Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 10, Number 4 • Fall 2002
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It' a Good Year for…Water!
By: Charlie Luthin,Wisconsin Wetlands Association
Wisconsin will experience an unprecedented focus on its water
resources over the next 12 months, due to a variety of "water
initiatives" that have been planned and synchronized by diverse
organizations and agencies.
- Waters of Wisconsin: The Future of our Aquatic
Ecosystems and Resources, a two-year campaign
spearheaded by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,
Arts and Letters, is truly an extraordinary interdisciplinary
program. The Academy has engaged some
of the state's top scientists, scholars, agency personnel
and "users" as advisors to this effort. WOW activities
have included holding seminars around the state on
various water themes, and crafting a "State of
Wisconsin's Waters" overview report. The Academy's
journal,Wisconsin Academy Review, has featured
various articles about water in recent issues. The
Academy's program will culminate in a statewide
Waters of Wisconsin Forum to be held in Madison on
October 21-22 of this year. WWA is organizing a session
on "Restoring Wisconsin's Waters" during the forum.
Check the Academy's website for more information:
www.wisconsinacademy.org/wow/forum/index.html.
- "Year of Water" is a proposal forwarded to Governor
McCallum by the Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.
The Academy has encouraged the Governor to declare
2003 the "Year of Water" in Wisconsin, and has asked
that each state agency engage in activities to highlight
our important water resources. A coalition of state
conservation organizations have embraced the proposal,
and are planning a series of activities next year to bring
attention to water issues, threats and conservation
needs. The "Year of Water" would recognize the 30th
anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act signed into
law in October 1972.
- Rivers 2002-A Watershed Event is a conference planned
by the River Alliance of Wisconsin (RAW) November
8 - 10 in Rosholt,Wisconsin. This conference aims to
assemble over 100 representatives of organizations
working for local watershed protection in Wisconsin to
develop a strategy,"River Works 2002-2005: A Citizen
Action Plan for Wisconsin's Watersheds." WWA is a
co-sponsor of this event.
- Clean Water Coalition is a loose coalition of diverse
organizations coordinated by the River Alliance of
Wisconsin that works together on water issues. The
most significant effort of the CWC has been promoting
new non-point pollution rules for the state. The
coalition is presently developing its water strategy for
2003 and beyond.
- A day-long "all water" workshop is planned as part of
the Wisconsin Association of Lakes (WAL) 25th annual
lakes summit in April, 2003, in Green Bay. The workshop
will include presentations and discussions on issues
that affect ground water,wetlands, rivers and lakes.