WI Land+Water | 2023 Annual Report

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Message from Matt

As a year, 2023 mimicked what local conservation work can often look like – some opportunistic victories, but not without a challenge or two along the way.

We in the county conservation community know well that making progress on soil and water challenges will require building the professional capacity of our land and water conservation departments (LWCD). As such, we were disappointed when the 2023-25 state biennial budget didn’t deliver our desired increase in staffing support. However, we remain optimistic that we will achieve that goal in the next budget.

That challenge aside, 2023 provided several victories to celebrate. WI Land+Water enjoyed its fourth consecutive year of full membership from all 72 counties—an accomplishment we are very proud of, and do not take for granted.

Legislative successes for county land and water conservation included Act 42 (AB 133), which improved and modernized the Farmland Preservation Program, hopefully resulting in the protection of more acres of well-managed farmland, and Act 32 (AB 131), providing much-needed clarity on land conservation committee (LCC) membership.

Our Annual Conference in Wisconsin Dells in March was the biggest and best we’ve ever hosted, attended by more than 500 people. This is fast becoming a “can’t-miss” annual conservation event.

We launched an exciting new Health and Conservation Committee, as well as a new SITCOM mentorship program, both of which will meet the evolving needs of our members in new ways.

I am proud of the work we did together in 2023 and look forward to what lies ahead in 2024 and beyond.

Budget Summary

Meet Our Conservation Community

WI Land+Water is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) that uniquely serves Wisconsin—its lands, waters, and people—through our membership, public programs, leadership, and resources. We work at the center of Wisconsin’s conservation network, supporting the land and water conservation departments and committees in advancing our mission and vision for all.

Our Mission

We empower our county conservation members to protect, conserve, and enhance Wisconsin’s natural resources for current and future generations.

Our membership includes all 370 county staff members of the land and water conservation departments (LWCD) and all 470 members serving on the county land conservation committees (LCC) from all 72 counties in Wisconsin. We have eight staff and an intern based in Madison, WI.

Our Vision

We envision a future where our natural resources are valued and protected by informed, empowered communities advancing locally led conservation.

Staff Team

Matt Krueger

Executive Director

Christina Anderson

Associate Director

Kate Brunner

SOC Program Manager

Michael Hook

Statewide Training Coordinator

Peyton Mueller

Communications Intern

Kelli Myers

Conservation Training & Membership Services Manager

Chris Schlutt

Training and Events Manager

Kristin Teston

Communications Manager

Kim Warkentin

Operations Manager & Youth

Education Director

Board of Directors

Lake Michigan

» Scott Frank, Shawano County LWCD

» Tom Mandli, Marinette County LCC

Lake Winnebago

» Brian Haase, Waupaca County LWCD

» Mike Hofberger, Calumet County LWCC

North Central

» Carolyn Scholl, Secretary, Vilas County LWCD

» Mike Ritter, Marathon County LCC

Northwestern

» Ben Dufford, Bayfield County LWCD

» Craig Conroy, Burnett County LCC

Southeast

» Marissa Castello, Waukesha County LWCD

» Monte Osterman, Board Chair, Racine County LCC

Southern

» Amy Piaget, Treasurer, Dane County LWCD

» Melissa Luck, Richland County LCC

West Central

» Chase Cummings, Dunn County LWCD

» Ken Gerhardt, Clark County LCC

Western

» Bob Micheel, Vice Chair Monroe County LWCD

» Mary Henry, Vernon County LCC

Area Association Coordinators

Lake Michigan

Ken Dolata, Oconto County LWCD

Lake Winnebago

Kiefer Sroka, Adams County LWCD

North Central

Steve Kircher, Forest County LCD

Northwestern

Heather Palmquist, Iron County LCD

Southeast

Stephanie Egner, Washington County LWCD

Southern

Todd Jenson, Green County LWCD

West Central

Rod Webb, Pierce County LCD

Western

Gaylord Olson II, Jackson County LWCD

Committee Chairs

Executive

Bob Micheel, President, Monroe County LCD

Great Lakes

Greg Coulthurst, Door County SWCD

Our organization is comprised of the Board of Directors, eight committees, and eight area associations, in addition to a wider network of public, private, non-profit partners, and volunteers across Wisconsin.

Health & Conservation

Chase Cummings, Dunn County LWCD

Dale Grosskurth, Marathon County HD

Legislative/Administrative

Kurt Calkins, Columbia County LWCD

Mississippi River Basin

Rod Webb, Pierce County LWCD

Public Outreach

Katie Abbott, Iowa County LWCD

Professional Improvement

Tony Reali, Calumet County LWCD

Technical

Matt Hanewall, La Crosse County LWCD

Youth Education

Tracy Arnold, Portage County LWCD

Advisors

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP)

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension

Wisconsin Counties Association

Advocacy & Policy

We continued to advocate for locally led conservation and champion policies that promote county-based conservation work in Wisconsin. By strengthening our partnerships with other agriculture and conservation groups, we continue to represent our members’ priorities.

WI Act 42 (AB 133)

This bipartisan legislation, a top priority for WI Land+Water for the past three legislative sessions, improves and modernizes the Farmland Preservation Program. The concept for the bill can be directly traced to a proposal that emerged from Rock County and the Southern Area Association at our 2019 Annual Conference.

Rep. Oldenburg, Sen. Testin, and Sen. Spreitzer, played a crucial role in successfully advancing Act 42. Additionally, a coalition of agricultural and conservation groups played a significant part in supporting this legislation.

WI Act 32 (AB 131)

In August, Gov. Evers signed Act 32, which removes the requirement in Chap. 92 to appoint an FSA member to the county LCC and replaces it with a requirement to appoint a person who is engaged in an agricultural use. Our own Legislative-Administrative Committee was vital in shaping this legislation.

We were grateful to work with Sen. Ballweg and Rep. Schutt on this sensible legislation, allowing agriculture to continue to have a seat on LCCs, while granting counties the flexibility decide the most effective approach.

Standards Development

The Standards Oversight Council’s unique interagency collaboration ensures uniform, sciencebased technical standards to support a wide variety of federal, state and local conservation programs. SOC’s process uses teams of representatives from local, state and federal agencies, research institutions, and private sector to reach consensus among different interests. Bringing agencies and technical experts together to develop draft standards, while also soliciting input from additional practitioners, ensures that the final standards not only meet the conservation goal, but can be also be readily implemented.

SOC supported its partner custodian agencies—DATCP, WDNR, and NRCS—in facilitating work teams for 8 technical standards through the SOC Full Process:

NRCS Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) 328 Conservation Crop Rotation, CPS 380 Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment and Renovation, CPS 590 Nutrient Management, CPS 635 Vegetated Treatment Area;

WDNR 1011 Vegetated Dry Storm Water Ponds, 1012 Storm Water Sand Filter, 1013 Enhanced Settling and Phosphorus Removal, and 1014 Episodic Additive Dosing.

Climate Resilience

We continued to grow the Climate Program by strengthening relationships with climate leaders in Wisconsin and throughout the country by attending conferences, developing shared projects, and participating in climate-focused coalitions.

Fencing at MREA

We supported Portage County in initiating an agrivoltaics demonstration on the Midwest Renewable Energy Advocates fields. Agrivoltaics is the harmonious integration of agriculture and solar energy, allowing crops and solar panels to coexist on the same land and maximizing efficiency and sustainable land use. New fencing installed in fall 2023 will allow for grazing at the fairgrounds and eliminate the need for mowing around their solar panels.

TNC funding for Monroe County

Thanks to funding from The Nature Conservancy, Monroe County utilized the Coon Creek Community Watershed Council and the Monroe County Agriculture Advisory Committee to promote and implement conservation practices and calculate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions using the COMET Farm and Planner tools. Farmers planted cover crops that will reduce emissions by approximately 80CO2e/year, installed a grade stabilization structure (dam) to further reduce the risk of runoff on a climate demonstration farm, and used COMET Farm to evaluate 160-acre corn/ soy/wheat farm baseline GHG and future scenarios to continue to reduce emissions.

Clean Economy Coalition of Wisconsin

As founding members, our staff and board actively participated in the official launch event for the CECW, which seeks to leverage the strength of its membership to enhance the quality of life of all Wisconsinites by accelerating the state’s transformation to a clean energy economy. Visit cleaneconomywi.com to learn more about the coalition’s goals.

Convening for Climate Conversations

We sustained momentum around climate related issues by convening members, agencies, and partners through our Annual Conference and County Conservation Meeting. Providing platforms for peer-to-peer discussions on climate-related topics ensures that counties are at the forefront of these issues.

Envirothon Current Issue Presentations

With the theme of “Adapting to a Changing Climate,” we tailored the scenario for students’ team presentations. Students presented present their ideas for adaptions and mitigation solutions for a community experiencing extreme weather events and severe flooding.

Building Partnerships

Our staff and members engaged in climate discussions through Wisconsin Initiative for Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) and Wisconsin Climate Action Navigators, attended the Midwest Climate Resilience Conference and National Association Conservation Districts Conference, and fostered connections with the Midwest Climate Collaborative and USDA Midwest Climate Hubs.

Youth Education

Our Youth Education programs fully returned to in-person activities after adapting to virtual and hybrid options. Despite a temporary decline in numbers, we’re now rebuilding and expanding our youth programs. This success is owed to the dedicated work of our Youth Education Committee, subcommittees, and the crucial financial support from events like the Silent Auction, member dues, and sponsorships for the WI Envirothon.

competed in the 2023 WI Envirothon

21 teams participated for the first time

6 new schools dedicated their time and expertise

25 volunteers

Our sponsors make the WI Envirothon possible :

» USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

» The Nature Conservancy

» McKnight Foundation

» Smithfield Foods, Inc.

» Wisconsin County Forests Association, Inc.

» WI Farm Bureau Foundation

» Petenwell and Castle Rock Stewards

» Lake Winnebago Land+Water Area Association

» North Central Land+Water Area Association

» Southeastern Land+Water Area Association

» Northwest Land+Water Area Association

» Pheasants Forever, Tomorrow River Chapter

» Daniel Boone Conservation League

» Brown County Conservation Alliance

» Pickerel Crane Lake Preservation Protect and Preservation Dist.

» Lumberjack RC&D

» Silver Lake Preservation Assoc. Inc.

» Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association

» County LWCDs across the state

107 speeches delivered by students at local and area

Conservation Awareness

Speaking Contests across Wisconsin

51 middle schoolers attended our conservation summer camp held at Upham Woods in the Wisconsin Dells

2,071 posters submitted by K-12 students who participated in local and area

Poster Contests

18

high schoolers attended our conservation summer camp held at North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish

Conservation Training

We continued our collaboration with statewide partners to provide and assist with a combination of in-person and online trainings. In-person trainings included hands-on experience and field days across the state. Online trainings were recorded and are available on our website as continually accessible materials. Many trainings met certain specifications, offering Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Hours (PDHs).

In September, we welcomed Kelli Myers to our team as the new Conservation Training and Membership Services Manager.

Attendance Overview

Webinars

2,488 participants benefited from 36 training opportunities, both in-person and virtually 1,362 attendees actively participated in virtual learning sessions

Field Days

1,126 individuals engaged during 20 in-person training sessions and field days

70th Annual Conference

With more than 500 attendees, we held our annual conference in-person. Our Professional Improvement Committee (PIC) supported our staff in developing the conference agenda with assistance from the Technical Committee and SITCOM.

33

Continuing

Education

Units & 4 Professional

Develop Hours were offered at the conference

$3,110 raised through raffles to support PIC scholarships

7 award winners were recognized during the banquet

34 sponsors donated their generous support of our event

An impressive turnout of 147 participants marked the success of the two-morning webinar focused on stormwater management. County Conservation Meeting Stormwater Workshop

A robust gathering with 75 attendees, the County Conservation Meeting served as a platform for collaborative discussions and insights.

Conservation Observance Day Health & Conservation Summit

Nearly 200 people visited Columbia County and contributed to the success of Conservation Observance Day, emphasizing the importance of local conservation efforts.

Bringing together 86 attendees in person, the Health & Conservation Summit facilitated discussions on the intersection of health and conservation at the county level.

SITCOM

In 2023, the State Interagency Training Committee adopted a new Task Force approach to address gaps within our statewide training landscape. These Task Forces are focused teams consisting of both SITCOM members and non-members, who identify an issue, collect feedback and evidence, and develop an action plan. There were three task forces that developed action plans during 2023:

The Needs Assessment Task Force developed a new way to identify the conservation training interests and needs for county and partner agency staff across the state. The 2023 Needs Assessment Survey was redesigned to include drilldown question formats and asked participants to self-identify their skill level within areas of interest (beginner, intermediate, or advanced).

View the full report online:

» wisconsinlandwater.org/needsassessment-report

The Online Resources Task Force identified issues related to sharing and accessing files between county and agency partners. With the need for partner and interagency collaboration constantly growing, this task force created an action plan that would allow Wisconsin Land+Water to facilitate a path forward for partners and county staff to share, host, and access electronic files using a single database accessible to both the public and user-specific groups.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY

169 COUNTY 113 WDNR

40 NRCS 8 DATCP 4 OTHERS

The Mentor/Cohort Taskforce was established following the 2023 Training Needs Assessment, in order to address the interest and need for a conservation professional mentorship program that allowed for interagency participation and collaboration. After listening sessions, surveys, and multiple meetings, the task force created an operational guidance, obtained approval from partner agency leadership, and kicked off the pilot of the program in late 2023 into early 2024.

Thanks to our partners and teammates who helped make this possible:

Committee Updates

Legislative/Administrative

We launched a new Local Input Policy Process to streamline alignment with our existing policy priority setting and advocacy efforts overseen by the Legislative/Administrative Committee, which addressed various issues such as PFAS, wake boats, and tile drainage.

Professional Improvement

We assisted in organizing 40 conference breakout sessions, managed the member training scholarship program, and promoted and judged conservation award nominations.

Great Lakes

We held our annual summer tour of the Dunes Lake Restoration area, approved two mini grant applications totaling $4,000 in cost-share dollars, and sponsored a webinar on Wisconsin’s GIS Landscape. Our membership continues to grow, and we are seeking a new vice-chair from the Lake Superior Basin.

Technical

Public Outreach

We continued to develop communications resources, offered 40 counties access to Canva Premium, began the planning stages for a communications training series, and purchased eight lapel microphones that counties can borrow to enhance their video production quality.

Youth Education

We recognized Justine Bula from Sauk County with the fourth Brad Matson Youth Education Award, raised $6,787 through our Silent Auction, and made significant efforts to expand student participation across all programs.

Health & Conservation

Elevated to a standing committee, we highlighted our collaboration with county public health by convening our inaugural Health & Conservation Summit, drawing nearly 100 participants from various sectors to facilitate peer learning and enhance county partnerships towards mutual health and conservation objectives.

We developed publications to assist county conservation staff across Wisconsin, including a Companion Document to Chapter NR 151: Determining Direct Runoff from Feedlots to Waters of the State and a Floodplain Zone A Conservation Practice No-Rise Checklist. Additionally, a representative collaborated with various stakeholder groups assembled by WDNR to create a useful and effective permit that aids county conservation staff to implement valuable conservation practices. Our Fall Technical Tour emphasized nutrient management and depth-to-bedrock verification as crucial measures for enhancing groundwater quality in Kewaunee County.