Wisconsin Land & Water Conservation Assoc., Inc (Madison, WI)

General

• Mission:

Wisconsin Land & Water Conservation Association (WLWCA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was created to represent county land conservation committees and departments and to represent them through education and governmental interaction. Our mission is to serve these committees and departments to conserve and enhance Wisconsin’s natural resources.

• History:

WLWCA was created to represent county land conservation committees and departments and to represent them through education and governmental interaction.

Recent activities include coordinating the Conservation on the Land Internship Program, where we are able to help place and fund 37 interns in 33 counties throughout Wisconsin in the summer of 2010. This highly successful program provides college students with a unique opportunity to receive hands-on experience and assist county land conservation department staff with their workloads. WLWCA has coordinated this program since 2003.

In even-numbered years, WLWCA provides training to land conservation committee (LCC) supervisors at many locations throughout Wisconsin. The training provides an orientation for newer committee members and also includes useful information for experienced LCC members and county conservationists. Each session included an overview of WLWCA, statutory responsibilities of LCCs, program overviews from agency partners, and a county presentation to demonstrate how counties and agencies work together on projects.

Our youth and education program consists of the Wisconsin Envirothon, State Conservation Awareness Poster and Speaking Contest, and Conservation Camp. WLWCA coordinates the Envirothon, a high school environmental education competition which develops knowledgeable advocates for conservation and stewardship of our natural resources. It provides hands-on outdoor coaching in five topic areas: soils, aquatic resources, forestry, wildlife and an annual current issue. This interactive education package creates the environmentally aware leaders critical to the future of natural resource conservation.

WLWCA facilitates the State Conservation Awareness Poster and Speaking Contest, a K-12 program where students express themselves artistically on a natural resources topic. Students create posters that express a current theme or develop a public address on a conservation topic of their choice.

WLWCA also sponsors Conservation Camp each summer in Rusk County, which hosts more than 30 students. The high school students learn about a wide range of topics, such as wildlife, soil, erosion, pollution, ecosystems, water quality, aquatic habitats, orienteering and canoeing.

WLWCA is also an advocate for numerous conservation issues. We were an important partner in the coalition that successfully lobbied the state legislature for the ratification of the Great Lakes Compact. In 2008 WLWCA was also part of a coalition that included the Wisconsin Association of Lakes and other advocating in favor of a prohibition on the use of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizer statewide. This bill has now passed the state senate and house.

WLWCA was recently approved for inclusion in the Wisconsin State Employee Combined Campaign. The SECC provides and opportunity to state employees to make charitable contributions from their pay, and WLWCA is included via an umbrella run by the Wisconsin Education Education Foundation.

Each December WLWCA holds an annual conference in various locations across the state. This year is our 57th conference and it will be held in Wisconsin Dells. Approximately 200 county land conservation committee supervisors and county conservationists attend our conference which provides informative general and breakout sessions on key conservation topics and includes our annual business meeting.

• Year established:1953

Registration

• Organization type:Grantseeker
• Country of registration:United States
• Year established:1953
• Tax Determination Letter:Received Determination Letter
• IRS Section:501(c)(3)
• IRS Subsection:None