McPherson Branch

The McPherson Branch (map) is a tributary to the Platte River in Grant County, Wisconsin. The 3.7 mile, spring-fed stream is located just west of Ellenboro (T.4N., R.2W.). The watershed covers 5.9 square miles. The topography is a combination of flat valley floors, steep hillsides and gently sloped fields. Nearly all the flat areas are used for agriculture, while the steep hillsides are wooded. The upper 2.2 miles of the McPherson Branch are currently on the State's list of impaired waterways due to nonpoint source pollution, sedimentation and habitat impairment. The lower 1.5 miles recently were upgraded to a class I trout stream, making the McPherson Branch an Exceptional Water Resource in Wisconsin.

In 2001, the Harry and Laura Nohr chapter of Trout Unlimited, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, state and county agencies, and landowners worked together on a habitat improvement and bank stabilization project on the lower section on the McPherson Branch.

A volunteer citizen stream monitor from the UW-Extension/DNR Water Action Volunteers (WAV) program has been monitoring the water quality in the project area since July 2002. Monitoring data is available on the WAV database.

In 2003, the Grant County Land and Water Conservation District obtained a Targeted Runoff Management grant from the DNR to install best management practices to help improve water quality and general watershed health. Project work began in summer 2004.