"But...aren't dams bad?"

Dams are built for a variety of reasons, including provision of hydroelectric power, flood control, and to offer recreational opportunities. The Estrabrook Dam provides the latter two. Humans have altered their environment since we have been in existence, and this includes altering waterways. Building massive cities and the interstate system have obviously had a large impact on the ecology of our area as well. We strive to have a beautiful Milwaukee County Park system so that large numbers of people can appreciate nature within this built environment.
I want to point out that we are not talking about the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China, the construction of which displaced millions of people who lived on the river banks; we are not talking about the Hoover Dam. We are not talking about the Colorado River, the damming and diversion of which- to provide for things like swimming pools, green lawns, and golf courses in the desert and makes Las Vegas possible- reduces the water flow to a mere trickle by the time it reaches Mexico. We are not even talking about the many dams on the Wisconsin River, known as "the hardest working river in the nation." We are talking about a 15-ft-tall dam with a length of 562 feet...one dam on a small rivershed that drains 882 square miles. Keeping it in place offers so much here.