This is the first State of the Milwaukee River Basin report. It provides an overview of land and water quality, identifies challenges to these resources, and outlines steps that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Reources and its partners can take to restore and protect these reources. The authors adopt an 'ecosystem' approach to show that environmental, social, and economic elements all play a role in resource management decision making. This report provides information about the Milwaukee River Basin, which includes its watersheds, wetlands, forests, and agricultural lands. It discusses the sources of water contamination and the effect it has had on drinking water and ground water.