Message from the Director

In 2021, as with the year before it, we faced no shortage of challenges—particularly, as we had hoped and perhaps expected that we would see the end of the global pandemic, which continues to linger on. We have written and talked quite a bit about “adaptation,” which in today’s conservation world continues to take on new meaning and interpretations.

2021 saw WI Land+Water adapt many of our events, including our 68th Annual Conference, County Conservation meetings, countless trainings, youth education events, and program and committee meetings to virtual settings as we continued to work in service of our mission despite the pandemic.

The challenges of connecting through video presentations and webcams were many, without a doubt. There were obvious difficulties for rural parts of the state without adequate broadband services, and for those of us who are not technologically savvy, nor have the capacity to sit in front of a computer screen for hours on end. There were perhaps even greater challenges for those of us who just wanted to be in the physical presence of a conservation colleague or friend from the other side of the state, to share stories, commiserate, or reconnect. In other words, to be human with one another.

Though we continued to creatively move our organization forward through a difficult time, as clearly demonstrated in this report, the pandemic made painfully obvious what our members already know—that it is the people and the relationships that are the strength of our county conservation community. We look forward to reconnecting in person with this community in the brighter days ahead.

Matt Krueger Executive Director