SwtWtr Nwsletr Final Nov-2011 Web

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RiversReportNOVEMBER 2011 | VOluME 2 NO. 3

The Sweet Water

partners have

continued to make

strong progress as the

end of 2011 approaches.

Here’s my brief summary

to supplement the updates

provided by Sweet Water

partners in largerstories elsewhere:

2011/2012 Green Infrastructure Mini-Grants

Sweet Water raised $52,500 for Kinnickinnic and

Menomonee River watershed green infrastructure

mini-grants – the rst round of 11 applications

were considered by our grants panel and winners

will be announced at the Sweet Water holiday

party on December 14th. Watch for news soon

of a second cal l for 2011/2012 applications; that

round will be available to community-based projects

in all ve Sweet Water watersheds. Please thank

our mini-grant supporters this year, including the Fund for Lake Michigan, MMSD, Wisconsin

Energy Foundation and CH2MHill .

Pilot Stormwater Outreach Effort Completed

Based on our 2010 watershed implementation

plans and following on the release of our Public

Water Quality Survey results in January, the

Real Water Park stormwater outreach effort was

launched on August 17th. It included a successful

media event in West Allis, followed by a six-week

billboard and on-line advertisement effort.

Support was provided by 11 Menomonee River

governments, the WI DNR, the WI CoastalManagement Program, Fresh Water Future, and

Sweet Water itself. We plan to expand those

nonpoint source pollution education efforts in

2012 with new community support and with the

continued guidance of Sweet Water’s talented

Communications Committee.

Menomonee River Watershed-Based

Permitting Project Well-Underway

Sweet Water applied for $100K from the EPA

to create a watershed-based (WSB) storm water

permit framework for the Menomonee River

watershed. Representatives of the Menomonee

River watershed municipalities, EPA, WI DNR

MMSD, SEWRPC, and Sweet Water partners

began a series of WSB Permit Working Group

meetings in June, meeting every other month

in an effort guided by SEWRPC. EPA Region 5

Administrator Susan Hedman, WI DNR

Secretary Cathy Stepp, and Joyce Foundationrepresentatives, including Molly Flanagan and

former Wisconsin Governor and Joyce Trustee

Tony Earl attended a public event marking the

effort on August 31st on the Menomonee

River waterfront in Wauwatosa.

Progress on the Root River Watershed

Restoration Plan

By May, Sweet Water had raised about $305,000

from the Fund for Lake Michigan, Milwaukee

Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wisconsin

Coastal Management Program, and Racine Count

to support creation of a watershed restorationplan for the Root River. SEWRPC began work

on that plan in July. Sweet Water, Root Pike

WIN, River Alliance of Wisconsin, and UW-

Extension will host ve Root River Watershed

Action Team meetings annually to inform the

process and to sustain community involvement

Recent Root River group meetings in Greendale

and Mt. Pleasant included tours of local green

infrastructure and riparian restoration successes.

Big News at the Fund

for Lake Michigan

The talents of the new Program Director of th

Fund for Lake Michiga

are already familiar

to many conservation

partners in Wisconsin.

Vicki Elkin was selecte

in September as the r

full-time staff member

of the Fund, a newly

formed grant-making

A Sweet Water UpdateJEFF MARTINKA, SWEET WATER

Jeff Martinka

Vicki Elkin, Fund for

Lake Michigan Program

Director

continued on page

New Pbication ..............................2

Work to Expand to Headwaters ..... 3

Year in Review: AOC ....................... 4

EPA Award Event .............................4

Menomonee WAT update...............5

Wecome Brett Waace ..................5

Green Tier legacy Commnities ...6

KK Recreationa use Srvey ..........6

Keepers of the River ....................... 7

upcoming Events ............................8

Insidethis Issue

P h o t o : K a t e M o r g a n Learning for life

P h o t o : F F l M


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organization dedicated to enhancing the health of Lake Michigan, its

shoreline and its tributary river systems. Whi le formally launched

early in 2011, the Fund for Lake Michigan has already proven itself

to be an important partner in many Sweet Water-connected efforts.

Prior to joining the Fund, Vicki worked as a Policy Initiatives Advisor

at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer

Protection, working on land use, water quality, energy, and sustainability

issues. Vicki led the Department’s Working Lands Initiative and

worked to establish the new Purchase of Agricultural Conservation

Easement (PACE) program. Before joining DATCP, Vicki worked

at Gathering Waters Conservancy, a nonprot umbrella group for

Wisconsin’s private land trust organizations, including serving as

its Executive Director from 1998 to 2006. In addition strengthening

Gathering Waters partnerships, Vicky led bipartisan efforts to

increase funding for Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship

Program. She earned an M.S. in Land Resources from the University

of Wisconsin-Madison.

We congratulate Vicki on her new position and look forward to

working closely with her and the Fund for Lake Michigan Trustees

in the coming years.

Sweet Water Active in Four Milwaukee TMDL Projects

As reported in prior RiversReports, MMSD received four Great

Lakes Restoration Initiative grants from the EPA to complete

third party Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) analyses in the

Sweet Water region. TMDLs calculate maximum amounts of

particular pollutants that can be received by a river or water body

without harming water quality. The goal of TMDLs is to outline

the fastest path to cleaner water. MMSD selected the engineering

rm CDM as its lead consultant on all four TMDLs. CDM has

extensive national experience in TMDL work, including on behalf

of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on the Rock

River TMDL. Sweet Water was selected to provide MMSD with

stakeholder involvement and public outreach support so importan

to the success of the TMDLs. The Sweet Water efforts began in

October and the rst stakeholder meeting will be held on November

14th at the Wauwatosa Public Library.

Sweet Water Active in Fall Water Events

Sweet Water reps were featured as Milwaukee water heroes at the

Sweet Water reps were featured as Milwaukee water hero’s at the

Present Music’s big Water concert at the Marcus Center on August 31st

We were featured in a workshop at the EPA’s State of Lake Michigan

Conference in Michigan City and we produced the watersheds trac

of the Milwaukee Water Council’s Water Summit V at Discovery World

Museum, both in September. In October, I served as program

moderator at the Urban Water Sustainability Leadership Conference

at the Pster, presented at the Alliance for Great Lakes Urban

Stormwater workshop at Discovery World and with a number of

key partners, co-presented at two workshops at the National Land

Conservation Conference at the Frontier Airlines Center.

Looking ahead, plans are underway for Sweet Water to host the

8th Clean Rivers Clean Lake Conference, slated for April 30th, 2012

at Discovery World.

Sweet Water’s Strategic Planning Update

Our collaborative began a concentrated planning and assessment

effort in April, working with our friends at the Joyce Foundation,

Steering Council members, and many nonprot and governmental

partners. That work culminated in October with a report and proposa

to the Joyce Foundation. On a parallel t rack, the Sweet Water

Executive Committee is laying a foundation for a broader strategy

effort, one that we hope to launch this winter.

Much has been accomplished but truly, the effort has only just

begun. On behalf of the Sweet Water Steering Council and our

community partners, I hope you stay engaged. •

continued from page 1

The watershed restoration plans for the Menomonee and Kinnickinnic

Rivers are based on two key plans: MMSD’s 2020 Facility Plan andthe 2007 Wisconsin Regional Water Quality Management Plan Update. Thesubsequent watershed restoration plans were developed from these two

foundational documents by the consultants at HNTB with critical additionalinput from the Watershed Action Teams for both watersheds.

The publication, Inside the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds , is a summary of the SE Wisconsin Regional Water Quality Management Plan Update 2007.

Nancy Frank was the primary author of the publication. Frank serves as thechair of Sweet Water’s Steering Council and is an associate professor at UWM in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning. The summary provides a foundation for understanding the status of the health of our rivers, the goals envisioned for the area’s waters,

the actions needed to advance water quality throughout the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds, and the role of Sweet Water in these efforts.

The publication can be found on Sweet Water’s website. Go to the Publications page at swwtwater.org. •

New Publication Available: Inside

the Greater Milwaukee WatershedsKATE MORGAN, 1000 FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN


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In early June, the Menomonee River

Watershed Action Team hosted a meeting

of stakeholders working in the ru ral,

agricultural headwaters of the Menomonee

River Watershed including the Land and

Water Conservation Departments of

Washington and Ozaukee Counties,

Milwaukee Riverkeeper, NRCS, Menomonee

Falls, and MMSD’s Greenseams program.

Our primary focus is to maintain productive

farmland while minimally impacting the

natural resources and water quality of the

Menomonee River Watershed and to do

this by offering nancial and technical

assistance to rural landowners. The meeting

focused on identifying priority landowners

to contact in the Menomonee River Watershed,

including the Nor-X-Way channel, which is

the second highest total suspended solids

loading area in the watershed. Agricultural

lands are also major sources of phosphorus

and bacteria, which are pollutants of

concern identied in the Menomonee

River Watershed Restoration Plan.

Washington County sent out a mailing to

all Menomonee River Watershed farmers

to let them know about available federal

funding sources in 2011 to provide cost-share

for the implementation of conservation

practices but received little interest due to

constraints posed by many of these programs.

Ozaukee County has had success procuring

funding from the Fund for Lake Michigan

to provide additional “enhancement” funds

to implement riparian buffer programs and

other agricultural BMPs in select watersheds

in Ozaukee County, and project partners

were interested in starting a similar program

in the agricultural portions of the Menomonee

River watershed that spans both counties as

well as portions of Waukesha and Milwaukee

Counties (that are largely “urban”).

Ozaukee County’s program focuses on

existing farmland that drains directly into

a ditch, tributary, or main channel of Sauk

or Sucker Creeks that will be targeted for

riparian buffers and eld borders. This

program is designed to be “farmer-friendly”

to allow agricultural producers to manage

and periodically harvest their grassland

riparian buffers. The riparian buffer initiative

allows exibility and adaptive management

options, which will lead to enhanced

landowner participation and long-termbuffer sustainability beyond a normal

10-year agreement that is part of federal

funding programs. Ozaukee County staff

will work closely with landowners to select

areas in need of riparian buffers and eld

borders, to properly site the buffers and

eld borders, and to develop a long-term

management plan suited to the farm operation.

Landowners will have the option of installing

a harvestable cool-season grass mix or native

prairie grass mix for a contract period of

ten years. The plan provides one-time

incentive payments of $2,000/acre for riparia

buffers, and $1,000 for eld borders (thatprovide protection for ditches and other

areas eventually draining to the river). Th

costs for establishing a buffer and eld

border (seeding, planting, etc.) will be shared

through existing Ozaukee County state and

federal grants. The goal for their grant

request is to install 50 acres of riparian buffer

and 20 acres of eld borders.

Ozaukee and Washington County are workin

together to craft grant requests for spring

2012, which would build on and learn from

Ozaukee County’s existing program andexpand it to focus on the headwaters areas

of the Menomonee River Watershed. The

grant would focus on targeting erosion by

installing 75 foot riparian buffers along a

waterway to prevent soil from leaving the

eld and entering streams. Upland practice

such as grassed waterways, contour buffe

strips, and stream bank stabilization may

also be an option to reduce sediment from

entering streams.

In addition, stakeholders discussed theneed for better coordination pertain ing

to connecting existing farmers interested

in the Greenseams program with county,

state, and federal partners that could enro

them in other opportunities for rural

landowners designed at improving water

quality. Conversely, partners working close

with farmers could encourage them to contac

Greenseams and other land trust partners

if they are interested in conservation easemen

or selling their properties for conservation

The Agricultural Committee of theMenomonee WAT hopes to meet regularl

to encourage more collaboration among

stakeholders and increase communica-

tion with Menomonee River Watershed

agricultural producers. If you are intereste

in volunteering for this committee, please

contact Cheryl Nenn at (414) 287-0207 ext. 2

or Paul Backhaus of Washington County

at (262) 335-4803. •

Work to Expand into AgriculturalHeadwaters of the Menomonee RiverCHERYl NENN, MIlWAuKEE RIVERKEEPER

Riparian buffer in Ozaukee County

P h o t o : O z a u k e e C o u n t y l a n d a n d W a t e r M a n a

g e m e n t D e p a r t m e n t



On August 31, a group of over 35 people assembled at Hart Park in

Wauwatosa to attend a formal announcement of the award of

$100,000 from the EPA to MMSD, Sweet Water, and the Menomonee

River municipalities. This award will fund the development of a

watershed-based stormwater permit.

Through working cooperatively to identify key pollutants and bespractices to address those pollutants, the watershed-based permit

offers municipalities a potential cost-effective approach to water qualit

improvement. It will also enable the municipalities to customize

their actions to the characteristics of the specic watershed.

Key leaders spoke at the event including Susan Hedman, EPA Region 5

Administrator; Cathy Stepp, WI Secretary of the WI Department o

Natural Resources, Anthony S. Earl, Joyce Foundation Board Membe

and former Wisconsin Governor, and Kevin Shafer, Executive Directo

of the MMSD. Jill Didier, Mayor of Wauwatosa, and Tom Grisa,

Brookeld Director of Public Works, also gave welcoming remark

The watershed-based approach for stormwater permitting wasstrongly recommended to the EPA in a 2008 National Research

Council report on the EPA’s stormwater permit program. The EPA

award for the Menomonee River is one of three awarded national

to pilot this innovative approach. Susan Hedman, EPA Region 5

Administrator stated, “This project wil l enhance Southeastern

Wisconsin’s reputation as a water quality leader.”

For more information about the watershed-based permit for th

Menomonee River, see Jef f Martinka’s update on page 1. •

Wow, it seems like only a short time ago that I was moving

to Milwaukee in the middle of a snow storm to begin my

position as the coordinator for the Area of Concern; it’s hard

to believe that was nearly 10 months ago. In that time, I have

learned a great deal from so many of you about this area and

the potential it has. Many of you have attended our stakeholder

meetings, and have provided input and suggestions about how

we might best engage people in our efforts to determine the

actions we still need to take in order to no longer have this

“worst of the worst” Area of Concern (AOC) designat ion.

As the year comes to a close, we’re working on developing an

important document that lays out our plan of action for the

Area of Concern in the next few years. This action plan will

benet greatly from your review and comments. We have been

assured by EPA that the needs we identify in this plan will becritical for AOC-related projects to receive Great Lakes funding.

This provides us with a great opportunity to fund projects that

will help us make even more progress towards dealing with

the water quality issues that we face in the area. This plan is

an important step. You have the opportunity to comment on

the draft plan until November 14th. It is posted at http://dnr.

wi.gov/org/water/greatlakes/priorities/milwaukee.htm.

You can also use that link to nd out more information about

the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern and the DNR’s Ofce

of the Great Lakes.

Early next year, we will resume our stakeholder meetings for

the AOC and then DNR will submit a revised version of the

action plan to EPA. Additionally, we also have some funding

available for monitoring in the AOC. If you have ideas for

monitoring needs that you think might be a good t for the

program, please let me know.

Again, thank you for your time, interest, and shared enthusiasm

as we take this important rst step in improving our water quality in Milwaukee. And please, don’t hesitate to contact me if you

have any questions (414-263-8625). Have a peaceful fall season! •

Event Marks EPA Award to Develop InnovativeApproach to Improve Water QualityKATE MORGAN, 1000 FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN

A Year in Review: The MilwaukeeEstuary Area of ConcernMEGAN 0’SHEA, WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATuRAl RESOuRCES

From left: Anthony Earl of the Joyce Foundation, WI; DNR’s Cathy Stepp,

Jill Didier of the Cit y of Wauwatosa, U.S. EPA’s Susan Hedman,

MMSD’s Kevin Shafer, and Tom Grisa of the City of Brookeld.

P h o t o : M M S D


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The future of our landscape can be told by the health of our

communities. If we value the communities where we live and

invest in their future, we will have a place that we can proudly leave

for future generations.

It’s when our communities deteriorate that we look for new places on

the landscape to develop. That departure typically means farmland

lost to subdivisions and new roads to carry more cars and the deca

of neighborhoods left behind. If we care about Wisconsin, we nee

to tend to our homes.

The sustainability movement is all about creating better places to

live. Sustainability efforts are intended to improve the environmen

the nancial health and the social structure of communities. Man

Green Tier Legacy Communities:The Future of Healthy LandscapesSTEVE HINIKER, 1000 FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN

F

our geography students from the University of Wisconsin-

Milwaukee helped Sweet Water make great strides this

summer in surveying recreational use patterns along theKinnickinnic River. The Kinnickinnic River Watershed Action

Team identied this effort as a priority project in 2010 as a way

to determine where the greatest risk of human exposure to

bacteria-laden water may be, and therefore where expensive

“nd and x” activities—efforts to repair leaky storm sewers

that carry bacteria to the river—should be prioritized to

protect human health.

Over the course of four weeks this summer, the group walked

the length of the Kinnickinnic River mainstem, Lyons Park Creek,

the 43rd Street Ditch, Wilson Park Creek, Holmes Avenue Creek

and Villa Mann Creek, noting evidence of recreational activity andinterviewing people they encountered along the way. A report

that detailed their ndings was shared with the Kinnickinn ic

River Watershed Action Team at its September meeting.

The team worked to rate more than 170 stretches of river or

tributary lying between known stormwater outfalls. The ratings

were based on the risk of human contact with surface water as

a result of recreational activity. They also made recommendations

on where it would make the most sense to try to provide safe

and enjoyable access to the river corridor.

Based on their work, two adjacent stretches of the Kinnickinnic

River as it winds through Pulaski Park showed to have the

greatest risk of direct contact and the best place to provide new and improved access to the river based on current recreational

patterns. Portions of the Kinnickinnic River mainstem running

through Jackson Park and Wilson Park Creek running through

Wilson Park were also identied as potential problem areas

worth improving for safer use.

While the group was in the eld, they also helped collect

condition information on stormwater outfalls along Wilson

Park Creek – a gap that existed in otherwise detailed

records held by a Milwaukee Riverkeeper.

The student participation was part of a Geography Field Work

course offered through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’sGeography Department. Many thanks to students Robert Rogness,

Allison Rolandi, John Schneider and Thomas Shropshire Jr.,

along with Professors Mick Day and Chris DeSousa for their

efforts to organize and carry out this project. Staff from the

Sixteenth Street Community Health Center and Milwaukee

Riverkeeper worked with the students to design the survey

methodology and guide their work in the eld. •

Kinnickinnic River Recreational UseSurvey: UWM Students Gather Dataon Potential Exposure RisksBEN GRAMlING, 16TH ST. COMMuNITY HEAlTH CENTER

continued on page


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Citizens in Southeastern Wisconsin are stepping up to help

protect Wisconsin waterways from phosphorus, the pollutant

responsible for algae blooms in rivers and Lake Michigan. Thanks

to the efforts of Milwaukee Riverkeeper and the River Alliance of

Wisconsin a phosphorus monitoring project is now set up in the

Milwaukee River watershed.

The phosphorus monitoring project includes over eighty-eight

volunteers monitoring with in the Milwaukee River Basin, an area

that spans over 900 square miles. It is funded by the WDNR

and tied to their work in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern and

Sweet Water watershed restoration projects in the Menomonee

and Kinnickinnic Rivers.

Cheryl Nenn, the ofcial Milwaukee Riverkeeper, emphasized the

importance of this project, stating, “The majority of the work done

through this program is by our volunteers. If no one volunteered to

help monitor, many of our monitoring efforts would cease to exist.

It’s that simple.”

Fostering Stewardship and Changes in Government Policy

According to Nenn, the goal of this volunteer-driven project is to

“collect data for river management that is consistent and can inspire

stewardship among individuals in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of

Concern.” Recently, there has been a push for monitoring to be

included as a part of DNR river restoration projects. This would

include pre-restoration project and post-restoration project monitoring,

the purpose of which would be to assess the effectiveness of restoration

efforts and DNR’s policy intended to improve water quality.

Monitoring also helps to identify water quality problems that can

be addressed by the DNR. “Little by little,” stated Nenn, “We’re

convincing the DNR that the information we collect can be used in

addressing state water quality policy and management practices.”Fostering local river stewardship is another focus of the citizen

monitoring project. Mike Kuhr, states that one of the reasons for his

involvement came living in close proximity to the Menomonee River

“Living so close to the Menomonee River,” says Kuhr, “everything

I do to my land is going to affect this waterway. Therefore, the leas

I can do is to help protect it.”

As president of the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Kuhr also has a vested interest in preserving the sheries value of

the various streams and rivers in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of

Concern. “From an angler’s perspective,” explained Kuhr, “citizen

monitoring helps create more shing opportunities through itsinuence on DNR river and stream management.” Therefore, the

organization sends out three teams of two monitors once a month

to various sites along a stretch of the Menomonee River. The current

plan is to continue monitoring for 3-5 years in order to obtain consisten

data on the health of the river.

You Can Help!

This year, organizers of the citizen monitoring program hope to

draw an even bigger crowd of volunteers. Nenn says that she woul

like to see more volunteers monitoring the Menomonee River, as

well as the Kinnickinnic River. “A lot of volunteers will show up

for the training and then not commit to do monitoring,” statedNenn. “There is educational value in tra ining more eyes and ears,

but it can be hard to get people to commit to one sampling event a

month.” With more volunteers, the program can continue to gain

success in addressing issues of local water management.

Therefore, it is time to call the citizens of Wisconsin forward and as

them to take an important step in maintaining the health of their

rivers, lakes, and streams. If you, or anyone you know is interested

in becoming a volunteer monitor please contact the Milwaukee

Riverkeeper at [email protected] . •

Keepers of the River: Citizens Step Upto Help Protect the Local WaterwaysClARE PIllSBuRY, RIVER AllIANCE OF WISCONSIN

Volunteers monitoring for total suspended solids.

“Living so close to the Menomonee

River,” says Kuhr, “everything I do

to my land is going to affect this

waterway. Therefore, the least I

can do is to help protect it.”

– Mike Kuhr

P h o t o : R i v e r A i a n c e o f W i s c o n s i n



Freshwater Future’s Fall 2011 Climate Symposium

November 11–12 in Milwaukee www.freshwaterfuture.org/news-announcements.html/43/

Milwaukee River Basin TMDL Stakeholder Workshop

November 14 from 9:30 a.m. – Noon Wauwatosa Public Library, Firey Room

7635 W. North Avenue, Wauwatosa

Water Policy Forum

November 14 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute

600 E. Greeneld Avenue, Milwaukee

Menomonee Watershed Action Team Meeting


UW-Extension Ofces

9501 W. Watertown Plank Road, Wauwatosa

Root River Watershed Action Team Meeting

November 16 from 10:00 a.m. – Noon

Boerner Botanical Gardens

5879 S. 92nd Street, Hales Corners

Kinnickinnic Watershed Action Team Meeting


16th St. Community Health Center’s Parkway Health Center

2906 S. 20th Street, Mi lwaukee

Sweet Water Holiday Party

December 14 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

At the Horny Goat Brewing Company

2011 South 1st Street, Milwaukee

Clean Rivers, Clean Lake Conference

April 30, 2012

Discovery World

500 N. Harbor Drive, Mi lwaukee

Upcoming Events

university of Wisconsin Extension

9501 W. Watertown Pank Road

Wawatosa, WI 53226

PHONE (414) 256-4632

WEB cean-water.wex.ed

EMAIL [email protected]

Learning for life

PARTNERS

600 East Greened Avene

Miwakee, WI 53204

PHONE (414) 382-1766

WEB swwtwater.org

EMAIL [email protected]

CONTRIBuTING EDITORS

Jeff Martinka, Sweet Water

Kate Morgan, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

Gai Epping Overhot, uW-Extension

This pbication made possibe in part

throgh the generos spport of

RiversReportPARTNERS

communities in Wisconsin are adopting sustainability principles

in their growth. Most of those communities start with their Smart

Growth plan as a basis for their efforts.

Last December, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin announced the formation of

the Green Tier Legacy Communities Charter – a unique partnership

to assist communities in developing and implementing sustainability

measures. Under the Legacy Communit ies Charter municipalities take

actions and share information to achieve superior environmentalperformance with regard to one or both of the following areas:

(1) water quality and water resources management; and/or

(2) sustainability practices.

The Charter, which is in effect until December 1, 2015, has been signed

by the DNR, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, League of Wisconsin

Municipalities, Municipal Environmental Group – Wastewater, Center

on Wisconsin Strategy, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp, and

the Cities of Appleton, Bayeld, Fitchburg, and Middleton and the

Village of Weston.

Communities participating in the charter have direct access to a WisconsinDNR resource team that provides technical assistance to communities

and acts as a single point of contact for all interactions between the

community and the department. Other nongovernmental par tners in

the charter provide technical assistance to participating communities.

The Legacy Community program is not intended to replace, substitute

or compete with any other sustainability effort taking place in Wisconsin.

It is intended to compliment and to add value to whatever ongoing

efforts may be taking place. It is also a starting point for a community

wanting to follow a pathway towards sustainability.

Green Tier Legacy Communities a re demonstrating leadership inimproving the economy, the environment and the quality of life in their

communities. We are working to increase the number of communities

participating in this innovative program in the months and years to come.

For more information about Green Tier Legacy Communities visit

www.1kfriends.org or contact Steve Hiniker at [email protected]. •

continued from page 6

Documents

SwtWtr Nwsletr Final Nov-2011 Web