Two Presentations: 1) Tackling Water Quality through Regional Coalition Building 2) The Importance of Watershed Partnerships: Building the Lake Superior Collaborative
Presentation #1: Tackling Water Quality through Regional Coalition Building
The Yahara Watershed and its five lakes define Dane County and Greater Madison’s sense of place, contributing significantly to the region’s economy, recreational offerings, and quality of life. Past investments and actions have laid a foundation for future water quality improvements, but the lakes remain federally impaired and suffer from blue-green algae blooms and E. coli outbreaks which close public beaches. In addition, intensifying climate impacts and other headwinds threaten to mask and overwhelm progress despite efforts to reverse poor water quality.
Clean Lakes Alliance is leading an unprecedented coalition to chart a more effective path forward. The Yahara CLEAN Compact seeks to improve the condition and usability of the Yahara lakes and beaches by expanding and strengthening community partnerships and uniting around a common vision and action plan to which all members can be accountable. Ultimately, it is a promise to cooperatively deliver bold solutions and actionable timelines to improve the five Greater Madison lakes.
This presentation will review lessons learned as the Compact sought to combine the power of science with collective community action. It will also describe challenges faced in working productively as a group of 19 organizations, and how several key stakeholder groups were engaged throughout the planning process. Learn how decades of research and monitoring were translated into a community user manual and action roadmap for these troubled lakes.
Presenters: Paul Dearlove & James Tye
Presentation #2: The Importance of Watershed Partnerships: Building the Lake Superior Collaborative
The Lake Superior Collaborative (LSC) is a partnership of conservation organizations working on watershed restoration and climate resilience projects in Wisconsin’s Lake Superior basin. The LSC facilitates networking, information sharing, and collaborative stewardship by convening partners around shared, multi-year watershed goals. The Collaborative consists of a 10-member steering team, full-time coordinator, and multiple workgroups. This talk will emphasize the importance of aligning local projects with regional priorities and supporting partnerships that lead to sustainable and collaborative conservation projects. Presenters will share examples of landscape restoration projects made possible through collaborative efforts, including Wisconsin’s first natural flood management demonstration project in Ashland County. This presentation will also cover the challenges and opportunities that arise through the coordination and maintenance of a regional conservation partnership, including securing funding for a permanent coordinator, generating a shared Action Plan, and evaluating partnership impact.
Presenters: Erin Burkett & MaryJo Gingras