Orchard Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility

About the Program
The Orchard Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF), administered by WM, is located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, approximately 15 miles northwest of the major metropolitan area of Milwaukee. The Hidden Springs portion of the facility incorporates 50 acres of woodlands, grasslands and wetlands that are maintained to have native species communities and a diversity of wildlife. The wetlands on-site feed into the Menomonee River Watershed and the Milwaukee River Basin, which gives them greater importance for the region. The team seeks to restore and maintain these sites by removing native plants and by creating quality native habitat for birds, mammals and a host of other wild species. 

Practices and Impacts

• The team has worked for over 10 years to restore the four-acre Hidden Springs Wood, which is composed of mesic forest typical of southern Wisconsin. The team has extensively removed woody and annual invasive species through forest mowing and herbicide use, and they have helped establish native species through community plantings.
• Over a similar timeline, the team has restored the 10-acre Hidden Springs Grassland, which is composed over native grass and herbaceous species. The team and its partners employ prescribed burns, mowing, native seed spreading and chemical treatments to restore habitat for wildlife such as monarch butterflies, white tailed deer and wild turkeys. 
• The team restored the nine-acre Hidden Springs Wetland and Pond by extensively removing invasive species, planting native aquatic and terrestrial plants and installing boxes for wood ducks. The team has charted the success of the restoration by monitoring plant, wildlife and macro-invertebrate diversity, which provide a strong measure of water quality. 
• The team supported at-risk avian species, such as eastern bluebirds and tree swallows, by installing 28 nesting boxes. The boxes are monitored and cleaned, and all invasive species nests are removed. The project has been a success with hundreds of native birds fledging from the boxes. 
• In order to support native wood duck populations, the team installed and maintains nest boxes in the wetland area of the project site. Thirteen boxes were installed, which have been used to fledge hundreds of wood ducks and hooded mergansers, which often cannot find suitable nest sites due to urbanization and the encroachment of invasive species. 
• The team furthers local environmental education efforts by hosting annual community/youth planting days. The participants from a diverse set of community groups help to plant native species in wetland habitats, while learning about the importance of native plants for water quality and wildlife. 
• The team also educates students on the importance of maintaining wetland habitats and how to conduct conservation biology research in the field by leading twice annual field trips with a local class. The class analyzes water quality by collecting and identifying macro-vertebrates that serve as indicators of how restored the wetland habitat on the project site is. 
• Supporting native pollinators, the team has restored a 1.3-acre site to consist of herbaceous host plants, such as milkweed and forbs. The area was seeded with the help of local students and is maintained through a series of herbicide applications, mowing and prescribed burns.