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Kankapot Creek

Kaukauna HS

Kankapot Creek Team

Monitoring of Kankapot Creek began in 2020 with students from Kaukauna High School and teacher, Stefanie Stainton.

Location

Kankapot Creek is 9 miles long and empties into the Fox River near Thousand Islands Nature Preserve in Kaukauna. The watershed drains 16,386 acres dominated by agriculture with growing urban development. Tiling of fields and straightening of stream channels has increased runoff and streambank erosion.

Challenges

Heavy clay soils cover the bottom of Kankapot Creek providing little habitat for aquatic life. Flooding is causing streambank erosion and slumping.

Finding suitable monitoring sites was also very challenging for safety reasons. Steep slopes made it dangerous for students to monitor behind Kaukauna High School. New sites were located at Thousand Island Nature Preserve and Horeshoe Park starting in 2021.