Category: Events | Accent on Natural Landscaping

2019 Wisconsin Conservation Congress Spring Hearings

April 7, 2019

Today, Monday, April 8, starting at 7PM the 2019 spring hearings hosted by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) will be held in each county. Wisconsin is one of the few, if perhaps the only, state to give its citizens a voice in conservation legislation through such hearings.

This year there will be an online option for people who aren’t able to attend a hearing in person or who’d rather provide input using their smart phone. The input form will go live at 7 p.m. on April 8 and remain open until 7 p.m. on April 11.* Providing input on citizen-introduced resolutions or participating in the WCC election will continue to require in-person participation.

Questionnaire

Although most of the items covered by these hearings relate to hunting and fishing, all pertain to biodiversity and some directly to natural landscaping. Key elements in this year’s questionnaire include the following questions about which I have concerns:

50. Increase setback from fields to streams to 30 feet and encourage establishing vegetation.

55. Restore carcass tag requirement for deer hunting.

56. Support statewide ban on baiting and feeding deer in an attempt to reduce affects of CWD.

57. Require pheasant, grouse and quail hunters to wear blaze orange or pink on 25% of their outer clothing.

70. Restore public funding for public lands.

76-77. Change youth hunting age back to 10 and require only one gun firearm between the mentor and the mentee.

80. Designate the hickory nut as the Wisconsin state nut.

84. Create a Common Reedgrass (Phragmites australis) control fund.

85. Ban lead ammunition and fishing gear in Wisconsin.

86. Support a four-year pilot program creating temporary lead-free ammunition shooting ranges to be used for school sponsored scholastic shooting teams that do not have access to local facilities.

If you are a Wisconsin resident and are not able to attend the session to cast your vote personally or on-line, but you wish to comment on the proposed rule changes or WDNR Wildlife advisory questions, you can submit comments or phone (608) 267-2452 by April 11th.

Wisconsin Conservation Congress

Established in 1937, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress was legislatively recognized in 1972 as Statute 15.348 to ensure citizens would have a liaison between the Natural Resources Board and the Department of Natural Resources.

“The conservation congress shall be an independent organization of citizens of the state and shall serve in an advisory capacity to the natural resources board on all matters under the jurisdiction of the board. Its records, budgets, studies and surveys shall be kept and established in conjunction with the department of natural resources. Its reports shall be an independent advisory opinion of such congress (s. 15.348, Wis. Stats.).”

*The online version of the Spring Hearing questionnaire will be posted on the Spring Hearing website (dnr.wi.gov search keywords “spring hearings”).

Doug Tallamy & Mariette Nowak to Speak in Stevens Point April 12, 2019

March 29, 2019

Great news! Nationally known speaker and Wild Ones Honorary Director Doug Tallamy will be a keynote speaker for the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership Convention and Water Action Volunteers Symposium to be held April 10-12, 2019 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Stevens Point. Doug will speak on April 12th at 9AM.

Additionally, Mariette Nowak, Author of Birdscaping in the Midwest, Past Director of Wehr Nature Center, Milwaukee County and President of Wild Ones Kettle Moraine Chapter will be speaking later in the afternoon from 2:45-3:45PM.

The Keynote Presentation

With a conference theme of “Pay it Forward,” Dr Tallamy’s presentation argues we all can “pay it forward” to nature by including many more native plants in our domesticated landscapes. He will take a closer look at how nature can (and does!) provide for itself through the complex web of life which is most often based on the relationship between plants and insects. Whether at an “up north” cabin or in the middle of Milwaukee, our deeds will be multiplied and eventually will return to us in the form of a more diverse and resilient natural community.

Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has taught for nearly forty years. His research demonstrates the enduring connections between plants and the insects that feed on them. Though we may think of these insects as pests, they are in fact critical food sources for native birds and small mammals.

Dr Tallamy is the author of the best-selling garden book, Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, and was awarded the 2008 silver medal by the Garden Writers Association. He also co-authored with Richard Darke The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, a how-to book to “enable you to create a garden that is full of life and that fulfills both human needs and the needs of wildlife communities.”

Birdscaping Your Shoreline Property

The Tennessee Warbler migrates through Wisconsin from the Canadian Boreal forest. It is often referred to as a “nectar thief” because it will pierce the base of a flower tube to get nectar and not exchange any pollen. Photo by Dave Nowak

Mariette will present ways to increase the variety of birds on your shoreline property by growing native plants which offer birds a natural habitat and a yearlong smorgasbord of berries, nuts, seeds and insects. By doing so, she’ll show you how you can play a vital role in preserving and enhancing native communities that support not only birds, but also other wildlife including butterflies, bees, and bats. By taking on this role, you become a steward of your piece of Earth and pay forward its diversity and beauty to future generations.

To register See you there!

Wisconsin Lakes Partnership

Sponsored by the UW-SP College of Natural Resources, UW-Extension Lakes Department, the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership is made up of three partners: the Department of Natural Resources (which supplies scientific research, technical expertise and regulatory authority), the UW-Extension Lakes Program (which provides supporting educational materials and programs), and Wisconsin Lakes (which mobilizes citizens to be advocates for lakes).

A Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World

March 15, 2019

Great news! Dr Doug Tallamy, Wild Ones Lifetime Honorary Director, will be speaking here in Wisconsin again! He will be a keynote speaker for the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership Convention and Water Action Volunteers Symposium to be held April 10-12, 2019 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Stevens Point. Doug will speak on April 12th at 9AM.

The Presentation

To register

Wisconsin Lakes Partnership

Promoting a Living Landscape

March 12, 2019

I was asked recently, on behalf of Wild Ones Fox Valley Area Chapter, to make a presentation to the Board of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation to help them make a decision around “supporting educational efforts for both urban and rural natural landscape practices.”

The presentation was to cover the mission of Wild Ones, the importance of native plants in landscapes, examples of what Wild Ones does, and examples of what people can do on their forest, wetland, grassland and mixed use properties to enhance and restore habitat.

I’m delighted to say the WWF Board voted to support educational efforts for both urban and rural natural landscape practices.

Following the presentation, the Board asked my chapter to make the presentation available to them for future reference. Here is that presentation Promoting a Living Landscape through Native Plants and Natural Landscapes.