Agenda Descriptions
Click arrows to the left of each workshop or session title for a description.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
All workshops are in-person (there are no virtual workshop options).
Pre- and Post-Convention workshops are not included in the Thursday/Friday Convention cost. There is a separate registration fee for workshops.
Wednesday Full Day Pre-Convention Workshop
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Room: Woodland
Tackling PFAS requires a holistic, systemic approach. This workshop will foster thoughtful conversation among experts from academia and industry about research and development of alternative materials as well as methods for PFAS filtration and remediation. A renowned keynote speaker, Dr. Erin Bulson, geologist and environmental engineer in disposal operations support at Waste Management who actively bridges academic and industrial worlds, will set the stage for conversation and small group discussions. This session is designed for university faculty and staff researching any aspect of PFAS and industry partners including environmental consultants, manufacturers of products used to identify and clean up PFAS, and manufacturers or developers of alternative materials to replace PFAS. Attendees will be empowered to form new connections and take collaborative action.
Facilitators: Marissa Jablonski, Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin; Marty Ochs, Green Bay Innovation Group; AJ Jeninga-Nehls, UW-Madison Division of Extension; and Tisha King-Heiden, UW-La Crosse
Room: Expo 2
Lake organizations and riparian owners often show decades of dedication to their lake or waterway. That dedication often involves a need for grant funding to complete projects and launch programs. This workshop brings together experts from various organizations to help water lovers know where to look for, and how to apply for, the grants they need, as well as find ideas for other non-traditional funding sources.
Presenters: Beckie Gaskill, Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association; Rosie Page, Wisconsin Headwaters Invasives Partnership; Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department; Ben Strand, Natural Resources Foundation; Tracy Beckman, Lumberjack RC&D; Jill Sunderland, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Sands
Managing runoff from hard surfaces is critical for protecting and restoring waterbody health, especially on shoreland properties. However, designing practices that can effectively capture and clean runoff is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. This workshop will provide training on how to select and design the right Healthy Lakes & Rivers best practice (ex. raingardens, diversions, rock infiltration) to meet your goals and will include case studies from landowners and practitioners to share lessons learned. Whether you are interested in designing practices for your own property, volunteering to support Healthy Lakes & Rivers projects in your community, or are a natural resource professional, the tools provided will be simple to use and require no previous design experience. Equipped with the right decision-making tools, you will find that there is a Healthy Lakes & Rivers practice for everyone!
Presenters: Pat Brown, Barron County Land & Water Department; Brenda Nordin and Scott Van Egeren, WI Department of Natural Resources; and Wade Moder, UW-Madison Division of Extension
Room: Evergreen
Why do some people dive right into a project while others want to test the waters first? Why do some crave details and others just want the big picture? In this lively Real Colors® workshop, you’ll identify your personal style and discover easy ways to adapt your communication to build stronger, more productive relationships — essential skills for anyone working to protect our lakes and rivers.
Presenter: Jessica Beckendorf, UW-Madison Division of Extension
Room: Frontier
Are you a new member of a Lake District Board of Commissioners? Maybe your lake district recently formed. This workshop is meant to walk you through the basics of Wisconsin’s unique lake districts and the important roles that elected and appointed commissioners play in making them work. We’ll cover the basics of Chapter 33, the state statute that governs lake districts, and other relevant rules and laws that every commissioner should know.
Presenter: Eric Olson, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point
Room: Stonefield
Learn from the Waterways Association of Menominee and Shawano Counties (WAMSCO) about why engaging youth is so vital for the future of our waterways. Through our past decade of experience in environmental education, we’ll share our lessons learned and the best (and worst) ways to encourage youth involvement in both big and small projects, followed by round-table discussions. Find out what you can do to recruit future generations to carry on the stewardship of the waters you love!
Presenters: Shanda Hubertus, Kori Halstead, and Alexis Trinko, Waterways Association of Menominee and Shawano Counties (WAMSCO)
Room: Harvest
Are you creating a lake, river, or watershed plan, but don’t know how to find information? Are you interested in learning more about the health of your watershed and the waterbodies in it? The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has developed several online tools to make it easier to find and analyze lake, river, and watershed data. Join our workshop with a waterbody or watershed in mind, and we will teach you how to harness these tools to gather information about water quality, generate reports, explore watershed health, document ongoing restoration efforts, and more. All participants should bring a laptop or tablet so that they can participate as we demonstrate these tools.
Presenters: Lauren Haydon, Aaron Fisch, and Justin Chenevert, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Trillium
This workshop will include an overview of aquatic plant ecology, benefits of aquatic plants, and plant features that are most useful to distinguish different species from one another. The instructors will use pressed/laminated plant specimens and high-resolution photos to teach participants about common species that occur in Wisconsin lakes and streams, as well as a few uncommon (but interesting) species.
Presenters: Paul Skawinski, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point and Michelle Nault, WI Department of Natural Resources
12:00 p.m.
Room: Northwoods Expo
Lunch (registration required if joining us for lunch)
Experience a refreshing Wander at UWSP’s Schmeeckle Reserve—a lightly guided walk focused on easy movement and observation designed to foster mindfulness, reflection, and connection with the natural world and each other. Nestled within the heart of Stevens Point, this tranquil setting offers a diversity of water features, wooded trails, and quiet spaces ideal for contemplation. Guided by principles from the book Blue Mind, this Wander will incorporate reflective passages that explore the cognitive and emotional benefits of being on, in, or near water. For the past two years, your guides Bill Koepke and Jeremy Solin have invited the public to a monthly Wander along Stevens Point’s Green Circle Trail. The Wander invites participants to move intentionally, observe closely, and build community. This is a model that can easily be replicated in every community.
Presenters: Jeremy Solin, UW-Madison Division of Extension and Bill Koepke, Pearl Street Gym
When people use a watershed approach, whether it’s big or small, they proactively deliver long-term and effective solutions for water quality. We will show you an example of each: 1) The Lost Creek Mitigation site where you will see how using a watershed approach on one scale, achieved success, and 2) how permanent changes were made on a larger scale to improve the Little Plover River. We’ll also show you how working with people to form partnerships, that led to practices, achieved our goals.
Presenters: Scott Provost, WI Department of Natural Resources; Lucas Meddaugh, Portage County; Bree Richardson, WI Department of Transportation; others TBD
Wednesday Afternoon Pre-Convention Workshops
1:00-4:00 p.m.
Note: Most workshops limited to 40 participants; please register early to reserve your spot.
Refreshments in the Commons
2:30-2:45 p.m.
Room: Expo 2
This workshop will review protocols used by Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network volunteers. Volunteers can get their questions answered and pick up spring monitoring supplies. Presenters will also provide updates for the 2026 season.
Presenters: Paul Skawinski and Paul Zdroik, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point; Chris Kolasinski, and Chastin Harlow, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Spruce
A century ago, Will Dilg was the driving force behind our nation’s first successful large scale grassroots environmental movement. After Dilg’s only son drowned in the Mississippi River, he rose from the depths of depression to become a tireless, fanatic firebrand – leading an extraordinary crusade to form a new organization- the Izaak Walton League- and protect a 261 mile stretch of Mississippi River Backwaters now known as the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. While his life was cut short, his accomplishments are still legendary, and we all benefit by hearing from him a century after this monumental achievement. Steven Marking has been reenacting Dilg’s life on stage nationwide and he will present his unique blend of live action and video in this workshop. Steven will discuss the current threats facing our waters and engage the audience to discuss ways we can apply Will Dilg’s legacy to modern problems.
Presenter: Steven Marking, Izaak Walton League
Room: Sands
This workshop is designed for dam owners/operators and those with riparian interests/stakeholders on waterways controlled or impounded by a dam. Key topics discussed will include the responsibilities and liabilities of owning or operating a dam; understanding the basic laws and regulations involving water control structures; and a review of reference tools and training relating to dams.
Presenters: Uriah Monday, WI Department of Natural Resources; Ellen Voss, River Alliance of Wisconsin; Peter Jensen, Eagle Spring Lake Management District; Keifer Sroka, Adams County Land & Water Department
Room: Evergreen
Is your organization having problems getting things done, or even just knowing what to do to solve your issues? Organizations are more successful at meeting their missions if they have a strong strategic plan. But the plan isn’t enough if all the emphasis is on the planning and nothing is ever implemented. No matter how good the plan, organizations need to build a strong “culture of doing.” In this workshop, you’ll be introduced to a planning tool that focuses you on your big goal and then leads you through a series of activities that build an immediately actionable project to start you on the journey of accomplishing your goal. You’ll learn how to build a culture that features alignment of the key players, accountability, and most importantly, action.
Presenter: Michael Engleson, Good Oak Consulting
Room: Frontier
This workshop is designed specifically for Lake District Treasurers. Managing a lake district budget is not the same as working with finances for a lake association or other type of organization. This workshop will provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to create and manage your lake district’s budget. We will cover specific compliance rules that lake districts need to follow.
Presenter: Eric Olson, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point
Room: Stonefield
The Lake District Board Secretary is required by statute to keep minutes and other records of lake district affairs and to notice the annual, special, and board meetings. Secretaries are selected by their fellow board members and there is no expectation that they have extensive training in Wisconsin’s open meetings and open records laws. This workshop is designed to ensure that lake district secretaries are both meeting the legal requirements for a special purpose unit of local government and doing so efficiently and effectively.
Presenter: Kim Pytleski, Oconto County
Room: Harvest
The lake district chair is the presiding officer at all lake district meetings. This means the chair provides leadership at the meetings, maintains order and decorum, recognizes members to speak during the meetings, and interprets and applies rules, practices, and precedents to guide the board. The chair is also expected to develop agendas for board and annual meetings of the lake district, and they often exercise discretion and leadership when deciding what is (or is not) on the agenda. Finally, the chair is often thought of as the visible leader of a lake district, representing its interests to other government partners and community organizations. This workshop is meant to explore the different responsibilities placed on a lake district chair and foster some key leadership traits among chairs. We will also provide ample time for questions and sharing experiences in leading a lake district.
Presenter: Jared Walker Smith, Boardman and Clark LLP
Room: Trillium
In this introduction to algae and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), learn what characteristics you can use to identify algae and cyanobacteria without a microscope. We will focus on cyanobacteria and review the environmental conditions that promote cyanobacterial bloom growth. We will discuss health impacts of cyanobacterial toxins on animals and people who ingest or inhale them or have skin contact with cyanobacteria. We will cover recreational guidelines for cyanobacterial toxins, and monitoring methods for cyanobacteria in Wisconsin’s lakes. We will review bloom management strategies and what to consider for their use in a water body. Please bring a hand lens or magnifying glass for hands-on identification practice with fresh specimens. This workshop is intended for water professionals, field staff, citizen monitors, and anyone with an interest in learning more about algae and cyanobacteria.
Presenter: Gina LaLiberte, WI Department of Natural Resources
Networking
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Networking Time – Visit Exhibitors in the Commons
Dinner on your own
Room: Spruce
Wisconsin Association of Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Councils is made up of individual RC&D Councils who each serve a different region. Each Council offers different ways to implement conservation practices across their distinct landscape. They encourage cooperation between public and private entities to use public and private programs to enhance our environment and benefit our communities. The RC&D platform has the capacity to bring together a wide variety of environmental stakeholders such as county conservationists, land managers, community leaders, economists and environmentalists. These groups work to identify problems and opportunities, plan for desired future conditions, develop strategies, secure funding and implement projects that help enhance our natural resources and improve our standard of living.
This special session at the 2026 Lakes & Rivers Convention will follow the convention theme Decades of Dedication by focusing on decades worth of projects that have helped improve water quality in Wisconsin. Attendees will come away with a better understanding of the history of the RC&D Program, a history of local RC&Ds and their projects and a history of how we’ve worked collaboratively across boundaries to help improve our environment.
Presenters: Tracy Beckman, Executive Director, Lumberjack RC&D Council; Jennifer Glad, Executive Director, Golden Sands RC&D Council; and Kirsten Jurcek, Executive Director, Glacierland RC&D Council
Room: Expo 2
The laws and regulations around water impact us immensely, and it’s important to keep up with what’s new and what’s changed. We’ll take a look into the legislation and administrative rulemakings of 2025; touch on the status of key advocacy priorities of Wisconsin Lakes including AIS enforcement, reasonable regulation of enhanced-wake recreation, and outline how your organization can effectively take action in this election year.
Presenter: Wisconsin Lakes
Room: Sands
Come socialize, ask questions, and discuss successes and challenges with your fellow CBCW participants! CBCW is Wisconsin’s most cost-effective AIS prevention effort, and its success and continuation relies heavily on passionate, highly motivated community members like you. Almost $900,000 of CBCW grant funds were distributed around the state to organizations committed to helping stop the spread of AIS. We want to hear your feedback about the CBCW grant program! Let’s get together to collaborate and learn from each other. Whether you’re new to the program or a seasoned participant, please join us to share your input, current issues, and enthusiasm.
Facilitators: Erin McFarlane, Statewide CBCW Educator, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point and Anna Bartsch, Surface Water Grants Specialist, Bureau of Water Quality, WI Department of Natural Resources
Welcome Reception (included as part of your registration!)
Room: Northwoods Expo/Expo 1
You are invited to the 2026 Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention Welcome Reception! Join us in a relaxed environment where we will serve up a few tasty appetizers and beverages. This informal gathering of water lovers is a great way for newcomers to “get their feet wet,” and for seasoned Convention attendees to reconnect. Grab a beverage from the cash bar and check out these activities:
Explore and celebrate water through art! The Flow Project paired undergraduate students from UW System campuses with water professionals across the state to create art inspired by water. Stop over anytime 6:00-8:00 p.m. to visit with some of the students who will be present to showcase their pieces. This exhibit will be displayed until 12:00 p.m. Friday, April 17 for Convention attendees.
Room: Expo 2
Another exciting lake/river-focused Pictionary game will be happening during this reception. You can actively participate on a team or just watch the fun!
We would love to meet you at the Wednesday Evening Welcome Reception. Look for the “First-time Attendees” table and meet mentors who can answer questions and help you make the most of the Convention.
Start a puzzle or a game of cribbage with other Convention attendees.
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Room: Expo 2
Wisconsin lakes and rivers have been used for motorized recreation for over 100 years, but the nature of the technology has evolved and so too has our understanding of how recreational craft impact the health of a lake and the wellbeing of other lake users. This presentation will look back at the decades of research on motorboat impacts as well as the evolution of Wisconsin laws and local ordinances that regulate how and where people operate different types of motorboats. This historic context can be helpful when looking at today’s issues surrounding enhanced wake sports and the specialized crafts that people are using to participate in those activities, and the presentation will conclude with some thoughts on where we might be headed from both a regulatory and research perspective, including a new hot off the presses wake-boating suitability research paper authored by a recent UW-Madison PhD!
Presenters: Tim Asplund, WI Department of Natural Resources and David Ortiz, WI Department of Natural Resources and UW-Madison Center for Limnology
Room: Spruce/Sands
From Mark Twain and Henry David Thoreau to Aldo Leopold to Ann Zwinger, Terry Tempest Williams, and Barry Lopez, writers have waxed eloquent about their love of rivers. Come sit back and let your imagination flow along the waters our finest writers have so brilliantly written about.
Presenter: John Bates, Trails North/Manitowish River Press
Room: Evergreen
For over 50 years, people living around lakes in Wisconsin have been able to create new, standalone local governments to fund lake projects: Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Districts. There are just under 260 lake districts today, and about five new districts form every year. But what exactly is a lake district? How do they get formed, and what do they do to take care of lakes? This introductory talk will demystify lake districts and help people understand what their role is in the big picture of water resource management in Wisconsin. This will be helpful for anyone who is considering forming a lake district at their lake, as well as people who are in a lake district and are interested in becoming more involved in its governance.
Presenter: Eric Olson, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point
Room: Stonefield
Are you a new board member of a lake, river or watershed association? Do you have questions about what it means to be a qualified lake association? Join us for an introduction to non-profit associations and learn about board structure, voting, membership, Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, and advocacy.
Presenters: Sara Windjue, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point; Jill Sunderland, WI Department of Natural Resources; Johnson Bridgwater, River Alliance of Wisconsin; and Dave Quady, Sand Lake Association
Room: Woodland
Land Trusts and Shoreland Protection
Shorelands are arguably the most ecologically significant aspect of our lakes, providing a buffer to pollutants and sedimentation, while also functioning as the “ribbon of life” critical to both water quality and aquatic productivity. With the majority of Wisconsin privately owned and subject to developmental pressures, and governments unable or unwilling to preserve or protect shorelands, they are increasingly vulnerable. What does the future hold for your shoreland? Just as your neighbor has a right to develop their property, you have rights to preserve yours! Learn how Land Trusts offer flexible and effective tools to permanently preserve your undeveloped shorelands or inland forests.
Presenter: John Heusinkveld, Northwoods Land Trust
Celebrating a Decade of Healthy Lakes & Rivers: Reflections and Next Steps
Healthy Lakes & Rivers (HLR) is celebrating a milestone year for the statewide shoreland health initiative: 10 years of protecting and restoring Wisconsin’s waters. Launched in 2015, HLR aims to protect and restore the health of the state’s lakes and rivers by increasing property owner participation in habitat restoration and runoff and erosion control projects. The road to success included hundreds of partner organizations and local champions who have helped to install practices and raise awareness for shoreline health. Hear from HLR team members on lessons learned, including testimonials from landowners, and ideas for how you can support the future of this initiative!
Presenters: Scott Van Egeren, WI Department of Natural Resources and Tracy Arnold, Portage County Planning and Zoning Department
Convention Welcome Session: Decades of Dedication: A Long-term Perspective
Room: Northwoods Expo
2026 is a year of significant milestones in Wisconsin’s collaborative approach to lakes and rivers management: Wisconsin’s Citizen Lake Monitoring Network marks 40 years of volunteer-collected lake data, and the UW-Madison’s Division of Extension Water Action Volunteer program is observing 30 years of similarly collected stream data. We are also celebrating 10 years of the Healthy Lakes & Rivers program and over 20 years of Clean Boats, Clean Waters. To fully embrace our “Decades of Dedication” theme, the Thursday morning Welcome Session will take us on a journey starting in the 17th Century. We’ll meet a retired shopkeeper who penned one of the earliest books on fisheries and water conservation, travel through the 20th Century when Wisconsin made a splash in lake and river care, and move from the present into the future, where emerging contaminants pose new threats that we are just starting to understand.
Room: Expo 2
Wisconsin’s legal framework positions towns, cities and villages on the front line of developing local ordinances to protect the public peace, safety and welfare. Lake organizations seeking to encourage greater regulation of motorboating, including wake sports, need to understand the constitutional and statutory framework that local governments operate in. This presentation will look at our legal structure through the lens of regulating enhanced-wake boating to help lake leaders appreciate both the potential and limitations of using local ordinances to protect people and resources from potentially harmful lake uses.
Presenters: Richard Phillips, Mary Jung, Jeff Meessmann, and Fred Silloway, Last Wilderness Alliance
Room: Spruce/Sands
Beginning in 1976, we identified and addressed the main water quality problems in the Wisconsin River Basin, including pollution from paper mills and cities, acid rain impacts on lakes, groundwater pollution in the Central Sands, and the impacts of dams on the “Hardest Working River in America”. We learned that properly designed regulation restores the environment, protects the public interest, AND can actually enhance local economies while avoiding the myth of economic disaster caused by environmental regulation.
Presenter: Bob Martini, WI Department of Natural Resources (retired)
Room: Evergreen
Government bodies, such as Lake Districts, are legally required to comply with public records laws regarding record retention, filing, and eventual disposition of records, both paper and electronic. This program will describe the requirements under state law that Lake Districts must follow, describe the tools that are available to assist in compliance, address the advantages of a good records management system, and describe the legal issues of non-compliance. This information is also of interest to Lake Associations.
Presenters: Andrew J. Baraniak, Wisconsin Historical Society/Public Records Board and Peter Jensen, Eagle Spring Lake Management District
Room: Stonefield
Volunteers can be a crucial part of an organization’s workforce and can play a key role in outreach around conservation efforts. However, recruiting, working with, and retaining volunteers can be a challenging experience for professionals and volunteers alike – there’s unfortunately no plug-and-play, secret sauce to making this magic happen! Join Superior Rivers as we talk about hands-on, applicable ways to meet volunteers where they’re at, work with them the way they work best, and build that word-of-mouth support network that volunteers can provide.
Presenter: Alex Faber, Superior Rivers Watershed Association
Room: Woodland
Oneida County Lakes Have Class!
Beginning in 2021, Oneida County experienced a surge in lake development and outdoor recreation, creating new pressures on its waters. To address these challenges, the Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department (OCLW) developed a Lake Classification System to guide protection efforts.
With nearly 1,100 lakes in the county, designing effective protection activities required a tailored approach. Lakes vary widely in their physical attributes. To address this complexity, an advisory group was formed comprised of community members with diverse backgrounds. The group analyzed each lake’s physical features—size, depth, shape, and location within its watershed—along with current condition of the water and surrounding land. Based on these assessments, lakes with similar qualities were grouped into classes, enabling protection efforts to be customized. The ultimate goal: to conserve the quality of these lakes through at least 2030, ensuring they remain a vital part of our community and environment.
Presenter: JoAnne Lund, Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department
From Plants to Dragonflies: Life Returns to Restored Shorelines
Over a decade ago, a heavily altered stretch of Crystal Lake’s shoreline was restored by planting thousands of native trees, shrubs, and grasses. Today, that restoration remains intact, offering a rare opportunity to evaluate long-term ecological responses. Our research on Crystal Lake examines how shoreline restoration shapes both land and water by tracking shifts in terrestrial vegetation, aquatic plants, and benthic macroinvertebrates. Come learn how aquatic plants have re-established and how insects like dragonflies and mayflies responded alongside them. This work highlights how shoreline restoration can create lasting improvements in lake ecosystems and demonstrates the value of long-term monitoring and dedication to restoration.
Presenters: Madeline Hetland, UW-Stevens Point and Katie Hein, UW-Madison Center for Limnology
Chair Massages
Room: Wisconsin
Take advantage of this opportunity! Students from the local Wellness Spa will be offering 15-minute chair massages! These will take place in a group setting with 7 others. Find the sign-up sheet at the event and schedule yours before spots fill up!
Room: Expo 2
A lake’s carrying capacity refers to the amount of human use that a lake can support while still meeting expected standards, including ecological and recreational standards. Analyzing a lake’s carrying capacity may include answering questions such as:
• Is the lake ecology negatively affected by excessive lake use?
• Can lake users safely conduct recreational activities?
• Do lake users and/or residents consider the lake too crowded to use?
SEWRPC has helped several lake organizations conduct lake carrying capacity analyses as part of comprehensive lake management plans. These analyses consist of three main pieces: 1) recreational use surveys, 2) determining the useable lake area for active boating, and 3) applying published models to examine whether lake use exceeds the recommended capacity. The proposed presentation would describe commonly used lake carrying capacity models, how lake organizations can conduct these analyses, and how lake organizations can use these analyses to inform lake recreation management.
Presenter: Justin Poinsatte, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC)
Room: Spruce/Sands
Stream and River Monitoring in Wisconsin
We are often asked the question- what do stream/river biologists do? We will share some of the techniques and equipment water quality biologists across the state use to evaluate the condition of streams and rivers in Wisconsin. We will discuss how surveying the fish, macroinvertebrates, and plants that live within these flowing systems, along with the water chemistry can be used towards making management and impairment decisions. We will also leave you with ideas and information on actions everyone can take to benefit streams.
Presenters: Kimberly Kuber and Camille Bruhn, WI Department of Natural Resources
Have You Thanked a Diatom Today? Using These River Algae for Bioassessment
Diatoms are an incredibly diverse type of algae and are ubiquitous in aquatic systems throughout the world, yet few people have heard of them. Learn about diatoms, their importance in rivers and other aquatic systems, and how they are used in bioassessment to monitor different aspects of water quality and environmental health.
Presenter: Gina LaLiberte, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Evergreen
Government officials and bodies, including Lake Districts, are required by Wisconsin law to comply with Wisconsin’s Open Records laws, including responding to requests by the public for records. So what does that require of the Lake District and its officeholders? Attorney Gulya will walk you through the legal requirements with practical ideas for application including properly handling requests, charging appropriate fees, understanding prohibitions to the release of specific records or information within records, and other issues and requirements to help Lake Districts remain compliant and conduct business consistent with the requirements of the law.
Presenter: Kyle J. Gulya, Esq., von Briesen & Roper
Room: Stonefield
One of the biggest questions asked by management and employees is what is it that I am supposed to do? Does the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer know what they are legally and practically supposed to do? What about any other employees? A good job description gives people an idea of what their responsibilities are and provides insight into what training and preparation is needed to do their job. Job descriptions also can provide a source of information for people seeking new positions and provide legal protection for the organization.
Presenters: Peter Jensen, Eagle Spring Lake Management District and Dave Quady, Sand Lake Association
Room: Woodland
Protecting Critical Habitat with WDNR Designation
This concurrent session will go through the WDNR critical habitat designation process that is uses NR 1.06 to protect critical habitat in the state of Wisconsin. Lake Ripley will be used as a case-study and guide for potential future projects.
Presenter: Arthur Watkinson, WI Department of Natural Resources
Mapping Critical Habitat Informs Lake Shoreland Management
Critical lake habitat is essential for aquatic species; about 80% of endangered and threatened state species depend on near shore zones, and up to 90% of lake and river organisms inhabit shallow shores. WDNR defines critical habitat as “fish and wildlife habitat; physical features of lakes and streams that ensure protection of water quality; reaches of bank, shore or bed that are predominantly natural in appearance; and navigation thoroughfares”. Nova Ecological Services mapped critical habitat and assessed shoreland habitat features on six lakes in Vilas, Oneida, and Forest counties from 2019 to 2024. These surveys help inform lake residents of important lake features to protect, and guide restoration efforts near ecologically important areas. The work has been funded by WDNR Lake Planning grants, Healthy Lakes and Rivers grants, EPA support via the Sokaogon Chippewa Community, and in-kind support from lake stakeholders.
Presenters: Michael Meyer and Jim Kreitlow, Nova Ecological Services
1:15-1:45 p.m.
Exhibits and Networking
Room: Expo 2
This presentation will focus on presenting results of Chloride conditions and trends among lakes in Southeastern Wisconsin as part the SEWRPC Technical Report No. 63 Chloride Conditions and Trends (https://www.sewrpc.org/Regional-Planning/Chloride-Study). The overarching goal is to summarize the extent to which waterbodies in the study area have been impacted by chloride pollution and to what degree chloride conditions in these waterbodies are improving, becoming worse, or remaining stable. Hence, this presentation focuses on chloride concentration and specific conductivity data collected from the 1960s to 2022 in the study area lakes. This information combined with classification data such as watershed size, lake area, residence time, percent composition of urban and rural land uses, and land use changes over time were included in this analysis. Finally, several case studies for selected lakes or groups of lakes for chloride and/or specific conductance trends, using the best data sets, are summarized.
Presenter: Thomas Slawski, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC)
Room: Spruce/Sands
Every river tells a story. Some are blunt and punchy, others span generations. Many are poetic, some are mundane. But every river sings, and every watershed comprises a chorus of voices. Every river is a quarreling family.
Paddling lakes is simple and straightforward: you end where you began, and you can generally see the big picture before you leave land. Paddling rivers is more nuanced and mysterious: you start at the end, return to the beginning, and every meandering bend in between begs wondering “what happens next?” Is the water high or low? Are there rapids – and if so, are they dangerous? Am I trespassing or are rivers passports? How long will it take, and how do I get back to the car?
Come join local author, Timothy Bauer, for a thoughtful discourse on the beguiling beauty that is paddling rivers. Got a question about logistics or a concern about skill level? Need to be convinced that rivers are rich in mischief and metaphysics? Timothy will dabble in both practicalities and poetics.
Presenter: Timothy Bauer, Author and Paddler
Room: Evergreen
This talk will provide an overview of forecast information from the National Weather Service (NWS), including anticipating heavy rain and assessing forecast uncertainty. It will cover how the NWS messages weather risks, like heavy rain and severe thunderstorms, and how you can help. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to utilize NWS information to better prepare for and make informed decisions regarding weather hazards.
Presenter: Sarah Marquardt, National Weather Service
Room: Stonefield
Board members from lake associations and lake districts often have questions about liability and insurance for their organization. For some groups, the cost of insurance represents a significant portion of the budget. This presentation will cover the basics of liability and insurance for lake groups.
Presenter: Jessica Harrison, Scholz Nonprofit Law LLC
Room: Woodland
The Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops: What’s in the Toolbox for Your Lake?
Wisconsin’s Green Fire hosted Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops in 2023 and 2025. The goal of the workshop series is to provide northern Wisconsin lake stakeholders tools with which to obtain and interpret data about their individual lake – and then to use the lake data to make lake planning and management decisions. The workshops offered a short course on lake ecology, hands-on access to WDNR online lake data, data gap analysis, and guidance for prioritizing lake protection activities. Participants then received Lake Reports with summarized data analysis and recommended Action Plans for their lake. Workshop attendees included members and owners from 24 lakes across Vilas, Oneida, Iron, and Forest counties. Participants provided favorable reviews of the workshops; future offerings will depend on lake stakeholder interest and funding.
Presenters: Michael Meyer, Wisconsin’s Green Fire and Jim Kreitlow, WI Department of Natural Resources (retired)
County Land and Water Workshops for Shoreline Contractors
County Land & Water Conservation Departments work with riparian owners to address erosion issues and other threats to water quality through the DATCP Cost Share program. Typically, these projects are installed by landscaping and earth-working contractors. To build stronger relationships with these contractors, we hold workshops that address the latest County zoning and DNR water regulations, identify and communicate standards, processes, and expectations of our Cost Share programs, and share any new methods and practices to keep contractors up-to-date.
As a lake property landowner or a member of a lake group, you might be wondering what some good tips are to picking a contractor, what questions you should ask them, or exactly what IS a County Cost Share program. As a conservation professional you may have considered how to bring contractors together, how best to communicate with them, or how to encourage more contractors to bid on projects. We can show you.
Presenters: Kayla Littleton, Forest County Land & Water; Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County Land & Water; and Quita Sheehan, Vilas County Land & Water
Room: Expo 2
Neonicotinoid pesticides, or neonics, are a contaminant of emerging concern in Wisconsin due to their impact on nontarget organisms, including aquatic invertebrates. These impacts have cascading effects throughout both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, making it imperative that we understand neonics and how to talk about them. The Wisconsin Neonicotinoid Workgroup (WNW), born out of the 2024 Wisconsin Neonicotinoid Forum, provides a central place for producers, researchers, activists, and government representatives interested in neonicotinoid outreach to get updates on the latest research and collaborate on the development of educational materials. To help our target audiences fully understand the issue presented by neonics communications must include not only accurate information, but actionable steps for learning more about the issue. This presentation will explore how a diverse workgroup can facilitate outreach that prompts audiences to seek more information about neonics in their local wetlands, lakes and rivers. Exploring how different sectors approach discussions around neonics can help the WNW create more effective outreach resources and direct our members towards the best available resources specific to their needs.
Presenter: AJ Jeninga-Nehls, UW-Madison Division of Extension, Natural Resources Institute
Room: Spruce/Sands
In the heart of Wisconsin’s beautiful Driftless Area lies an 8,600-acre National Natural Landmark—The Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Its steep ravines, rich forests, and crooked river are enjoyed by thousands of outdoor enthusiasts each year. “Protecting Paradise in the Driftless: How the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Came to Be”, published in 2024, chronicles why the Kickapoo River still runs free through the Driftless. Author Marcy West will highlight key components from the story, including the innovative preservation and ecological journey from grassroots activism to a unique Memorandum of Understanding between the State of Wisconsin and the Ho-Chunk Nation. West will offer your audience an insider’s perspective on the Reserve’s founding, entertain with anecdotes as an unconventional bureaucrat, and provide real world examples of how to earn community support for whichever lake or river conference attendees consider their piece of Paradise.
Presenter: Marcy West, Author
Room: Evergreen
For generations, Wisconsin’s Lake Districts and Associations have been stewards of the state’s treasured waters, working tirelessly to preserve the natural beauty and ecological health of our lakes. Yet, the task of protecting these resources is complex and demanding. Lake advocates must navigate a broad spectrum of lake management responsibilities, including the critical area of occupational health and safety.
Ensuring the safety of lake workers and volunteers is not only vital for their well-being—it’s also essential for meeting federal and state regulatory requirements and satisfying insurance expectations.
In this presentation, attendees will explore key occupational safety and health programs tailored to lake operations, including:
• Incident reporting procedures
• Emergency response planning
• Boat launch safety protocols
• Aquatic weed harvester safety practices
Participants will receive sample written programs and training materials to support implementation and compliance efforts.
Presenter: Julie LaRose, Soteria Safety, LLC
Room: Stonefield
Join the Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association (OCLRA) and the Washburn County Lakes and Rivers Association (WCLRA) as they share information about how they got started, their structure, and membership. Learn why countywide and regional coalitions are important, how to start one if one doesn’t already exist in your area, and how individual lake organizations work collaboratively with their countywides.
Presenters: Ted Rulseh, Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association (OCLRA) and Linda Anderson, Washburn County Lakes and Rivers Association (WCLRA)
Room: Woodland
Habitat degradation along lake shorelines is a major threat to fish and wildlife, causing losses of green frogs, fish diversity, and more. First, we will summarize the impacts of shoreland development on lakes based on decades of research. We will then describe how to inventory lake shoreland habitat condition using DNR’s Lake Shoreland & Shallows Habitat Monitoring Field Protocol, contrasting examples of surveys done on lakes in the north vs. the south. Finally, we will share how lake shoreland habitat condition measures up across over 80 lakes in the state. We will also showcase DNR’s online tools for viewing shoreland habitat data and obtaining tailored habitat protection and restoration recommendations.
Presenters: Katie Hein, UW-Madison Center for Limnology; Scott Van Egeren, WI Department of Natural Resources; and Danielle Matuszak, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC)
Lightning Presentations
Room: Expo 2
Lightning Talks are a way to feature many presenters who have something to share in 5 minutes or less. These are popular as attendees get to learn a lot in a short amount of time.
Help your community to connect, explore, and engage with local waterways through hands-on resources. The Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (WCEE) offers kits for free check-out. Connect students through the Enviroscape, explore with the Fish Hotel Kit, and engage using the Invasive Species kit, to name a few. The WCEE has all sorts of other kits, as well as lesson plans, to teach about the environment. We also offer professional development for teachers.
Presenter: Dr. Becca Franzen, Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, UW-Stevens Point
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), one of many PFAS “forever chemicals”, remains a persistent public health concern in wild fish populations. However, fish tissue testing is time-consuming, costly, and requires fish mortality, which limits its widespread application. Using 3,831 paired fish tissue samples paired with surface water grab samples from 185 sites in Colorado, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (2006–2023), we show that routine surface water samples reliably predict PFOS concentrations in edible fish fillets. Adopting a tiered framework that uses surface water PFOS concentrations to triage waterbodies for fish sampling, trigger additional actions when water concentrations exceed thresholds, and then reserve fish testing for final confirmation would reduce costs, limit fish mortality, and enable timely, consistent advisories. Surface water PFOS is a practical, defensible proxy for fish PFOS that can accelerate protection while improving efficiency.
Presenter: Patrick Gorski, WI DNR
Did you know that 82% of Wisconsin is under private ownership? While our water is a public resource, the shorelines so crucial to lake health are mostly private, and their future protection is under increasing threat of development. Land Trusts represent a creative and permanent solution to land and water protection.
Presenter: John Heusinkveld, Northwoods Land Trust
Strains of invasive Eurasian (Myriophyllum spicatum) and hybrid (Myriophyllum spicatum × Myriophyllum sibiricum) watermilfoil have been characterized as resistant or susceptible to specific herbicides (e.g., fluridone and 2,4-D). Identifying these strains helps managers determine whether a given herbicide is likely to be effective in a water body.
MilfoilMapper is a public database that provides data on watermilfoil strain occurrence, distribution, diversity, and herbicide response to support informed management decisions. While some strains occur in only a single water body, others are found across multiple water bodies, allowing strain information obtained in the field or lab to be applied to additional water bodies.
We encourage incorporating genetic surveying and monitoring into Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil management plans to identify strains for herbicide characterization. MilfoilMapper provides a centralized, interactive platform for sharing strain data and management experiences, improving the efficiency and efficacy of Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil management.
Presenter: Ashley Wolfe, Montana State University
For the first ten years that I lived on Big Bass Lake in Marathon County, our lake was invasive free. That changed in 2024. Eurasian Water Milfoil was found in the lake in the spring of that year. Since then, with the help of Golden Sands Resource Conservation and Development Council, an Early Detection and Rapid Response Grant through the DNR, and the diligent work of so many residents on the lake, we have had a successful campaign against the very aggressive plant. Although we know we will never be able to eradicate EWM, we are confident that we are keeping it under control.
Presenter: Gerry Gabor, Big Bass Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District
“Stop…Invasive Species” is a lighthearted yet impactful musical piece that shines a spotlight on a serious environmental issue—the spread of invasive species. This song uses humor and catchy lyrics to raise awareness about the quirky, everyday ways we can all help protect our ecosystems. From cleaning your boots to checking your boat, it’s a toe-tapping reminder that stopping invasive species can be as simple as singing along and taking action!
Presenters: Grace Hasse and Shannon Kearney, UW-Stevens Point
Gina and Emily take the mic to share
Poems about algae, sublime and beyond compare.
Through rhythm and rhyme, they’ll help you see
The beauty, the bloom, and the green mystery.
Presenters: Emily Heald, UW-Madison Division of Extension and Gina LaLiberte, WI Dept. of Natural Resources
This citizen-science initiative demonstrated that 31 trained volunteers from 12 lakes could create reliable, rapid, high-quality, real-time data which was then posted to a public Google map dashboard. The dashboard included data on dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, clarity and other measurements. In-person events were held to educate lakeshore property owners and the public, and members of the technical team met to discuss monitoring results and how to use the data.
Presenter: Bill Cotey, Lake County Lake Lovers
Lakekit.net empowers lake organizations to easily create and manage their own websites. This session will showcase how Lakekit’s platform provides customizable, user-friendly tools designed specifically for lake associations, local groups, and districts. Participants will learn how to build an impactful online presence to share important information, engage with community members, and promote sustainable lake management practices. With no technical expertise required, Lakekit.net offers a simple solution for creating professional websites that foster communication, collaboration, and advocacy for Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers. Join us to discover how Lakekit can strengthen your organization’s outreach and enhance your mission.
Presenters: Jerry Voigt, Long Lake Association, Waushara County and Dan Johnson, Waupaca Chain O’Lakes District (both representing Wisconsin Lakes)
Decades of success don’t ensure future success in our ever-changing world; organizations need to adapt to meet the changing times. Leveraging the wisdom and insights of experienced leaders with the energy and ideas of emerging leaders supports development of a shared intent that serves as a foundation for the strategic choices every lake organization must make.
See a collaborative approach using proven strategic planning tools that enable strategic planning with a vision for the future and focus on near-term actions. This impact-oriented approach to strategic planning includes zooming out for the long-view while prioritizing activities and impact by zooming in to near-term.
Presenter: Brian Sichi, Okauchee Lake Management District, Lake Country Clean Waters, Sichi Consulting
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s AIS Program is developing a suite of new digital tools designed to improve access to information, streamline monitoring, and enhance public engagement. These efforts include the development of a Clean Boats Clean Waters mobile application, an updated AIS reporting tool on the WI DNR website, and a standardized mapping tool to support consistent and efficient documentation of AIS occurrences statewide.
In addition, the program is creating an interactive web-based dashboard that will help citizens and partners easily locate AIS information including Aquatic Plant Management activities, and associated Surface Water Grant projects across Wisconsin’s waters. To further support outreach and education, two interactive story maps will be added to the WI DNR website. One will highlight the history and future direction of the AIS Program, while the second will showcase pathway-focused projects and illustrate how pathway-based prevention efforts are being implemented across the state.
Presenter: Amy Kretlow, WI Dept. of Natural Resources
Collaboration Room by Topic
Are you looking for others who are working on some of the same issues you are? Want to share ideas, ask questions, and collaborate? Join us for facilitated informal conversation by individuals who can help answer questions and point you to resources. Stop by anytime between 3:30-5:30.
Room: Spruce/Sands
Topics include:
- Impounded Lakes
- Aquatic Invasive Species
- Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptations
- Communications/Marketing
4:30-5:15 p.m.
This session seeks to answer two questions: How can we work together to engage lawmakers and the governor to update Chapter 33? How can Wisconsin Lakes better support Lake Districts? Join the conversation.
Room: Evergreen
Poster Presentations
Room: Expo 1/Northwoods Expo
Explore the posters and connect with presenters during this informal networking time. To submit a poster presentation proposal, visit Presentation Proposals – Wisconsin Water Week.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging conservation tool used to detect species presence, including invasive carp in the Wisconsin River. This project developed and tested curriculum that engages middle and high school students in authentic field and laboratory investigations using eDNA. Students collect aquatic samples, isolate eDNA, and apply species-specific primers to identify organisms, gaining hands-on experience with biotechnology while contributing to community-based water quality monitoring. The project also emphasizes educator support through detailed field and lab protocols, educational materials, and alignment with K-12 science standards. Here we highlight project development, methods, and early impacts, as well as opportunities for integrating eDNA into STEM education and conservation efforts.
Presenters: Emily Heald and Amy Workman, UW-Madison Division of Extension
Freshwater mussels are key indicators of streams health, yet many species are in decline due to habitat loss, invasive species, and a decline in water quality. In 2025, Beaver Creek Reserve initiated research to document species presence, population status, and habitat conditions across 43 streams in Chippewa County. We will highlight key findings from the 2025 field season that will help contribute to our understanding of local mussel populations and future conservation efforts.
Presenter: Bre Klockzien, Beaver Creek Reserve
The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) published Planning Report No. 42. A Regional Natural Areas and Critical Species Habitat Protection and Management Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin in 1997, recognizing the most significant remaining natural areas within the Region. These irreplaceable, biodiverse remnants of the pre-European landscape were identified to promote biodiversity and prioritize protection while recommending management efforts. The 2020 update of the plan revisited, significantly revised, and strengthened the ranking criteria for lakes and streams across the Region for the first time since 1997. The poster will detail the updated assessment schemes for the Region’s lake and stream reaches, the metrics and indices of biological integrity (IBI) used for ranking, the data sources and aggregation, and how the ranking scheme was applied to each lake and stream that culminated in 91 stream reaches and 53 lakes for a total of 144 aquatic natural areas.
Presenter: Hanna Helker, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
The Northwoods Land Trust celebrates a quarter century of permanently protecting land and water in Northern Wisconsin. Poster displays what and how much has been protected, and the conservation tools that are used for those protections.
Presenter: John Heusinkveld, Northwoods Land Trust
A brief explanation of J&R Aquatic Animal Rescue’s work with their ‘Surrender, Don’t Release’ perspective when it comes to exotic pets.
Presenter: Macy Wolke-Yohr, J&R Aquatic Animal Rescue
This citizen-science initiative demonstrated that 31 trained volunteers from 12 lakes could create reliable, rapid, high-quality, real-time data which was then posted to a public Google map dashboard. The dashboard included data on dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, clarity and other measurements. In-person events were held to educate lakeshore property owners and the public, and members of the technical team met to discuss monitoring results and how to use the data.
Presenter: Bill Cotey, Lake County Lake Lovers
The commercial trade of live organisms represents a significant and ongoing pathway for the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS). Prevention efforts that engage users in the trade pathway are critical to reducing the risk of AIS entering natural systems. This work is focused on organisms in trade, combining outreach, monitoring, and education to reduce the sale of regulated invasive species through the various sub-pathways. Efforts include, but are not limited to, exhibiting at events to increase awareness, providing targeted outreach to sellers and suppliers, monitoring to detect regulated invasive species for sale, and developing factsheets to support awareness of regulated species and associated regulations. When needed, a two-prong approach of education and enforcement is utilized. Collectively, these efforts aim to prevent AIS introduction and spread by reducing the presence of regulated invasive species in trade.
Presenter: Liz Tanner, WI Department of Natural Resources
Strains of invasive Eurasian (Myriophyllum spicatum) and hybrid (Myriophyllum spicatum × Myriophyllum sibiricum) watermilfoil have been characterized as resistant or susceptible to specific herbicides (e.g., fluridone and 2,4-D). Identifying these strains helps managers determine whether a given herbicide is likely to be effective in a water body.
MilfoilMapper is a public database that provides data on watermilfoil strain occurrence, distribution, diversity, and herbicide response to support informed management decisions. While some strains occur in only a single water body, others are found across multiple water bodies, allowing strain information obtained in the field or lab to be applied to additional water bodies.
We encourage incorporating genetic surveying and monitoring into Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil management plans to identify strains for herbicide characterization. MilfoilMapper provides a centralized, interactive platform for sharing strain data and management experiences, improving the efficiency and efficacy of Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil management.
Presenter: Ashley Wolfe, Montana State University
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s AIS Program is developing a suite of new digital tools designed to improve access to information, streamline monitoring, and enhance public engagement. These efforts include the development of a Clean Boats Clean Waters mobile application, an updated AIS reporting tool on the WI DNR website, and a standardized mapping tool to support consistent and efficient documentation of AIS occurrences statewide.
In addition, the program is creating an interactive web-based dashboard that will help citizens and partners easily locate AIS information including Aquatic Plant Management activities, and associated Surface Water Grant projects across Wisconsin’s waters. To further support outreach and education, two interactive story maps will be added to the WI DNR website. One will highlight the history and future direction of the AIS Program, while the second will showcase pathway-focused projects and illustrate how pathway-based prevention efforts are being implemented across the state.
Presenters: Amy Kretlow and Cal Cizauskas, WI Department of Natural Resources
This poster breaks down chemical vs. manual aquatic vegetation removal by comparing short-term results, long-term impacts, and price differences. It shows how each approach affects water quality, ecosystems, and shoreline use, helping property owners weigh quick fixes against sustainable, hands-on solutions.
Presenter: Joe Weinberger, J&D Lake Services LLC
Every 10 years, Extension Lakes checks in with Lake Tides Newsletter readers to better understand who they are, and what matters most when it comes to Wisconsin’s lakes. Find out what the most recent survey revealed.
Presenter: Shannon Kearney, Extension Lakes Student Intern, UW-Stevens Point
Environmental Education is a great way to help people build a deeper understanding with the environment. This poster highlights how you can use the 5 tenets of environmental education to help strengthen lake organization programs. Learn how aligning your initiatives with these core principals can improve outreach, community engagement, and support stronger grant applications.
Presenters: Shannon Kearney, Extension Lakes Student Intern and Dr. Becca Franzen, Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, College of Natural Resources, UW-Stevens Point
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), one of many PFAS “forever chemicals”, remains a persistent public health concern in wild fish populations. However, fish tissue testing is time-consuming, costly, and requires fish mortality, which limits its widespread application. Using 3,831 paired fish tissue samples paired with surface water grab samples from 185 sites in Colorado, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (2006–2023), we show that routine surface water samples reliably predict PFOS concentrations in edible fish fillets. Adopting a tiered framework that uses surface water PFOS concentrations to triage waterbodies for fish sampling, trigger additional actions when water concentrations exceed thresholds, and then reserve fish testing for final confirmation would reduce costs, limit fish mortality, and enable timely, consistent advisories. Surface water PFOS is a practical, defensible proxy for fish PFOS that can accelerate protection while improving efficiency.
Presenter: Patrick Gorski, WI Department of Natural Resources
Microbial Source Tracking (MST) provides a snapshot of the microbial community in our water systems. Leptospira spp. is tracked as a potential pathogen in some MST studies, but it can exist as natural flora. We wanted to understand the Leptospira present and its trends in our periphyton microbial samples collected from Lake Superior tributaries and coastal environments June 2021-October 2022 (n=181). Leptospira sequences were detected in 80.1% of all samples and were detected more in coastal sites compared to streams. A seasonal trend for Leptospira cannot be determined because 39.7% of samples were collected in September. Twenty-nine 16S rRNA sequence types were classified as Leptospira, illustrating the diversity of different species present. Leptospira may likely be part of the natural flora in freshwater periphyton of Lake Superior tributaries and coastal environments, but the role of nonpathogenic Leptospira spp. plays in the environment is largely unknown.
Presenter: Evangalios Guigley, UW-Oshkosh
A gap often exists between land advisor recommendations and the conservation practices farmers implement. Identifying these gaps is important in informing policy and improving the effectiveness of outreach. Our mail survey received responses from 527 farmers and 439 private land advisors across eight Upper Midwest states. Conservation tillage, nutrient management plans, and no-till planting were more commonly adopted by farmers and recommended by advisors than pollinators and prairie plants or tree planting. Farmers and advisors reported it was very important that good farmers minimize nutrient runoff into waterways. Both farmers and land advisors were more concerned about soil and water compared to pollinators and rare species. Farmers were more concerned about profitability and less concerned about erosion, water, wildlife, and weather events compared to advisors. Understanding these similarities and differences between farmers and land advisors is crucial for fostering sustainable agricultural systems and functioning land and water ecosystems.
Presenters: Dr. Adena Rissman and Eliza Eyman, UW-Madison
The understanding of a lake’s thermocline (temperatures), water clarity, and bottom topography is needed for proper placement of fish and aquatic habitat. Tree and shrub species selected must be made of White Cedar, Black Spruce, Tamarack, or Ironwood. Periplankton (algae scum) will coat all surfaces of blocks, ropes, and woody debris and provide food for small fish & aquatic organisms. For centuries, prior to major human settlement and development, the shores of our northern lakes were surrounded by forest of the previously mentioned species. These species, once entering a lake, made up the woody debris that provided habitat for all species and sizes of fish. Restoration to duplicate this habitat in deep water as provided by our BRUSH SHELTERS is critical in restoration of our fisheries today. Research on the life histories and ecology of fish of these northern lakes is well documented with early survival of fish species soon after spawning and hatching critically important in recruiting into a larger fish population.
Presenter: Rand Atkinson, Walleye Restoration Foundation
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Freshwater Scholars program, sponsored by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, engages high school students in professional opportunities in freshwater science. Students are matched with mentors in a summer-long experience that combines hands-on projects with field trips, career exploration, cohort-building, and networking. Specific projects range from research in university settings with faculty and college student mentors to working with community partners in settings including nature preserves and science education facilities. The pre-college scholars share their work at the annual Lakeshore Water Summit held on the Manitowoc campus each fall, as well as other research conferences and symposiums. This program has grown from a small scale endeavor with two high school scholar/mentor partnerships to a regionally recognized opportunity. In 2025, 15 scholars were selected from over 60 applicants, with 10 mentors participating. This poster will share the program design and outcomes with selected examples of student projects.
Presenters: Rebecca Abler and Richard Hein, UW-Green Bay
Excess phosphorus is a significant challenge in Lake Michigan tributaries, causing algal blooms and degraded water quality. Centerville Creek in Manitowoc County, WI was impacted for several decades by a dam installed in the 1800s. Significant sediment and nutrient build-up remained after dam removal. In 2012, the stream was reconstructed in an attempt to reduce phosphorus loading. To better understand upstream contributing factors in the watershed and restoration impacts, our team of undergraduates and faculty conducts yearly monitoring of phosphorus.
Most sites along Centerville creek have phosphorus concentrations consistently exceeding WDNR’s surface water standard of 0.075 mg/L since 2010. However, recent years’ data demonstrate stabilized levels within the restoration, suggesting potential for improved water quality by addressing upstream contributions. Notably, this stabilization has been observed despite increased extreme weather events during this timeframe. This poster will share monitoring results and how these data are used in local land management decision-making.
Presenters: Richard Hein and Rebecca Abler, UW-Green Bay
Community capacity is a fundamental component of successful watershed management. This poster examines the capacity of lake organizations in Wisconsin through the analysis of survey responses from a 2020 survey of lake leaders. Capacity was measured across four categories: Member, Programmatic, Relational, and Organizational. We identify relational capacity as meaningful area to focus future capacity building efforts, discuss the value of partnerships in enhancing capacity, and highlight future research exploring these topics.
Presenters: Maggie Smith and Dr. Austin Holland, UW-Stevens Point
Decades of past success don’t ensure decades of future success. We live in an ever-changing world where organizations need to adapt to meet the changing times. See a collaborative approach using proven strategic planning tools that enable strategic planning with a vision for the future and focus on near-term actions. This impact-oriented approach to strategic planning includes zooming out for the long-view while prioritizing activities and impact by zooming in to near-term. Brian Sichi is an elected commissioner and Secretary for the Okauchee Lake Management District, serves on the Board of Directors for Lake Country Clean Waters, a 501c3 org, and is part of Lake Leaders Crew 16. He brings decades of strategic planning experience from his career serving corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations.
Presenter: Brian Sichi, Okauchee Lake Management District, Lake Country Clean Waters, Lakeview Advisors
Thursday, April 16
4:45-5:15 p.m.
Guided Stretching (Sit or Stand)
Room: Wisconsin
Join us for some gentle stretching and rest your mind. Free and welcome to all ages and levels of interest. Open door policy – don’t worry about coming in after the start time. Come join us!
Wisconsin Lake Stewardship and Volunteer Stream Monitoring Awards Ceremony & Banquet
Room: Northwoods Expo/Expo 1
Please join us in celebrating Wisconsin Lake Stewardship and Volunteer Stream Monitoring Award winners at our awards banquet and ceremony on Thursday evening. The Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network and Water Action Volunteers program leaders will also congratulate long-term volunteers. If you know someone deserving of a Lake Stewardship or Volunteer Stream Monitoring Award, check back to the Wisconsin Water Week home page for links to nomination forms.
Lake Stewardship Awards
The Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership presents the annual Lake Stewardship Awards to recognize the extraordinary volunteer and professional efforts of individuals and groups who protect and improve our lakes. People are nominated for Lake Stewardship Awards by their peers – what a meaningful way to say, “Thank you!” to the people in your community who work so hard to care for our lakes. Winners of these awards join a select group of individuals and organizations whose unmatched dedication, vision, and commitment ensure that Wisconsin’s legacy of lakes will be safe and secure for generations to come.
Volunteer Stream Monitoring Awards
The UW-Madison Division of Extension and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recognize a small selection of individuals and organizations every year for their efforts leading to increased participation in stream monitoring, collecting stream data, and sharing their knowledge and data.
After Hours Gathering – Acoustic Afterglow
Top Shelf Bar area
Keep the good vibes going and join us for songs, poems, and stories. If you have an acoustic instrument, bring it with you! Bring your knitting or use the provided crayons, colored pencils, and coloring books to help you relax. Anyone is welcome to just hang out and listen.
Friday, April 17, 2026
Room: Expo 2
Brook Trout Connectivity in Headwater Streams
Brook Trout Reserve 41, located in the Peshtigo and Oconto River Headwaters of northeast Wisconsin, is the state’s largest brook trout reserve. Despite its abundant populations and high levels of public land ownership, the reserve faces growing threats from climate change and habitat fragmentation. Undersized and aging road-stream crossings currently inhibit brook trout from accessing spawning areas, nursery habitat, feeding grounds, and thermal refuges – barriers that will become even more problematic as temperatures rise.
To address this, the Brook Trout Reserve 41 Fish Passage Team, a collaboration among state, federal, tribal, county, and nonprofit partners, is developing a 10-year Aquatic Connectivity Strategic Plan. The team will analyze stream crossing inventories, establish prioritization criteria, and identify key replacement projects to restore connectivity across 23 subwatersheds. This proactive, collaborative approach will ensure brook trout have the ability to move freely, improving their resilience in the face of rapid environmental change.
Presenter: Annaliese Ford, WI Department of Natural Resources
Healthy Watersheds, High-Quality Waters Prioritization: Yellow River Case Study
There is a well-documented connection between the abundance of natural land cover (ex. forests, wetlands, shrubland, etc.) in a watershed and water quality. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Wonderful Waters of Wisconsin initiative aims to address this connection and support the preservation of unprotected natural areas using the Healthy Watersheds, High-Quality Waters (HWHQW) modeling and assessment. This presentation provides a broad overview of the Wonderful Waters of Wisconsin initiative and the value of thinking about the health of lakes or rivers within the context of a larger landscape. Afterward, we demonstrate the application of these concepts through an in-depth case study of the Yellow River Watershed. In 2025, the Yellow River Protection Conservancy, the Center for Land Use Education, and DNR collaborated on a prioritized land protection strategy to support a conservation easement and Buy-Protect-Sell-Repeat program. In doing so, these land-based efforts will improve and enhance the water quality of the Yellow River.
Presenters: Lauren Haydon, WI Department of Natural Resources and Austin Holland, Center for Land Use Education, UW-Stevens Point
Room: Spruce/Sands
The Wisconsin Springs Inventory
Springs provide critical connections between groundwater and surface water, and they support unique ecosystems across Wisconsin. Springs also play a key role in sustaining wetlands and cold-water trout streams, contributing to their hydrology and ecological resilience. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Water Use Section along with many partners has developed the Wisconsin Springs Inventory to compile and standardize information on spring locations, flow, and ecological characteristics across Wisconsin. Built from historical records, field surveys, and collaboration with landowners, the springs inventory has nearly 500 springs in diverse hydrogeologic settings that run at 0.25 cfs or greater. Landowner contacts have been essential for site access, verification, and reporting of new springs. This resource strengthens understanding of groundwater-dependent systems, supports water quality and quantity conservation, and establishes a baseline for future monitoring and research.
Presenter: Joe Rosnow, WI Department of Natural Resources
Revelations and Mysteries Based on Benthic Studies in Five Vilas County Lakes
Annual benthic studies in Loon Lake since 2013 have indicated that there are inverse relationships between the densities of Chinese Mystery Snails (CMS) and native snails (i.e. Helisoma and Campeloma). There also appears to be a preference for CMS to inhabit the benthic zones dominated by Isoetes. Both the CMS and Isoetes populations in Loon Lake declined following a dramatic increase in lake level in 2017. Isoetes is slowly recovering while CMS densities remain low. This presentation explores the relationships between Isoetes, CMS and benthic communities in four other Vilas County lakes. The four lakes were selected based on the presence of similar plant communities found in Loon Lake.
Presenter: Warren Mueller, Limnologist (retired)
Room: Evergreen
Ever wonder where the money to run fisheries management in the state of Wisconsin comes from? Or how that money is spent? This session will cover the inputs of funds to fisheries management, how that money is spent, and how many employees work in the program. Explore how dedicated stamp funding, federal funds, and license sales help define fisheries program spending. We will discover how levels of funding and staffing have changed over time and the impacts to services provided as a result. The three major components of fisheries management (surveys, habitat and stocking) will be explored in the context of funding.
Presenter: Todd Kalish, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Stonefield
Mussel Monitoring in Chippewa County
Freshwater mussels are key indicators of stream health, yet many species are in decline due to habitat loss, invasive species, and a decline in water quality. In 2025, Beaver Creek Reserve initiated research to document species presence, population status, and habitat conditions across streams in Chippewa County. We will highlight key findings from the 2025 field season that will help contribute to our understanding of local mussel populations and future conservation efforts.
Presenter: Bre Klockzien, Beaver Creek Reserve
Perseverance and Partnership: Two Decades of Purple Loosestrife Management on the Michigamme River, Michigan
Wild Rivers Invasive Species Coalition (WRISC) has partnered with WE Energies since 2009 to conduct comprehensive survey and manual removal of invasive Purple Loosestrife from the Michigamme River system in Republic, MI. Starting in 2020, WRISC expanded this effort upstream along the river thanks to additional partnerships with neighboring Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs) and funding from WE Energies. This survey and removal effort has been ongoing for two decades and has shown cascading improvements throughout the system.
This presentation will highlight the benefits of partnership that made this level of long-term river management possible and will also discuss the integrated field work efforts that have contributed to the current results.
Presenter: Lindsay Peterson, Wild Rivers Invasive Species Coalition
Room: Woodland
Advancing Wisconsin’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy
Nutrient pollution is a long-standing challenge for Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers along with downstream waters. Wisconsin partners developed the state’s first Nutrient Reduction Strategy in 2013. Over the last two years, agency and university partners have collaborated to produce a new statewide Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Strategy development has emphasized stakeholder engagement and incorporated new science assessments. This work represents a modernized approach to decades long challenges, with the goal of identifying new opportunities for Wisconsin partners to work better together in reducing nutrient losses to waters.
Presenter: Karl Gesch, WI Department of Natural Resources
Decades of Dedication in the Field of Agriculture for the Protection of Land and Water
The Decades of Dedication in the field of Agriculture for the protection of land and water, utilizing innovative ideas, and sustainable farming practices, began with the first watershed project in 1933. Agriculture has come a long way in helping to sustain the land and water. We will explore that history and commitment. The presentation will compare farming practices from times past to those of today. It will also include and describe why and how those changes were made which includes how agriculture has corrected what flows into our lakes and rivers. We will explore the practices that have been put into place to stop the effects of soil erosion and controlling run off, including the use of cover crops, crop scouting, soil testing, petiole testing, irrigation practices, crop rotation, and the use of modern technology.
Presenter: Deb Omernik, Omernik Riverside Tree Farms/Tree Lake Association
Room: Expo 2
Watershed Monitoring and Restoration in the Southern Lake Superior Basin
Recurrent and catastrophic flooding events in the southern Lake Superior basin have impacted regional ecosystems and human communities since early-20th Century deforestation and agricultural landscape conversion. Emerging solutions such as Natural Flood Management (NFM), restoration of flood-controlling natural infrastructure, is being undertaken through collaborative regional partner projects. These include hydraulic reconnection of wetlands and streams, reconnection of streams with floodplains, re-establishment of runoff-slowing vegetation communities, and more. Identification and prioritization of restoration sites based on presence and severity of fluvial erosion hazards (FEH), other risk factors, and existing functional and potentially restorable natural infrastructure will lead to implementation of appropriate NFM restoration strategies.
Presenter: Kevin Brewster, Superior Rivers Watershed Association
Investigating Beaver Dam Lake for Long-term Management Solutions
Beaver Dam Lake in Dodge County has a watershed of 185,760 acres and a surface area of 6,542 acres having significant impacts within the Upper Rock River Watershed and occupying most of Dodge County, WI. Over the summer of 2025, the Water Resources Management (WRM) program at UW-Madison was contracted by the Beaver Dam Lake District to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the shoreline and water quality of Beaver Dam Lake. Over the field season, data was collected to connect to long-term trends previously recorded by the Wisconsin DNR, citizen samplers, and a past WRM practicum project in 2017. By identifying trends in nutrient data and shoreline management, comprehensive management plans were created to improve watershed health for decades to come.
Presenters: Emily Kilstrom, Katie Bollini, and Lexi Guzman, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, UW-Madison
Room: Spruce/Sands
Cyanobacteria (Blue-green Algae) Blooms and Monitoring 101
In the past two years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms reported to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, due in part to warmer winters and the extension of the growing season. Discover what cyanobacteria are, what different bloom types look like, and how to identify them. Understand the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that make lakes susceptible to blooms, and how unusual weather patterns in 2023 to 2025 may have promoted cyanobacterial blooms in normally unaffected lakes. Learn about the potential health risks of cyanobacteria and exposure routes via ingestion and inhalation. We will discuss what you need to know about cyanobacteria monitoring including recreational guidelines, health department jurisdiction, advantages and disadvantages of different monitoring methods, and common-sense precautions that protect your family and pets.
Presenter: Gina LaLiberte, WI Department of Natural Resources
From Weeks to Minutes: Lessons from Rapid BGA Monitoring in Green Lake
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose a growing threat to Wisconsin’s lakes impacting public health, recreation, and local economies. Yet traditional monitoring methods leave a 20–30 day gap between sample collection and lab-confirmed results, delaying critical public health communication. Green Lake Association (GLA) and partners set out to close this gap. Beginning with a Bloom Optix pilot project in 2022, and continuing through the 2023–2025 seasons, we have paired AI-driven imaging with rapid dipstick toxin tests to reduce detection time and improve advisory response. This presentation will share what has worked well, including stronger collaborations with county health departments and faster information sharing, as well as the challenges we’ve encountered, from inconsistent protocols to ambiguous bloom definitions and toxin thresholds. We will also discuss what more can be done by individual lake organizations, statewide coalitions, and agencies to advance timely, consistent, and science-based responses to HABs across Wisconsin.
Presenters: Taylor Haag Strauser, Grace St. Clair, and Avery James, Green Lake Association
Room: Evergreen
Wisconsin Fisheries Genetics Management Plan: Implications for Private Fish Stocking
The genetics of fish are important to the health of fish populations in Wisconsin. In this presentation, the history of genetics and fish stocking, state statute, and policy behind genetics management and the genetic management units that have been developed in Wisconsin will be explored. Scientific studies that show the importance of genetic management of muskellunge, walleye, and brook trout will be discussed. Finally, how the genetics management plan may affect private stocking and the efforts of WDNR to ensure private hatcheries have access to appropriate genetics will also be explored.
Presenter: Todd Kalish, WI Department of Natural Resources
Restoring Nongame Fish in Our Lakes
Conservation aquaculture is a special type of fish farming to restore imperiled fish. For decades, small nearshore fish have been disappearing from inland lakes. The widespread declines reveal a crisis for biodiversity and disruption of foodweb energy flow. Lake Ripley is one of many mesotrophic calcareous lakes where environmentally sensitive darters, minnows, and topminnows disappeared. The western banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanous menosa) disappeared from the lake in the 1980s. The Lake Ripley Management District has teamed up with Northey Farms LLC to raise and stock this species in the lake. If the reintroduction is successful, this experiment may lead the way forward to restoring other species declines and local extirpations. One positive indicator is the recent successful reintroduction of the state endangered starhead topminnow (Fundulus dispar) in Lake Wisconsin.
Presenter: Lianna Spencer, Lake Ripley Management District
Room: Stonefield
Two Case Studies on Citizen-led Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) Management
This session follows the efforts of two lake groups in Central Wisconsin that have been managing Eurasian watermilfoil through persistent manual removal and mapping, as well as minor herbicide use. Hear from citizen project leaders and professionals that have been collaborating on these long-term (13-year) and short-term (2-year) projects.
Presenters: Paul Skawinski, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point; Skip Hansen, Porters Lake Management District; Chris Hamerla, Golden Sands RC&D Council Inc.; and Gerry Gabor, Big Bass Lake Protection & Rehabilitation District
Two Presentations:
Lessons from Long-Term Lake Research and Collaboration in Wisconsin Lakes
Lakes across Wisconsin are facing a mix of challenges—warming temperatures, changing land use, invasive species, and shifting patterns of how people use and value the water. For more than four decades, the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research (NTL-LTER) program has been studying these waters, building one of the most complete freshwater records anywhere. Those long-term observations, and the people and partnerships behind them, show not just how our lakes have changed, but why, and how the choices we make today will shape their future. This talk will center on three connected themes. 1. Lessons from the long view highlight what decades of continuous monitoring have taught us about Wisconsin’s lakes and the communities that depend on them. 2. Leveraging long-term data for engagement explores how turning data into stories can help people connect more deeply to water and inspire stewardship. 3. Science in action looks at how NTL-LTER researchers and partners are using long-term science to inform real decisions, working together across agencies, tribes, lake associations, and communities to manage and protect Wisconsin’s waters. Together, these stories show the power of long-term science and collaboration, not just to record change, but to understand the driving forces behind those changes and respond. Sustaining these efforts, and the partnerships that make them possible, remains essential to the future of Wisconsin’s lakes.
Presenter: Carol Warden, UW-Madison Trout Lake Station
Insights from Long-Term Surface Water Monitoring in Wisconsin
How has water quality in Wisconsin changed over time? This simple question is very important to understanding how to manage Wisconsin’s important water resources. Identifying areas of degrading and improving water quality can help us more effectively target management efforts and identifying areas of success to learn from. To answer this question, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), local partners, and volunteers have collected water quality and aquatic invasive species data from streams, rivers, and lakes throughout Wisconsin for over 40 years in some locations. Review the WDNR’s long-term surface water monitoring program, discuss key findings learned about our water resources learned from long-term monitoring, and examine new long-term monitoring plans for wetlands.
Presenter: Madeline Magee, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Woodland
Driving Water Quality Action Through Collective Impact
Moving from watershed-rehabilitation planning to coordinated implementation is fraught with potential bottlenecks. Competing stakeholder interests, limited funding, jurisdictional conflicts, and other obstacles can slow a community’s progress in achieving large-scale action. In this talk, you will learn from Clean Lakes Alliance how a cross-sector coalition of partners are coming together across Greater Madison to dismantle common implementation barriers. We will explore how a proven, “Collective Impact” approach is being used to pool resources, align partner agendas, and accelerate momentum around needed strategies. We will also share insights on how a newly formed Renew the Blue Council is strengthening channels of collaboration, and how an annual State of the Lakes report is evolving into a powerful tool for advocacy and accountability.
Presenters: Paul Dearlove and James Tye, Clean Lakes Alliance
A Decade of Turning the Tide: Lessons from Green Lake’s Response to Impairment
Ten years ago, Green Lake was added to Wisconsin’s impaired waters list, sparking a decade of research, coordination, and persistence. In this session, we’ll take a “decade in review” look at how the Green Lake Association responded – filling scientific gaps, convening partners, and testing solutions along the way. Our experience highlights not only local progress, but also the larger lessons about how the current system both supports and limits water quality improvement. Standard BMPs alone won’t achieve our goals, funding mechanisms fall short, and programs are structured to favor incremental steps rather than transformational change. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ve seen the barriers clearly. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of these challenges and are invited to consider how we, together, might strengthen the model to better support cleaner, healthier lakes across Wisconsin.
Presenter: Stephanie Prellwitz, Green Lake Association
Networking Time – Visit Exhibitors in the Commons
Guided Stretching (Sit or Stand) – 10:20-10:40 AM
Room: Wisconsin
Join us for some gentle stretching and rest your mind. Free and welcome to all ages and levels of interest. Open door policy – don’t worry about coming in after the start time. Come join us!
Room: Expo 2
The Wisconsin Landscape: Are We Still Good with the Tradeoff?
In the agricultural regions of Wisconsin, nonpoint source nutrient pollution contributes significantly to the impairment of the state’s lakes and rivers. Our commodities-based agricultural system has predominantly focused on serving the production needs of inefficient biofuels, export markets that have dwindled/disappeared, and the production of animal feed. Meanwhile, many Wisconsin farms have consistently struggled to generate profits. Our rampant water quality challenges are not the result of individual farmers failing to consider conservation; rather, they are indicative of the shortcomings of our dominant agricultural regimes. With a consistent track record, it seems fair to recognize that dominant agricultural systems are not adequately serving our state’s farmers or waters. A starting point for addressing our immense water quality challenges should be a critical evaluation of whether Wisconsinites are still content with perpetuating our current agricultural regimes, given a consistent track record of poor profitability and the degradation of our waters.
Presenter: John Strauser, Green Lake Association
A Local Water Quality Trading Program to Reduce Phosphorus and Sediment Delivery to the Rock River
The City of Watertown and Jefferson County Land and Water Conservation Department developed a long-term local water quality trading program to meet the requirements of the City’s Department of Natural Resources stormwater (MS4) permit. The Watertown Waterways Improvement Program relies on the County’s expertise and established relationships with property owners to design, model, implement and inspect conservation practices to reduce pollutant discharge to the Rock River and tributaries.
This session will explain the program development including an intergovernmental agreement, cost-share agreement, highlighted conservation practices, payment structure, inspection, and more. Outreach to landowners, done in partnership with the Rock River Coalition, will be explained. Session participants will learn about the first successful trades and how this is a cost-effective option for municipalities to meet their stormwater permit requirements. Initial estimates, based on the first practice, forecast another 24 practices will be needed for the City to meet their permit requirements.
Presenters: Patricia Cicero, Jefferson County Land and Water Conservation Department and Maureen McBroom, City of Watertown
Room: Spruce/Sands
Tomorrow’s Ecological Nutrient Management
Conservation of our natural resources comes in many forms, but the goal is to preserve what nature has given us through evolution and natural selection. Humanity has left a huge mark on the natural landscape, and our conservation efforts have not been adequate in stopping this destruction and even the well-intentioned management is faltering. We have developed the field of ecology, from theoretical models of ecosystems to minute studies of the smallest organisms. We have applied knowledge gained by research of individual species from wildlife to fisheries, yet we have not applied the ecological connections between the biological, chemical, physical worlds of an individual species. Conservation is a thankless endeavor when the losses outnumber the gains. Nature is complex and ever changing and even a lengthy long-term study only gives a plethora of information. It is the empirical observation knowledge that needs to be applied to recognized problems as soon as possible.
Our fisheries and waters that support them in Wisconsin and other places are in trouble. More lakes and waterways are experiencing blue green algae blooms … even pristine aquatic ecosystems are having them. We may blame climate change, shoreline development, water quality, or all … but the answer of solving all is understanding and acting. We can manage our fisheries for a better outcome AND improve water quality. This is the importance in understanding nutrients in our aquatic ecosystems and channeling them up through the food chain and see the results in healthy aquatic waterways and fisheries.
Presenter: Rand Atkinson, Walleye Restoration Foundation, Inc.
Connecting with Our Night Sky: How to Preserve and Protect Dark Skies
Without the natural night sky, we could not have walked on the moon, navigated the globe, or discovered that humans are made of stardust. Sadly, we are losing our dark skies light by light. Join Michele Sadauskas on a photographic journey to gain a greater appreciation of the night sky, understand how light pollution effects life on Earth, and most importantly how each of us can make a positive change for a natural resource many people take for granted.
Presenter: Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County Land and Water Conservation
Room: Evergreen
Assessing Behaviors of Trout Anglers Related to Aquatic Invasive Species in the Upper Mississippi Basin
This presentation will be an overview of our research project surveying trout anglers in the Driftless Region about their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding invasive species prevention. Wading anglers are water users that may accidentally move aquatic invasive species into streams in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. We are currently surveying anglers from Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to understand what prevention actions they are currently performing while gathering information that can better target prevention messages to these anglers. Natural resource managers will be able to use this information to create and implement better aquatic invasive species outreach programs, while wading anglers will benefit from this information through the adoption of more sustainable fishing activities.
Presenter: Adam Driscoll, UW-La Crosse
Detecting Invasive Species in Our Riparian and Stream Ecosystems
An abundance of river ecosystems is part of what makes the Driftless of Wisconsin so special to nature lovers, anglers, and the people that call it home. However, by seed, root, and veliger a number of aquatic, emergent, and riparian species are taking hold in remote coulees as well as in the mighty Mississippi River. How can we protect this water resource while engaging in boating and fishing that are part of our way of life?
Wisconsin First Detector Network is here to offer tools for detecting and reporting invasive species to help stop their spread and inform the state of new populations. We will discuss emerging invaders, their impact on our stream environments, and what everyday folks can do if they find them. Resources will be shared for identification and monitoring, with an emphasis on the best ways for community scientists to make reports.
Presenter: Matt Wallrath, UW-Madison Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
Room: Stonefield
Fish Monitoring in Green Bay and the Fox River Area of Concern (AOC)
In 1987, Lower Green Bay and the lower seven miles of the Fox River was listed as a Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) by the EPA. The main goals of rehabilitating the AOC were to remedy contaminated sediment, reduce non-point pollution, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat and populations. Sediment cleanup started in 2009 and finished in 2020. After sediment cleanup, various habitat projects were discussed and planned with the intention of improving habitat for fishes including basses, catfishes, musky, northern pike, sturgeon, sunfishes, walleye, whitefish, and yellow perch. Starting in March of 2025, our AOC fisheries team began collecting pre-data to evaluate the success of various habitat projects and inform future habitat work. I will be discussing the history of the AOC, our projects, and monitoring program.
Presenter: Sam Schaick, WI Department of Natural Resources
Bass Management in Wisconsin: Updating the WI Bass Management Plan
The WI DNR is in the process of updating the Bass Management Plan. The original plan was developed in 2001. Major components of the plan update are to gather public input, incorporate contemporary data, and accommodate management direction changes. This presentation will discuss the various parts of the Bass Management Plan and provide you information on how to have your input heard. The plan is wide ranging, covering life history, fisheries community dynamics, historic stocking practices, fishing regulation options, angler preferences, bass fishing tournaments and more. The focus of the presentation will be to provide an overview of the bass management plan structure and provide attendees with information regarding the public input mechanisms so they can help shape the updated bass management plan in WI.
Presenter: Scott Toshner, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Woodland
The Wisconsin Lakes (and now Rivers) Partnership is nearly 50 years old. Its prime objective has always been bringing Science, Education and Citizens together to improve and protect Wisconsin’s lakes. This model has been very successful and has been used as an example by other states across the nation. Over this time, thousands of people have worked together to bring millions of dollars to lakes and rivers in Wisconsin. Success can easily be measured by the number of lake, river, and watershed organizations formed over the years by these same folks and by grants and personal donations to educate, plan, and implement when appropriate to restore and protect our truly wonderful waters in Wisconsin. These efforts have led to groups that have evolved past the education and planning arena, and now into the implementation phase to bring about much needed changes on the landscape to restore and protect even more land and water resources. This panel will discuss the tools that are needed for groups who are ready to implement. Join us to hear retired DNR staff, County Land and Water Resources Staff, and other land and water resource professionals share how the partnership can evolve as so many groups have in the last 50 years. If you are interested in learning how to implement your plans, or what other groups have been doing to act, this is for you.
Presenters: Scott Provost, Buzz Sorge, Mark Hazuga, Pat Oldenburg, Jane Dauffenbach, and Carolyn Huza
Moderator: Eric Olson, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point
Friday Confluence: Connecting our Food and Water Resources
Luke Zahm, Wisconsin Foodie
(includes lunch; included in your Friday registration)
Room: Northwoods Expo
During the Friday Confluence, we will be merging the ideas and knowledge you have gathered over the course of the Convention. Join us for this time of reflection.
Luke Zahm, host of the PBS Emmy® Award-winning TV series, Wisconsin Foodie, and co-owner and chef at Viroqua’s Driftless Cafe will lead this full-group session and help us think about how our food and water resources are connected. Just like a home-cooked meal, this session is a time to slow down, share experiences, and find commonality.
Friday, post-convention workshops are $20 ($16 if you register by February 1), unless otherwise noted. All workshops are in-person (there are no virtual workshop options).
Room: Expo 2
This workshop will explore the history of local enhanced wake ordinances in Wisconsin, why they are important, and key points in drafting and enacting an ordinance. We will feature a panel of town elected officials who have navigated the process of passing an ordinance aimed at limiting/prohibiting enhanced wakes in their community. We will also discuss how these ordinances have impacted activities on lakes, both with and without increased enforcement capacity. Finally, we will discuss good examples of using education and communication to curb harmful boating activities.
Presenters: Richard Phillips, Mary Jung, Jeff Meessmann, and Fred Silloway, Last Wilderness Alliance
Room: Spruce/Sands
This practical workshop hosted by staff from WDNR and the U.S. Forest Service will first describe how poorly designed culverts impact Wisconsin’s streams, lakes, and the people and animals who use and rely on them. We will also introduce proven techniques and resources for building flood resilient environmentally friendly culverts such as the Great Lakes Stream Crossing Inventory and Stream Simulation Culvert Design, spotlighting a recent partnership in Brook Trout Reserve #41 and how stakeholder collaboration is key to prioritizing and replacing culverts.
Presenters: Chris Ester, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and Annaliese Ford, WI Department of Natural Resources
Room: Evergreen
Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers are under pressure. Pollution, habitat loss, increased recreation, and invasive species are growing threats, yet funding isn’t keeping pace. Two decades ago, the Great Lakes faced a similar crisis and turned it into a success story: the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), now delivering $368 million annually. How did they do it? This workshop dives into the bold strategies and political moves that made GLRI possible—and how we can apply those lessons here. Join us to explore coalition-building tactics, advocacy tools, and actionable steps to secure new, sustainable funding for Wisconsin’s inland waters. If you care about the future of our lakes and rivers, this is where the movement begins.
Presenters: David Ullrich, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and Eric Olson, Extension Lakes, UW-Stevens Point
Room: Stonefield
Freshwater ecosystems offer a variety of dynamic habitats for aquatic organisms, particularly invertebrates. Understanding the affinity that different types of benthic macroinvertebrates have for specific conditions or microhabitats can inform sampling plans and even assist with specimen identification. This session will describe typical microhabitats associated with Wisconsin’s diverse freshwater ecosystems, as well as which macroinvertebrates would call each their home. This interactive workshop will include examples of benthic invertebrate specimens and hands-on activities. This session is suited for beginner and intermediate audiences.
Presenter: Jessica Orlofske, University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Room: Woodland
J&R Aquatic Animal Rescue is hosting an Exotic Pet Surrender Event from 12 PM to 3 PM at the Holiday Inn Stevens Point Convention Center during the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention. Pet owners who can no longer care for their exotic animals—such as fish, invertebrates, reptiles, pet birds, small mammals, and plants—can surrender them no questions asked. Domestic pets, farm animals, and native wildlife will not be accepted. The event will also feature animal ambassadors, a photobooth, and educational opportunities to promote responsible pet ownership and discourage the harmful release of pets into the wild. JRAAR is organizing this event with support from local organizations and sponsors like Petco Love and the Petfinder Foundation. Surrendered animals will be quarantined before being made available for adoption—no same-day adoptions. For more information, contact John Moyles at adoptions@jraar.org.