Some of the wetlands may be locally significant for waterfowl as well as other wildlife species. Dominant land use in the watershed is agricultural, particularly dairying. The average soil erosion rate in the Richland County portion of this watershed is 4.9 tons per acre per year, according to the Richland County Soil Erosion Control Plan. The portion of the watershed on the Wisconsin River floodplain is also in an atrazine management area. Elevated levels of atrazine, an herbicide used on corn, have been found in some tested private water wells.
Soils are permeable which allows atrazine to reach groundwater in some locations.
Both Lone Rock and Spring Green operate wastewater treatment plants in the watershed, Lone Rock discharging to groundwater and Spring Green discharging to the Wisconsin River. Portions of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway are in this watershed. Bear Creek Bear Creek rises in western Sauk County and flows south, meeting the Wisconsin River west of Lone Rock.