. Planting the trees in public right-of-way provides the benefits of street trees while creating a partnership with Village residents.
In the Adopt-A-Tree program, a resident and Village share the costs for the tree to be planted. Residents are provided with five (5) to six (6) different tree options that promote species diversification. The options provided are trees that are less common in the Village and avoid the 5% maximum species threshold.
The Village and resident then coordinate the location to plant the new tree on their property in the public right-of-way. Village crews then plant the new tree, provide a fresh layer of mulch around the tree, and place a watering bag on the tree for the season. Residents monitor and re-fill the water bags as needed. Crews remove the watering bags in fall and the tree is officially adopted by the resident. The resident then assumes maintenance responsibility for the tree and cares for it.
In 2022 alone, the Village planted 75 trees as part of the program.
Limiting or Removing Threats to Birds
F. Demonstrate that your community enforces an ordinance that requires domestic cats to be kept indoors, on a leash, or in an enclosure to prevent them from preying on birds and other wildlife and spreading disease.
Village Ordinance 8-1 and Ordinance 8-8 requires animals, including cats, to be attached to a leash whenever off the premises of its owner. No person may permit an animal to run at-large by opening any door or gate of any premises or loosen any restraining device or otherwise entice any animal to leave any place of confinement. Ordinance 8-9 enables any police officer or humane officer finding an animal off leash to seize the animal and impound it. To recover an impounded animal, the owner must make payment of a fee plus the current daily fee for keeping such animal for each calendar day or fraction thereof during which the animal has been impounded.
Public Education
A. Demonstrate that schools in your community participate in a nationally-recognized environmental education program (e.g., Flying WILD, Audubon Adventures) or that your community organizes its own substantial education and outreach program for young people.
Located within the Village of Bayside, the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center offers a fully licensed, nine-month preschool offering morning and afternoon classes. The Preschool’s students are co-taught by professionally trained and motivated teachers who offer years of early childhood and environmental education teaching experience. They also enjoy special programs taught by Center Naturalists. With 16 children in each of their four outdoor classrooms, there is a maximum ratio of one teacher for every eight children. These ratios and their training requirements exceed the requirements of the State of Wisconsin and meet the accreditation criteria set forth by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Their Preschool is part of Green & Healthy Schools Wisconsin and a member of Natural Start Alliance, which is part of the North American Association for Environmental Education.
A. This community's municipal body passed the required World Migratory Bird Day resolution.
B. Document and describe your event that incorporates the annual IMBD theme in some fashion. If the event has not yet occurred, please share your detailed plans. For information on the current year’s theme and event materials, please visit the World Migratory Bird Day website. To see what other Bird City communities have done in the past, please view some other profiles on our website.
Annually, the Village advertises events at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center for World Migratory Bird Day. The Village has several means to communicate this information, which the Bayside Buzz (weekly e-newsletter), Facebook, Twitter, and Northshore Living (a monthly print newsletter).
Below is what the Village posted on Facebook on May 14, 2022.
