State DNR tentatively says yes to Kohler golf course permit

Company plans new HQ on Lake Michigan shore

The state Department of Natural Resources says it has tentatively approved a key permit involving the impact on wetlands for Kohler Co.’s planned multimillion-dollar golf course on the shore of Lake Michigan in Sheboygan County.

The tentative approval comes with conditions, the agency said. But officials have not yet identified what they will be and won’t decide until after the hearing.

Generally, parties must avoid building on wetlands because of their ecological importance, but there are provisions in state and federal law to allow for such activity.

On a separate front, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also reviewing plans for the course and said it will make a decision in early 2018.

The agency said it will not hold a public hearing on a wetlands permit because it is reviewing public testimony from the state.

The 18-hole course would be the latest showpiece for Kohler, along with Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run. The course would be located on 247 acres on property it owns in the Black River Forest.

Kohler’s plans are being closely watched because privately held Kohler is one of the largest companies in Wisconsin, and Kohler Chairman Herbert V. Kohler Jr. is a political supporter of Republican Gov. Scott Walker and one of the richest people in Wisconsin.

Also, a local opposition group, the Friends of the Black River Forest, has raised concerns about the environmental impact of the course.

Christa O. Westerberg, an attorney representing the group, said she is troubled about the DNR’s plans for a public hearing when citizens will not learn until later what conditions the DNR will ask for, and what compensation the company will make for the loss of wetlands.

The course would be located in the Town of Wilson. Officials there sought a temporary injunction to stop all development work for the project with the City of Sheboygan. As opposition surfaced among town residents, Kohler and the city made plans for the city to annex land that included the golf course.

On Nov. 3, a Sheboygan County judge denied the temporary injunction.

Kohler is also asking the DNR for an easement of about 5 acres on adjacent land in Kohler-Andrae State Park for its golf course operations. The DNR has embarked on a separate process involving state park land.

In documents from the environmental impact statement, DNR field staff reported that 3.6 acres of wetlands would be destroyed.

There would also be an estimated indirect impact of 4.8 acres of wetlands.

No damage is expected to wetlands along the lake dunes — the most sensitive wetlands on the property.

But the agency said the course would permanently alter hydrology on those wetlands, degrade habitat and pose a potential disruption to wildlife.