Grant Abstracts for 2007
Projects in Progress…
Communication and Education
Crossroads at Big Creek
Awarded: $2,600
Project: Water Education Center for the Door Peninsula Environmentalists in the Lakeshore Basin are well aware of the value of water quality. The general public has a general sense of the importance of clean water and biodiversity, but most lack the specific knowledge which would inspire life style changes, political resolve and citizen action to protect and improve water quality. Because Crossroads is dedicated to life long learning and environmental awareness, we are perfectly positioned to serve as the area center for water education during the coming year. Included in this project would be: research and resultant educational outreach initiatives pertaining to bacterial contamination, cladophora proliferation, and alternative septic systems. Teacher education and a lecture series would be involved, and our education efforts would culminate with our annual Family Science Day in September 2007 being dedicated to water education.
Anclam Beach CleanUp and habitat Restoration by local artist and DCEC
Awarded: $1,710.00
Project: Documentation of shoreline restoration and beach cleanup as seen and understood by middle school students. The goal is to instill a sense of stewardship in them now with the hope that it will stay with them and help them to be responsible adults and decision makers who are sensitive to environmental issues. The end result will be a body of exhibit quality fine art that will double as an educational tool that might serve to inspire more kids to get involved. Drawings, journals, and photos produced during the process will make up the exhibit that will consist of three large drawings of the beach area during the spring, summer and fall with a group of photos and drawings with a written narrative that will include excerpts from the kids journals and dialogs. The project is scheduled to be exhibited at the Link Gallery at the Fish Creek Auditorium in November 2007 or January 2008.
Wisconsin Speleological Society
Awarded: $1,960.00
Project: Interpretive and Educational programming of Maribel Caves Area. This project is an extension of a 2005 LNRP grant for an educational sign located in Maribel Caves County Park in Maribel, WI. In our original grant application, we had envisioned that the sign would be the first step in an educational program at the park. Over the past two years the Wisconsin Speleological Society (WSS) has worked closely with Manitowoc County Parks and Public Works Departments to improve the trail system expand the caves and implement a management plan for the park. As part of this plan, we would like to implement an educational program at the park. This educational program would involve a person or people giving educational tours of the park on a regular scheduled basis (two days a month from May through October 2007). The tour would follow a professionally reviewed outline and involve explanations of all aspects of the park, including the caves and karst geology, surface and groundwater, biodiversity and human history that can be found in the park. The WSS, with the money from this grant, would reimburse the educators for their time and expenses. This grant would also be used to pay for expenses relating to the publication of brochures which help further explain and reinforce the topics covered in the tours.
Woodland Dunes Nature Center
Awarded: $4,824.40
Project: Educating Students on importance of clean water. Woodland Dunes staff will create a program for teaching the concepts of water quality to students approximately ages 10 through 12 using a four-part learning experience. In the pre-activity, Water basics and the water cycle, teachers will introduce and review basic information about water and the water cycle, giving students the basic information they need to take full advantage of their program. The field experience, Water quality, local watersheds, ground and surface water and water testing will be at Woodland Dunes. Subgroups learn about water quality, local watersheds and ground and surface waters at investigation stations, and will be introduced to the water testing program at Woodland Dunes. In a follow-up session, Pollutions and solutions, a Woodland Dunes Environmental Educator will present information on water pollution and potential solutions and students will be challenged to take on projects. During an assessment visit, a staff member will visit the classroom and review the projects. The goal of this program is to foster children's awareness of the importance of clean water and how we as humans play an important role in maintaining natural resources.
Water Resources
Door County Invasive Species Team
Awarded: $1,375.77
Project: Clean Boats - Clean Waters
The waters of our state are a vast and critical public resource. The countless streams, ponds, rivers and lakes in our Great Lakes region contain a significant portion of the Planet’s available fresh water. Everyone, at some basic level, cherishes this water. Millions enjoy and benefit from our water resources, but citizens often lack the basic understanding and skills to properly safeguard and maintain clean water and natural systems.
Aquatic invasive species disrupt natural aquatic cycles and wreak havoc on native communities. The waters of Lake Michigan continue to succumb to bioinvasion of exotic aquatic organisms. In turn, these biologic pollutants are often unknowingly transferred to other water bodies, continuing the destructive cycle of invasion. As a society, we have raised standards and greatly changed our values regarding human created pollutants. In order to better safeguard our water resources, we must now do the same in regards to aquatic invasive species.
The Door County Invasive Species Team (DCIST) plans to retain an Aquatic Invasive Species Intern for summer 2007 and implement Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources / U.W. Extension Clean Boats–Clean Waters (CBCW) program for marina harbor masters and staff, lake associations, boaters and citizens. Funding from LNRP will enable the CBCW workshops and programming and compensate a summer long internship.
Tri-Lakes Association
Awarded: $2,000.00
Project: Aquatic Invasive Species Survey on 3 inland lakes
To perform an aquatic invasive species survey on the located in the town of Pierce in Kewaunee County. These three lakes are; Krohns lake, East Alaska Lake and West Alaska Lake. This survey would be done in the spring of 2007. Educational outreach will include the creation of signs that promote stewardship of the area lakes by residents and visitors.
Bay Shore Property Owners Association
Awarded: $1,000.00
Project: E. coli testing (Identical Application to 2005/2006)
Bay Shore Property Owners Association is an organization of approximately 200 property owners along a 13 mile stretch of county B from the city limits of Sturgeon Bay to Murphy Park in Egg Harbor. We have conducted E. coli testing for three years (2004, 2005, and 2006). The results have been shared with Door County Soil and Water Conservation Department and the public. Additional testing is scheduled for 2007. BSPOA believes that water quality is increasing important and vital to the economic and social well being of the community. The goal of our testing is to improve public awareness, improve public health and safety through eventual source identification of fecal contamination in public waters. E. coli is conducted for 12 weeks by 20 volunteers from BSPOA. Samples are transported to a laboratory in Sturgeon Bay (manned by students from UW Oshkosh) for analysis. The information is given to Soil and Water for evaluation.
Agriculture and Urban Pollution Prevention
Calumet County Groundwater Guardians
Awarded: $2,880.00
Project: Arsenic and bacteria testing
Calumet Groundwater Guardians (CGGs) and Calumet County Land and Water Conservation Department (LWCD) are partnering with the Towns of Brothertown and Woodville to offer a targeted groundwater sampling program to residents of each town on August 20, 2007. While the LWCD offers a voluntary sampling program county-wide, participation in the program has leveled off in the past few years. In order to raise awareness and increase participation, the targeted groundwater sampling program will provide free arsenic test kits to any resident in the selected towns who purchase a bacteria / nitrate test kit. Neighboring counties have had issues with naturally occurring arsenic in private well water but little testing has been conducted in Calumet County to determine if the problem exists here as well. To date, program participants have been comfortable with testing for bacteria / nitrates but would need additional education and incentives regarding concerns associated with arsenic. This program will be an excellent opportunity to build on an existing partnership between CGGs and LWCD as well as continue to develop partnerships with local governments to educate the public on the importance of groundwater testing and quality. The targeted program would continue annually over the next four years with different towns being targeted each year.
Niagara Escarpment Resource Network
Awarded: $2,000.00
Project: Promote needed conservation efforts in region using brochures and presentations
The Niagara Escarpment Resource Network (NERN) proposes to utilize LNRP funds to promote its efforts and activities which will result in increased awareness and action regarding needed conservation efforts along the Niagara Escarpment, an internationally significant geologic landform feature that defines the Lakeshore Basin. NERN will utilize funds to update and re-print 3000 copies of an existing informational brochure regarding its organization and efforts. This brochure promotes NERN's mission for grass roots conservation and protection ofthe Niagara Escarpment and will be distributed throughout the Escarpment's 150+ mile long corridor. Additionally, funds will be utilized to conduct a series of eight guest lecture sessions at a variety of primary education institutions located along the Escarpment corridor during 2007 and 2008. The speaker sessions will promote knowledge and awareness of this internationally important feature and the unique issues facing it, such as groundwater quality and habitat protection. These projects will encourage further local and regional actions and activities to promote conservation and wise land use decisions along the Escarpment
Kewaunee County Land and Water Conservation
Awarded: $1,000
Project: The Kewaunee County Groundwater Festival
The Kewaunee County Groundwater Festival is a one-day event held for 300 5th grade students and their teachers from Kewaunee County public & private schools. These students will gather in Luxemburg Wisconsin to enhance their understanding and knowledge about our valuable groundwater resources. Students will spend half a day rotating through three hands-on groundwater lessons each focusing on a different aspect of groundwater resources: Groundwater and Surface Water, Groundwater Basics, Pollution Solutions and a KarstlBedrock display model. These lessons are developed to increase the awareness surrounding groundwater and its issues, enhance critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills concerning groundwater, and enhance the abilities of attendees to take local actions towards groundwater protection. Local groundwater professionals who are trained in groundwater lead the lessons and approximately 30 local high school seniors volunteer as lesson assistants. The Kewaunee County Groundwater Guardians (KCGG) will be coordinating this event, including raising money, recruiting & training volunteers, and teaching a lesson.
Land Use and Protection
Endangered Species Habitat Program
Awarded: $5,000.00
Project: Monitoring the effects of Phragmites australis control in Lake Michigan shore habitats.
Common reed grass, Phragmites australis, is an invasive species out-competing the native natural plant species found on Lake Michigan shores. Recent control activities have ranged from bundling-cuttingherbicide dabbing of the grass stems to helicopter applications on larger stands at the edge of the lake, sometimes in concert with mowing or burning post-herbicide treatments. We would like to put in place follow-up studies to monitor the impacts of aerial and ground applications of the herbicides and alternative methods on Phragmites clones and on native beach, dune and wetland plant species, some of which are federally or state listed. We propose a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UWGB) student make this a master's project with help from the major professor, other students, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) staff, and Door county and LNRP related personnel and volunteers. This partial proposal is to support the master's student to study Phragmites control in the LNRP area in 2007. A second proposal is hereby submitted for assistance to this student's work (two proposals at $5,000 each totaling $10,000).
The Door County Environmental Council
Awarded: $2,680.33
Project: Seminars on hot issues in the basin
The Door County Environmental Council (DCEC) proposes a series of three seminars, all related to our water resource either directly or indirectly, to be presented this spring at Crossroads at Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, at no charge to those attending.
Because of feedback received at two trail seminars we held at Crossroads last fall, feedback from both attendees and those who could not attend, we perceive these events as highly desired by our community. We are proposing a series of three seminars on the following topics: Spotting the Emerald Ash Borer (3/28), Why Critical Habitat for the Hines Emerald Dragonfly is so Important to Door County¹s ecological health (4/25), and, Our Water, First It Was Phosphorus, Now It¹s Nitrates! (5/30).The challenge we face for these events is deep Community Outreach. So, DCEC is requesting help from the LNRP to reach out to our community so that many, many individuals can actually hear that these events are taking place.
We propose a marketing/media mix of direct mail, press and electronic media advertising to accomplish the task of filling the seats with live, breathing human beings who care about the issues we will discuss.
Door County Environmental Council
Awarded: $969.50
Project: Improving the DCEC website and improving water quality!
This request is to provide funds to amplify the Door County Environmental Council¹s (DCEC) web site, which was established last year, partially funded by a grant from LNRP. Last year¹s grant was to support the establishment of a formal web site to bring DCEC into the internet age. Please visit www.dcec-wi.org to view the site in its initial configuration. Our request this year is to greatly improve certain areas of the site, especially in areas that will have a direct impact on water quality in Door County.
Briefly, we want to upgrade elements of our web site to allow instant and detailed access to several printed educational resources we hold exclusively and to other printed resources that we distribute on behalf of others. Some of these resources were on our old web-page, and we thought they would translate electronically to our new site. They didn¹t, but we have found a vendor in Green Bay who can accommodate these needs for us.
Also, under the auspices of this grant we wish to support additional training time with EarthWins personnel (our designer) to become completely adept at maintaining the site in-house rather than relying on outside vendors for anything, Alice McCombs of EarthWins has proven to be an able and patient trainer for us to date and we wish to continue to use her services for this extended training of our staff.