Waterfront Refresh Spring 2026 Annual Newsletter!

Written By Devante Scholfield

Reach out today to start planning your WI, MN, or MI shoreline restoration project for 2026! Contact us by March 15th for best chances of getting on our Spring Schedule!

Phone: (715)-309-3177 Email: Devante@waterfrontrefresh.com

Before or after reading, feel free to connect with us! Do you own waterfront property in Wisconsin or Minnesota? Connect with us here!

Here you can stay in touch and learn more about the work we are up to on waterfront properties in WI and MN, as well as learn about new trends in our industry.

Waterfront Refresh 2026 Spring Newsletter - New service updates, waterfront news, and more!

Hello, this is Devante with Waterfront Refresh bringing you our 2026 Spring Newsletter heading into our 4th season! (AI-free and actually written by a real person. Lets go!) This is an annual spring update we send out once a year containing our updated service offerings for waterfront property owners, as well as some general useful info for our shoreline clients! Thank you for reading and I hope this can provide insight and value for you as you plan your waterfront and shoreline projects heading into this year. We’ll keep it brief as always and get right into it.

Devante Scholfield

WaterfrontRefresh.Com | 715-309-3177

WI/MN Shoreline Management and Project Consultant

1. First Chance at Bid opportunities!

  • The months of February and March are a first chance opportunity to get a bid or get on the schedule for a spring and summer project. This is a huge advantage as it puts you ahead when it comes to getting permits approved and your project started! We recommend reaching out no later than mid March to guarantee your project can happen before the fourth of July.

2. Summary of 2025 Shoreline Services

  • In 2025 Waterfront Refresh expanded heavily into our shoreline restoration services (excavation, access, erosion control, ice heave repair), and we hope to continue to do so in the future. We also carried out our first projects ever in Minnesota (Washington County) and on Lake Michigan (Door County, WI). We also got the opportunity to carry out our first vegetated/bio-engineered shoreline installation. We decreased our time spent on property maintenance, boat care, and lake weed removal, but we are still happy to assist in these areas or find the right people to help!

  • (PSA - We have a huge vendor referral list of reliable contractors from home builders, realtors, lake weed removal pros, and more so please reach out if you need help.)

3. Updated Service Area

  • Our primary service area remains a 2 hour radius from the Twin Cities. We are based in St Croix County, WI, and we continue to primarily serve Polk County WI, Western Wisconsin, and the East and Northeast Metro areas. While these are still our home base, we are excited to be opening up inquiry from all over Wisconsin, Minnesota, and newly Lake Superior and Lake Michigan properties. This change comes as we hope to advance our shoreline restoration and marine construction capabilities across the upper midwest!

4. Services We are Focusing On This Year + Expanded Offerings (Natural Shorelines, Retaining Walls, Structural Waterfront and Marine Projects)

  • This year we are focusing on developing further in our all around shoreline contracting services! This includes:

    1. Waterfront Grading, Excavating

    2. Riprap repair, removal, or replacement

    3. Natural, Mixed-use, or Bio-engineered shorelines (New as of fall 2025! We are taking trainings and meeting with Watershed/DNR reps as often as we can to best offer this service as it grows in demand.)

    4. Waterfront Access Projects - Waterfront Stairways, Boat landings

    5. General landscape/Erosion Control services, including Retaining Wall Systems! Contact us at anytime for a quote on your boulder or block retaining wall project.

    6. Structural Waterfront Services (new!) - These services include replacement or removal of failing seawalls, installation of large armored shorelines and stone revetments, and waterfront demolition of old structures (concrete piers, boat houses, etc.) These new offerings come as we have seen many old waterfront structures starting to fail or become unsafe across Wisconsin and Minnesota, and we want to step in and offer our skillsets to provide a real solution.

  • Feel free to reach out at anytime for ideas on your waterfront project and we’d be glad to help consult on the right solution for you.

5. Scuba Weed Control Partnership in 2026 - https://www.scubaweedcontrol.com/

  • Waterfront Refresh has partnered with Scuba Weed Control! Scuba Weed Control is a reputable lake weed removal business based out of the Twin Cities with a track record of excellent service, broad capability (Dive teams, lake weed removal equipment), and full coordination with DNR requirements. Our teams have met to discuss the growing needs of waterfront property owners in our similar service areas, and have partnered (on a referral basis) to make sure both shoreline restoration and lake weed removal demands are being met by professional service providers in WI and MN. Whether you have a serious shoreline restoration project coming up, or an extensive lake weed cleanup, (or both!) please reach out Waterfront Refresh or Scuba Weed Control to learn more about your lake weed removal or shoreline restoration options across Wisconsin and Minnesota!

6. Referral and Review Incentives for Customers!

  • You read that right! Our number one source of business is from people like you who have worked with us or shared our info with others. We want to prioritizing taking care of the people who are taking care of us, so this year we are offering:

  • For every Google review or Facebook review after a project closes we are offering $50 off of the final project price.

  • Some free swag (coming soon) to wear out on the boat or on the lake for any previous customer who refers us to another project that closes.

  • And If there is anything else we can do such as shout out your local business or Airbnb, please let us know! We use our website, youtube, and facebook channels regularly and would love to get the word out about your business. We understand business is bigger than cash, but about community - and the lake life community is a fun one to be part of. 

7. New laws and regulations 

  • We wanted to make a quick note that over the last year we have observed regulations around shoreline restoration, shoreland zoning, and DNR project requirements changing to become more precise in what property owners can and can’t do. We have also noticed a big push towards vegetated shoreline policies throughout all of the upper Midwest (MN/WI/MI). This does not come as a surprise to us, as we have been preparing to be able to offer durable shoreline solutions that work within these regulations and meet customer goals. If you’ve had a difficult time working to get permits or understanding exactly what requirements are, you’re not crazy and you’re not alone - things are changing relatively fast. Our recommendation is to reach out to us or other professionals first before trying to do a project.

  • For a few other unique waterfront policy or updates feel free to check out - https://www.waterfrontrefresh.com/thelakewarrior/spring-news-updates-for-waterfront-property-owners-in-wi-and-mn

Lastly - Waterfront Parcel or Vacant Land Referrals Appreciated!

  • We are actively looking for waterfront land suitable for campground and recreational facility development. If you know of anyone looking to sell suitable waterfront parcels or vacant land lots, please reach out!

Thank You for reading our 2026 Spring Newsletter! We appreciate our waterfront community both near and far and thank you for taking the time to learn more about us and what we are up to in 2026.

Reach out today to start planning shoreline restoration project for 2026!

Devante Scholfield
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Spring 2026 Local News Updates for Waterfront Property Owners in WI and MN