Exciting Happenings at WCLC~~ Meet our Stewardship Leaders🌳💚🌎🐝

Latest News at WCLC!

Dear ,

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for your incredible support in 2018. Your help truly makes a difference for land, water, and wildlife conservation in Waukesha County and beyond.

In 2019, we are increasing our focus to protect and steward Wisconsin’s globally imperiled oak ecosystems. In this newsletter, I’ll introduce you to our dedicated land-management committee that will lead these efforts. You’ll also enjoy reading about our new partnership with Wisconsin Hero Outdoors and viewing the drone footage that UWM student interns took of our preserves.

If you have not done so already, please consider a year-end gift to help restore our rare oak ecosystems, support our youth and interns, plant native species that help birds and pollinators, and protect more of Wisconsin’s treasured land and water.

Happy holidays from our family to yours.

Drone Video of the Meyer Preserve

by Amber Janusz, UWM student

With thanks,

Cheryl White

Executive Director

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Our Land Stewardship Leaders

Bringing Strong Science and Best Practices to WCLC

Left to Right: Bill Reichenbach, Pam Angst, Julia Robson, Dr. Neal O'Reilly, and Barb Holtz

Our land-management committee is critical to achieving our strategic goal :

To sustain and improve the conservation values of our protected properties

through science-based adaptive restoration and stewardship practices.

Our sixty-six protected properties are our most valuable assets, and we are passionate about actively improving and maintaining them so that people can enjoy clean water, air, and beautiful wildlife. Our land-management committee is combining the powers of science and technology to develop innovative solutions to pressing conservation problems that affect all of us. ( Read more )

This year, some incredible conservation leaders have joined the committee to ensure that every dollar you give has maximum impact. Along with Meghan Wersel, our land-stewardship manager, the committee comprises Julia Robson, Waukesha County’s conservation biologist; Barb Holtz, the owner of the largest privately held oak savanna in Waukesha County; Bill Reichenbach, a retired arborist from Wachtel Tree Science; and WCLC board members Dr. Neal O’Reilly, professor of environmental sciences at UWM; and Pam Angst, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and board member for Kettle Moraine Garden Club.

Check out Photos of Martin's Woods Site Visit

Our Newest Partners: Wisconsin Hero Outdoors

Honor. Courage. Conservation.

Visit WHO's Website

We are thrilled to partner with Wisconsin Hero Outdoors (WHO), a nonprofit organization that connects veterans, first responders, and their families to the great outdoors. Their mantra is “Honor. Courage. Conservation." It is our honor to offer these dedicated men, women, and their families the gift of nature. Activities include nature walks, hiking, birdwatching, kayaking, and stewardship and restoration projects on our preserves.

In fact, WHO founders Eric Falkner and Jason Bartol recently joined WCLC land-management committee member Bill Reichenbach and land-stewardship manager Meghan Wersel to visit our Theisen Preserve. Together, they planned for winter restoration activities that will prepare the property for an important prescribed burn that will occur in the new year.

In 2019, we plan on expanding our nature-based outreach and education activities to make nature fun and connect more people to the environment.

Educating Wisconsin’s Next Generation of Conservationists

UW-Milwaukee Students Lead the Way

UWM students with Dr. Neal O'Reilly, Dr. Glen Fredlund, and Meghan Wersel

This year, more than twenty-five students from UWM helped us with many high-priority projects, from land stewardship to marketing. This semester, two teams of ten students created land-management plans for our newly acquired Meyer Preserve in Mukwonago and Mud Lake in Oconomowoc. These plans are critical to prioritizing the stewardship and restoration activities that maintain the conservation values of our preserves. The students used a drone that was donated to WCLC by Siepmann Realty to survey our preserves from a bird-eye’s view, which gave them valuable information that they could not gather by foot. We are so grateful for their innovation and dedication to land conservation.

Click to View Drone Photos

Save the Date for "Oaktober" Fest 2019

Saving the Mighty Oaks of Waukesha County

Become a Sponsor

We hope you and your family will join us at “Oaktober” Fest 2019, which will be held on Saturday, Oct 5, 2019 -at Stone Fence Farm in Dousman, Wisconsin. We will gather in the company of some of Wisconsin’s remarkable trees, including Tizza and Glen Meyers’ 311-year old champion burr oak, to celebrate our beloved oak ecosystems. Consider becoming a sponsor for this event. Your sponsorship will support our restoration efforts for these rare ecosystems before it is too late.

Get Involved with WCLC Today

Volunteer: In addition to workday volunteers, we need skilled professionals to help us. If you have knowledge in human resources, training, marketing, or sales—or if you are a CPA or IT professional—WCLC needs your help! Email Cheryl White at wclc@wi.rr.com if you want to join Wisconsin's 2018 Land Trust of the Year.

Become a Monthly Donor on Facebook: When you give to WCLC via our Facebook page, we do not incur credit card fees, so your entire donation reaches us. Consider becoming a $5, $10, $15 or more monthly donor and make a difference throughout the year

Use Amazon Smile to Give While you Shop . Consider connecting your Amazon account to Amazon Smile. At no additional cost to you, Amazon will donate a percentage of your eligible purchases to the organization of your choice. Sign in to your account at smile.amazon.com , click “change charity,” and search for Waukesha County Land Conservancy. This holiday season and beyond, do good while you shop.