The developers of the proposed Badger Hollow Wind Farm near Livingston will argue their case for approval from the state Public Service Commission later this year.

The hearings on Badger Hollow’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity application will be held in Madison June 17 and in Linden June 24.

The proposed 118-megawatt wind farm to be built by Invenergy of Chicago would feature 19 wind turbines 574 to 656 feet tall in the Grant County towns of Clifton and Wingville and the Iowa County towns of Eden, Linden and Mifflin, connected by a 345,000-volt tie line, with an additional collector station.

The turbines would be located in a jagged line from east of Cobb to south of Cobb to the American Transmission Co. Hill Valley substation in Montfort, then south past Livingston to northeast of Rewey. The Hill Valley substation is part of the Cardinal–Hickory Creek power transmission line project.

The PSC sent a letter April 11 saying that PSC and state Department of Natural Resources found in a joint environmental review that “no significant impacts on the human or natural environment are likely to occur because of the construction or operation of this project.”

The PSC/DNR determination means the agencies will not do an Environmental Impact Statement, a more detailed environmental review.

The PSC letter said the turbines would produce no more than 44 decibels f sound, below the PSC noise standards of 50 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.

The PSC letter said blade flicker, which “some individuals may feel extremely affected while others experience little distraction,” would be expected for 29 hours 47 minutes per year. The letter says the developer is “willing to evaluate options such as vegetative buffers, blinds, and/or turbine curtailment to reduce shadow flicker” if mitigation is needed, including for “non-participating residences or occupied community buildings that receive more than 20 hours of shadow flicker per year.”

The letter said the project is “not expected to have a significant impact on rare species during the construction or operational phase,” including on bats and birds.

The PSC letter said the project would “affect the aesthetics of the area for as long as it is in operation which may be looked at favorably or unfavorably depending on the viewer.”

The deadline for public comment on the environmental review was May 2. One person who commented was Gina Metelica of Platteville, who said the Driftless Region and its sensitive karst geology should not “become a Sacrifice Zone.”

Metelica said in testimony to the PSC that wind farm projects were put on hold in two other areas with karst geology — the Timberwolf Wind Project in Fillmore County, Minn., which was supposed to become operational in 2023, and the Republic Wind Farm in Ohio, which was canceled after 27 of 47 wind turbines were to be located on “areas exhibiting karst features.”

Metelica said the vibrations from wind turbines in karst areas “can accelerate the collapse of sinkholes and impact ground water flow. Construction activities such as driving piles for turbine foundations can generate higher vibration levels which can impact groundwater flow to surrounding wells or the water quality,” including in areas with abandoned lead and zinc mines.

The PSC’s Madison hearing on Badger Hollow will be held in the Hill Farm State Office Building, 4822 Madison Yards Way, Tuesday, June 17 at 10 a.m.

The PSC then will hold a public hearing at the Village of Linden Community Building, 460 Main St., Tuesday, June 24 at 2 and 6 p.m.

Both meetings will be able to be viewed on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/my/pschearings. The meeting will also be shown at www.youtube.com/@PSCWI-Hearings. Those who can’t access the internet will be able to access the meeting audio by calling 312-626-6799 and entering meeting ID 809-513-2930.

The PSC meeting notice says that due to “technical limitations at the Linden hearing location” Zoom may not be able to be used. A notice on Zoom in Linden will be posted at https://apps.psc.wi.gov/apps/Calendar/External/HearingDetails/55.

Comments may also be written by June 26 at https://apps.psc.wi.gov/pages/publicCommentCase.htm?util=9827&case=CF&num=100. or mailed to Docket 9827-CE-100 Comments, Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 7854, Madison, WI 53707-7854.

The proposed Badger Hollow Wind Farm is east of Red Barn, built by Allete Clean Energy of Duluth, Minn., which has 28 turbines producing 92 megawatts. The wind farm is 90 percent owned by Wisconsin Public Service Corp. of Green Bay and 10 percent owned by Madison Gas & Electric.

Red Barn, which began operation in 2023, has been the source of complaints including health effects. The blade of a Red Barn turbine separated from its hub on Annaton Road west of Livingston last September. Two other Red Barn turbines have flaws in blades.

The Badger Hollow project is one of four proposed for this area.

The largest proposed area wind farm is Pattern Energy’s Uplands Wind project, with a map submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration in April that showed 181 possible locations for wind turbines in the 600-megawatt $1 billion project. According to the FAA map three wind turbine locations are immediately west of the Platte Mound and two are south of the Mound between Lafayette County B and U.S. 151. Other locations are near Belmont Mound State Park.

Allete proposed building the Whitetail Wind project in the Town of Clifton, which would install 21 2- to 4.2-megawatt wind turbines to generate 70 megawatts of power east of Red Barn. However, Allete sold the project to Invenergy, the builder of the Badger Hollow Solar Farm east of Montfort, which proposing building the Badger Hollow Wind Farm near the solar project.

Allete’s PSC application lists the towers as 410 to 650 feet tall from ground to the tip of the top blade, with rotor diameter of up to 492 feet. The application said Whitetail Wind is negotiating with a wind turbine supplier “and will confirm the final number and model(s) of turbines” for the project when negotiations conclude.

Allete’s Whitetail Wind application said it has “formal leases/easements” with landowners for more than 5,000 acres in the 12,793-acre project site.

Seven turbines are slated to be located on Wisconsin 80, five on Rock Church Road, four on Grant County E, two on Old 80 Road, one on New California Road, one on Hickory Grove, and one off Hopewell Road, according to the application. Two meteorological towers also would be built on four locations — two off County E, one north of Crow Branch Lane and one west of 80 just south of the north Livingston village limits.

Whitetail Wind does not require a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the PSC because the project is smaller than 100 megawatts, according to the application.

Liberty Utilities, a subsidiary of a Canadian utility, is proposing a 30- to 40-turbine project, with turbines up to 656 feet tall, to generate 200 megawatts of electricity in western Grant County. The proposed project area is south of U.S. 18 west of Wisconsin 133 and along Wisconsin 35/133 and generally west of Grant County J.

Two UW–Platteville students died in a shooting in UWP’s Wilgus Hall Monday afternoon.

Kelsie Martin, 22, Beloit, died at UW Hospital in Madison, where she was taken by Med Flight helicopter from Southwest Health in Platteville after the shooting.

A UW–Platteville email Tuesday afternoon said preliminary autopsy results determined Martin died from a gunshot wound.

Hallie Helms, 22, Baraboo, was found dead of a gunshot wound at the shooting scene, according to the email.

Martin’s and Helms’ deaths were announced Monday night more than seven hours after a report of a multiple-casualty incident that brought police, fire and EMS on campus and resulted in lockdowns on the UWP campus and in Platteville schools.

UW–Platteville police responded to a 911 call for a disturbance at Wilgus Hall Monday before 4 p.m.

Police found Martin, who was transported by Southwest Health EMS to Southwest Health before she was Med Flighted to UW Hospital, and Helms’ body.

The state Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating “the circumstances surrounding the death of the two individuals,” the email said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call UW–Platteville police, 608-342-1584.

 “Our biggest concern at this point first and foremost is the safety and wellbeing of our students,” said chancellor Tammy Evetovich during a news conference in the Markee Pioneer Student Center Monday evening attended by a room full of UWP students. “What we have to focus on are those students that are impacted and support them in ways that only the people on this campus can do.

“One of the strengths of UW–Platteville is we are small enough to support you personally, so that I ask you all to take advantage of that.”

Dean of students Amber Monroe said counseling services would be available through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students who were “directly impacted” were individually contacted for how they can access counseling, she added.

The UWP email identifying Martin and Helms said a free, confidential UW Mental Health 24/7 line is available at 1-888-531-2142.

Martin graduated summa cum laude from UWP Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in human services. She was assistant resident director of Wilgus Hall.

Martin said in a UW–Platteville Residence Life Facebook post that she “wanted to help people the same way my RA helped me through my first year on campus.”

Helms graduated magna cum laude from UWP Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, according to UWP’s spring commencement program. She was a resident of Wilgus Hall.

Southwest Health EMS was sent to a report of a possible multiple-casualty incident Monday around 3:50 p.m. A few minutes later Platteville Fire was dispatched to set up a perimeter around Wilgus Hall.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted a UW–Platteville criminal justice student who graduated Saturday as hearing an argument on the first floor of Wilgus Hall around 3:20 p.m. The student then heard a single loud bang and what sounded like something falling on a floor, the Journal Sentinel said.

A text message was sent to students Monday at 4:06 p.m. reporting “an emergency situation” on campus and advising to “avoid campus and shelter in place.”

One minute later another UWP text said to “avoid the Wilgus Hall area.”

Two UWP students who live in Wilgus Hall one floor below the incident said they heard nothing when the incident took place.

UWP student Joseph Lambie said he was in Wilgus Hall when the incident took place. He was told to leave the dorm, and when he tried to leave by the east stairway he was told to leave by another exit.

By 4:15 p.m. after firefighters left the scene, Platteville and UW–Platteville police and Grant and Jo Daviess county sheriff’s deputies were investigating and cordoning off the area. A Southwest Health ambulance left with a patient.

A text at 5:03 p.m. said that “law enforcement has confirmed that there is no active threat to the campus community.”

A UWP email at 5:11 p.m. ended the shelter-in-place advisory.

Students who live on the four floors of Wilgus Hall were moved to Brockert Hall Monday night. Following commencement Saturday students who are not staying at UWP this summer are moving out this week.

UW–Platteville first canceled exams scheduled for late Monday and Tuesday, then decided later to cancel all exams that haven’t taken place at its main and Baraboo–Sauk County campuses.

Provost and vice chancellor Laura Reynolds said finals were canceled because “we are a close-knit community. Both the faculty and staff as well as the students need time to be together, need time to work through this together. We are deeply saddened and know this event has negative impact on our Pioneers, and we know students will want to be able to focus on their own well-being and spend time with friends and their families.”

Reynolds said deans of UWP’s colleges will make arrangements with end-of-the-year assignments and senior projects on a case-by-case basis, including with classes where exams took place before the incident. UWP’s Textbook Center also will be open extended hours this week.

“There are so many varied situations on this campus that it’s impossible to address it as a whole,” she said. “That will be something that the offices of the deans will work out, to make sure that we provide as much equity and as much parity as we can across these experiences. … No solution here is perfect, but we want to opt for what prioritizes you as students.”

An email to UWP faculty said that “traditional final exams are not permitted” faculty may meet optionally with students “to determine the most appropriate path forward.” The email instructed faculty to “ensure that students experience no harm to thir final grade as a result of the disruption.”

Evetovich said “scenario-planning is something we do regularly,” including Monday morning in a different kind of scenario. “We certainly can’t plan for everything, but we do train on it regularly, and I think it did help us in this instance.”

The incident had impacts beyond the UWP dorms.

The Six Rivers Conference track meet was being held at the UW–Platteville Track and Field Complex when the incident began. Participants were sheltered in place in Williams Fieldhouse until the campus shelter-in-place notice was lifted, after which the track meet was canceled.

The Six Rivers meet will be held at River Ridge High School in Patch Grove Thursday at 3:45 p.m.

“Out of an abundance of caution we secured our buildings” and canceled practices Monday afternoon, said Platteville School District superintendent Jim Boebel.

The school district is making counseling available for students this week.

The Platteville High School band and orchestra concert in the PHS auditorium originally scheduled for Monday night was postponed until today at 7 p.m.

Rolling Hills Church and First English Lutheran Church in Platteville jointly held a service Monday night. Community Evangelical Free Church in Platteville also held a service Monday night.

UW–Platteville police chief Joe Hallman said Monday that weapons are not allowed in residence halls. Weapons owned by students involved in such activities as trap shooting are stored at the UWP Police Department. He said police do not recommend students keeping weapons in their vehicles on campus.

Platteville, Cuba City, East Dubuque, Lancaster and Baraboo police, Grant County Emegency Management and the Wisconsin State Crime Lab assisted UW–Platteville police.

UW–Platteville has had two fatal on-campus shooting incidents. UWP student Kathleen Moan, 20, was shot to death in the snack bar of what was the Student Center and now is Ullsvik Hall by another UWP student Dec. 8, 1964. A woman shot herself to death on campus March 20, 1995.

The Tainter Creek Watershed Council (TCWC) assembled about 10 members for a meeting with Gays Mills Village President Harry Heisz and Village Trustee Ethan Eitsert from the Gays Mills Village Board on Wednesday, May 7. The subject of the meeting was how the farmers and rural landowners in the watershed could help the village with conservation practices that could buy the village time to plan for replacement of the Waste Water Treatment Facility (WWTF).

“It’s not just about the village – we also want to make this work to improve the creek,” Harry Heisz said. “WDNR has ultimately said we have to relocate our WWTF away from the banks of the Kickapoo River, but the village is grappling with the costs of that. In the meantime, while we plan, we are looking to offset the very low phosphorous in effluent requirements of the state and the federal government through partnering with farmers and rural landowners on conservation practices that can measurably reduce phosphorous in the Kickapoo River.”

Heisz explained that the village would pursue loans and grants to pay for the practice installations in order to buy time and avoid costly WDNR fines.

The Village of Soldiers Grove at their May meeting approved upgrades to their WWTF which, if grant  and low-interest loan funding is approved, will result in an increase of residential sewer rates (average of $580 per year per user) by between $100 to $200 per month in order to meet state and federal requirements.

“To meet WDNR’s phosphorous requirements would cost the village $3 million if we don’t pursue these conservation projects,” village trustee Ethan Eitsert commented.

TCWC grazing project

Longtime TCWC member Chuck Bolstad weighed in on the topic.

“TCWC, through a portfolio of projects like cover crops and our Pasture Project, undertaken partnership with the Wallace Center Pasture Project, and using $1.15 million in funding from U.S. EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Division Farmer to Farmer Program, has already lowered phosphorous in Tainter Creek,” Bolstad said proudly. “We have a proven track record, supported by years of water quality monitoring in the creek.”

Locally, the Grazing Project program was implemented by Valley Stewardship Network (VSN), with technical support from two experienced local grazers – Jim Munsch of Coon Valley and Dennis Rooney of Steuben. Former VSN employees Dani Heisler and Monique Hassman worked extensively on the program, coordinating with farmer participants and Munsch and Rooney, creating maps to support the project, and more.

“We blew our initial goals out of the water with this project, and it has been a wild success,” Dani Heisler (now the DATCP Producer-Led Program Manager) told the group. “Through this project in the Tainter Creek Watershed, we achieved 135 percent of our goal for reduction of phosphorous leaving fields in the watershed, and 170 percent of our goal for reduction of sediment leaving fields in the watershed.”

Heisler said this meant that phosphorous leaving farm fields in the watershed each year is reduced by 2,300 pounds (initial goal was 1,700 pounds). Reduction of sediment leaving fields in the watershed each year as a result of the project is reduced by an estimated 1,600 tons (initial goal was 940 tons).

Need the points

“We know we have to get the points, and we’ve just applied for another five-year waiver from WDNR,” Heisz said. “By the end of five years, if we receive the waiver, we hope to have a new waste water treatment plant.”

Heisz said that any eligible project would have to be documented by soil samples – before and after.

One of TCWC’s founding farmers Grant Rudrud, asked Heisz where the conservation practice installations could occur and still be eligible. Heisz responded that anything upstream of the sewer plant, and below any other WWTF would be eligible.

TCWC member from the Trout Creek Subwatershed, Monique Hassman, asked who is responsible for maintenance and repair if the project is damaged?

“The village has to maintain it and repair it if it is damaged,” Heisz responded. “We will also have to have access on an ongoing basis for maintenance, and for soil sampling.”

TCWC member from rural Soldiers Grove, grassfed beef farmer Bruce Ristow, shared several prospects with landowners he had identified.

TCWC farmer member Jesse Blum shared that fixing sinkholes and ditches could be a good avenue, that would meet the village’s needs and also meet the needs of farmers.

“It doesn’t have to be right on the creek,” Heisz responded. “I think putting in some small dams (farm ponds) could be a good option, and could help with the village’s flooding problems as well.”

Heisz summed up saying, “the next step is to meet with the landowners with the representative of our engineering firm present.”

The Tainter Creek Watershed Council is planning another meeting in June at the Kickapoo Orchard.

At their March 18 meeting, held in Readstown, the group attracted over 65 participants. This drew from the newly-expanded boundaries of the watershed to include four subwatersheds – Tainter Creek, Reads Creek, Trout Creek, and Kickapoo River/Caswell Hollow in Gays Mills. The area now includes the municipalities of Readstown, Soldiers Grove, Gays Mills and Mt. Sterling. Look for more information coming soon about this dynamic group.

The Village of Gays Mills Board received a report on the status of the Wastewater Treatment Project from Evan Chambers, a project engineer at Town and Country Engineering.

The proposed new Wastewater Treatment Plant to be built in the village is planned, but cannot presently be built because of cost. Town & Country is working with the village to find  funding in grants and loans to build the plant.

While some new treatment plants built in the state can meet the latest very low level of phosphorous discharge required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, others cannot. The treatment plant as proposed for Gays Mills will be a big step forward, but it will not include the filtration equipment to get to the required level.

With or without the completion of the treatment plant, Chambers pointed out the village will need to get credits for projects elsewhere in the area. These can be used as water trading credits to fulfill reducing phosphorous elsewhere to offset the amount the village cannot achieve at the current or future plant.

The village is seeking to renew its five-year variance with the DNR by using water trading credits from other projects it funds upstream from the plant.

Chambers Told the board they needed to sign up some new projects that might include rip-rapping streambanks to prevent soil erosion carrying phosphorous into the stream. Calculation of soil erosion reductions would show how much phosphorous is being kept out of the river and ultimately the village would get credit for reducing phosphorus with project to offset what is exceeding the current limit.

Chambers told the board he had soil sample lined up with potential partner and would know more soon.

“The village will need partnerships no matter what,” Chambers said.

Village trustees Art Winsor and Kevin Murray expressed concern that the partnerships would be a workable solution.

Winsor questioned, if figures obtained for the credits needed to comply with the lower phosphorus level requirements, were accurate. The trustee asked if was possible to overshoot with some sort of treatment and get more credits than needed.

Chambers explained, in the event that happened, the village could trade the extra phosphorus to another municipality that needed it.

Murray noted that the plant is no closer to being built than it was before the plant was created. He pointed out the cost of building the plant has skyrocketed year after.

In answer to a question, Chambers said the current cost to build the new sewer plant as designed is estimated to be $13 million and the village could not do it without getting 70% of cost financed by grants.

“You can’t get there without grant,” Chamber the engineer also noted that grant funding has dried up.

The variance the water trading credits obtain for the village keeps it going. Chambers said the village can’t afford to not get a variance and be found out of compliance and face large fines.

“We’re getting good results with what we’re doing,” Chamber told the board.

After some discussion trustee Larry McCarn made a motion to approve the Town & Country’s Scope of Service for the Final Phosphorous Report and Pollutant Minimization Plan. Winsor seconded the motion and the board passed the motion.

In other business, the Gays Mills Village Board:

 • approved Mara O’Brien as new lifeguard at the pool and learned the pool lost the services of two other lifeguards

• learned that Ray and Danielle Strong, the pool directors, will be available to serve as life guards

• heard that the plan is to open the pool on Saturday, June 7

• learned that the building inspector has been contacted to report on the nuisance properties at 200 Main Street and 208 Main Street

• approved a temporary Alcohol License for wine and beer for the Friends of Gays Mills for May 16 at the Community Commerce Center for the Alice in Dairyland event

• clarified the sewer hookup fee waive extension would be allowed for all hookups–not just for homeowners, who had filed an application with the village

         As with many parents, Kayla and Justin Snyder of Fennimore often struggle with balancing their three children’s (Aliana, Michael, and Matthew) screen time with real world/outdoor play. 

“Their bodies need to move and we (parents in general) struggle with getting the kids out of the house and away from their screens,” Kayla explained. 

“As parents, we see the pull of screens every day. We encourage our kids to get outside, move, and connect with the world around them because we know how important it is,” Justin said “We wanted to create

Something that would not just inspire our own kids, but families everywhere.”

So Kayla and Justin began creating a children's book series, Don’t Leave Your Body Behind, to cover that very topic, with Justin as the author and Kayla as the illustrator. 

The series was designed to remind young readers that their bodies matter, their words have power, and their feelings are valid. Research shows that today’s children spend twice as much time looking at screens as they do playing outside—a trend that affects their physical health, mental wellness, and emotional growth.

The books’ creation began a little over a year ago, but the publishing of them began when Kayla and Justin became involved with the online community, The Purpose Pusher Academy, a “culturally responsive professional learning platform offering virtual courses designed to equip and empower educators and other adults working with children in the K-12 setting,” according to the academy’s website. 

Now having tools and resources more available to them, Kayla and Justin first two books of the series, “The Day Jay Found His Body Again” and “Kay’s Garden of Words: The Power of Positive Affirmations” were released last month.

According to the Snyders, “The Day Jay Found His Body Again” tells the story of a boy who rediscovers the joy of outdoor play after losing himself in screens and boredom. 

While, “Kay’s Garden of Words: The Power of Positive Affirmations”  follows a young girl who learns that speaking kind, powerful words can change her world from the inside out.

Each story is paired with a matching coloring and activity book to help families engage even more deeply with the lessons through creativity and play.

“We live this every day with our own three kids. In a world pulling kids toward screens and negativity, we believe in pulling them back to their bodies, their hearts, and their dreams. We want children to know and

understand that your body matters, your words have power, and your feelings are valid. You are growing into

something beautiful—one thought, one feeling, and one brave step at a time,” Kayla stated. 

The “ever growing series” as Kayla described it, has a third book in the works covering emotions and coping/self soothing skills. 

The “book business” isn’t just limited to Kayla and Justin, as their eight year old Matthew, has a coloring book published entitled, “The Mattastic World of Monster Affirmations,” which Amazon describes as “Join Matthew’s cheerful, quirky monster friends in a magical world filled with fun and uplifting affirmations. This coloring book is packed with adorable cartoon monsters teaching kids the power of positivity, self-confidence, and kindness.”

11 year old Michael also is currently building t-shirt designs through the family’s website.

“We always wanted something we could do together as a family,” Kayla explained. “This is our ‘big family thing’ that helps us and our children fulfill their dreams.” 

The Don’t Leave Your Body Behind series, as well as Matthew’s coloring book is available on Amazon and featured on the family’s website, www.kayluvsjay.com.

The Snyder’s “big family thing” was been doing well on Amazon as recently, “The Day Jay Found His Body Again” was a number one best seller on Amazon in two categories: children’s books and fitness. 

“Jay’s Backyard Adventures Coloring and Activity Book”  sat at number 16, and “Kay’s Garden of Words” coloring book was ranked number two in cut and assemble”, and the storybook version was at number 35 in children’s inspirational.

The Driftless Area Land Conservancy gathered to celebrate their successes and share their plans for the future to a packed house at Wintergreen Resort on May Day. The Conservancy (DALC) is working to raise funds to purchase the Wintergreen Resort and establish it as the trail head for their 50-mile ‘Driftless Trail.’

Three speakers provided comments to the 400 people present for the celebration – Jordy Jordahl, Jen Filipiak, and Mark Cupp.

“I am humbled and honored to have been the DALC executive director during our awkward teenage years,” DALC executive director Jen Filipiak said in her address to the group. “Now, our organization is coming of age, and with lots of strategic thinking and planning, we’re about to make a big transition and step up to meet the hopes and dreams of our community for the next 25 years.”

“I want to tell you all that when we started this organization back in 2000, I don’t think any of us expected to be here today with almost 400 people and be able to say that our land trust has protected almost 10,000 acres, own seven preserves, is actively working to build a 50-mile walking path, and is now working to protect this gem on the bluff over the Lower Wisconsin River!” Jordahl enthused.  “And in addition to the folks here, there are many members and supporters who couldn't join us today!  Wow. I had some high hopes but wow.”

“All affiliated with DALC should be proud, incredibly proud, of the accomplishments we’ve heard ticked off today,” Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Executive Director Mark Cupp observed. “This is rare. Not every organization has this level of success, and is able to sustain it and continue to grow. Look around. Hundreds of people have gathered today to celebrate DALC’s 25th Anniversary, and last week, Governor Evers visited Wintergreen Resort to learn more about DALC’s work, recent initiatives, and those on the immediate horizon. The best is yet to come – I can feel it in my bones.”

Mixed in with the exhibits detailing key milestones of the group’s first 25 years and booths inviting interaction with partner organizations, was information lauding the positive impacts of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. The State of Wisconsin program has funded parks and trails, protected lakes and rivers, and conserved special places across Wisconsin for over 30 years.

Through this funding, up for reauthorization in the state biennial budget for 2025-2027, 750,000 acres have been protected, and more than 4,200 grants have been awarded to local governments and non-profit organizations to support parks, trails, boat launches and campgrounds.

Overall, in the last 30 years, this represents a $1.3 billion investment in Wisconsin’s land, water and way of life, and is estimated to cost each Wisconsin taxpayer only $11 per year. Supporters say that through this investment, $2.5 billion is returned to state residents every year through air and water filtration, carbon sequestration, recreation opportunities and flood protection. In addition, the funding supports 96,000 outdoor recreation jobs and the state’s $24 billion forestry economy.

Key milestones

• 2000-2005: DALC got its start in the year 2000 when a group of dedicated individuals gathered in Richland County. That group developed a collective vision to protect land and preserve the unique landscape and ecosystem of the Driftless Region. In 2001, they became a non-profit with a passionate team of volunteers. By 2003, they hired their first staff member, Doug Cieslak, as executive director and completed their first conservation easement. In 2005, DALC partnered with Prairie Enthusiasts and DNR using NRCS funding to protect farmland – a groundbreaking step that set the tone for future collaborations.

• 2006-2010: Despite the economic challenges of the 2008 recession, DALC persevered with safeguarding of vital lands. During these years, DALC employed two staff members, and had protected 2,287 acres. By 2010, they succeeded in protection of their largest parcel – the 548-acre Schuelke Easement. The effort was part of a broader initiative to connect properties within the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area.

“I can’t imagine a better place to live. I’ve seen so many beautiful farms disappear, and this was my chance – our chance – to make sure that our family says ‘thank you’ to those before us, and those to come, by making sure it will never become a sea of houses or paved over,” conservation easement partner Wayne Schuelke said.

• 2011-2015: Now with five staff members and 5,860 acres protected, DALC’s reach expanded. During these years, they protected six contiguous conservation easements, collectively known as the ‘Dry Dog Ranch’ in Iowa County. In 2012, they acquired the Erickson Conservation Area, their first owned preserve, and extended their efforts into Green and Lafayette counties. By 2015, DALC completed the Lowery Creek Watershed Plan, underscoring their focus on community centered ecosystem-level preservation and watershed health.

• 2016-2020: In these years, DALC relocated their offices, launched the Bloomfield Prairie Partnership, and publicly opposed the Cardinal Hickory Creek Transmission Line. In 2017, DALC earned the prestigious Land Trust Alliance accreditation and was named Wisconsin Land Trust of the Year. This recognition coincided with the formation of the Driftless Trail Advisory Team, a testament to DALC’s commitment to creating publicly accessible natural spaces. By 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the group expanded their portfolio with the Wild Oaks Preserve in Dane County, and established Iowa County CLEA-N, responding to the community’s desire to work on locally sourced and locally used clean energy.

DALC’s vision for the Driftless Trail is a 50-mile hiking trail, hosted mostly by private landowners, that creates a corridor for land conservation, climate resiliency, exercise, education and connecting with nature. Though the trail is a long-term project that will take many years to complete, multiple trail segments are open now, including the Weaver Road Trail, a 1.1-mile loop located just north of Governor Dodge State Park, the Welsh Hills Trail, a two-mile loop on the Taliesin property, the Phoebe Point Trail, a 1.1-mile loop offering stunning overlooks of the Wisconsin River, and the Knobs Road Trail near Mill Creek. For more information and maps, go to www.driftlessconservancy.org.

• 2020-2025: During the last five years, DALC has grown to 11 staff members, and 9,550 acres protected. They facilitated their first land protection assist with Ringelstetter Wetland, which was later donated to the DNR. In 2023, they secured ‘Grasslands of Special Significance’ funding from the federal government for a conservation easement, and by 2024 had hired a development director and acquired two more properties – Dragon Woods and Big Rock.

Giving thanks

Jordy Jordahl was among the group of folks who came together to form the Driftless Area Land Conservancy, and served on the initial board until 2003. Over the last 25 years, Jordahl has worked on projects to protect special places like the Baraboo Hills, Lower Wisconsin Riverway, Military Ridge grasslands, and the Mississippi River watershed, while working as policy advisor to the Governor, legislative policy aide, director of intergovernmental relations for the Wisconsin Department of Administration, and for The Nature Conservancy.

Jordahl kicked off the 25th Anniversary celebration, giving thanks where thanks are due.

“Wow, what a great day in the Driftless,” Jordahl exclaimed. “I want to start by thanking the event sponsors, and the staff and volunteers of DALC for their hard work to make this celebration happen. I particularly want to thank Terry and Suzanne Shifflet, the owners of the Wintergreen Resort where we are gathering today, for allowing us to celebrate in this amazing place.”

Jordahl said that DALC is “all about the land,” but said that his comments would really be more about the people. He thanked the founding members of the group,  Gathering Waters, Wisconsin’s alliance for land trusts.

“The support of Gathering Waters has been instrumental over the years,” Jordahl stated. “We wouldn’t have been able to do what we’ve done without their support.”

Jordahl also thanked DALC’s conservation partners, like the Nature Conservancy, Mississippi Valley Conservancy, and countless others.

“None of our key milestones would have happened without people working together,” Jordahl said. “And, the landowners we’ve partnered with have brought the land to the land trust. Owning land means caring for the land, and so that means we also need to thank our many volunteers, without whom our work wouldn’t be possible. It takes a community to protect a landscape.”

Jordahl said that Governor Evers, during his Earth Week visit to Wintergreen Resort, agreed that “we have to work together to protect places like this.” Jordahl explained that DALC is currently fundraising for $6 million to purchase the Wintergreen Resort.

Accomplishments

DALC’s Executive Director Jen Filipiak followed Jordahl’s comments, and touched on several big projects that the group had worked on in the last few years.

“We opposed construction of the Cardinal-Hickory Transmission Line after folks in our area asked us to do so,” Filipiak said. “Even though that transmission line is now up and running, the rallies we held were the biggest events we’ve ever held, and our efforts resulted in several modifications to the route so that it doesn’t cross conservation easements, and we’re still in court opposing the line’s crossing of the Upper Mississippi River Fish & Wildlife Refuge.”

Filipiak waxed particularly enthusiastic about their group’s development of the Driftless Trail, a walking trail intended to connect the Lower Wisconsin Riverway to Mt. Horeb and Governor Dodge State Park.

“In planning for the trail, we undertook a feasibility study with the National Park Service, and found out that, yes, we could do it,” Filipiak said. “In southern Wisconsin, 97% of the land is privately owned, so there’s a need for publicly available spaces.”

Filipiak said that the Driftless Trail encompasses “our entire mission in one project,” and enthused that “maybe one day the main trail head can be right here at the Wintergreen Resort.”

A worthy project

Last up to speak was Mark Cupp, executive director of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board.

“I offer my sincere gratitude to the DALC founders for their vision, and the current and former board members for their continuing commitment to a vision for conservation in the Driftless,” Cupp said. “I offer my sincere gratitude to Jen and her team, and all former DALC staff members, for their commitment, their energy, their sacrifices, blood, sweat and tears in making DALC a great success. To the landowners, donors, partners, and supporters of DALC for the last 25 years, my thanks as well.”

Cupp pointed out that the Wintergreen Resort is located in the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, a 92-mile riparian corridor and 10,000 acre property of both public and private lands extending from Prairie du Sac to Prairie du Chien.

“Thank you to Terry and Suzanne Shifflet for your incredible patience in working to fulfill your vision for the Wintergreen Resort, to ensure that it will be a place to be enjoyed by the public, and not a playground for the affluent,” Cupp remarked. “At this hour, on this first day of May 2025, I am optimistic that this special place will be acquired by DALC, and will become a destination within the Riverway.”

Cupp said that the Wintergreen Resort is one of the top three, if not the number one priority acquisition remaining in the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway. Reasons for that, according to Cupp, include aesthetics, native plant communities, fauna, wetlands, a mile of undeveloped shoreline, trails, and a building with potential that is “limitless.”

“However, we need to ensure that the dream is realized – we need to push to the finish line, and raise the necessary dollars to achieve the goal,” Cupp stated. “We need to support reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, we need to speak to legislators and local officials, and our friends and our neighbors about the importance of this acquisition.

“There’s a lot of negative noise in the world these days, and frankly, I have to tune it out and focus on other things – things I can change, things in my sphere of influence,” Cupp said. “These things include the Riverway or the family farm – places where I can find a refuge.”

Cupp said that in a recent moment of reflection, he thought of a favorite passage from Wendell Barry, ‘The Peace of the Wild Things.’

“This is why we need places to go to restore our soul, to calm our psyche, to hear a bird sing or see a Pasque flower in bloom,” Cupp said. “A place such as Wintergreen, or Big Rock, or the Driftless Trail. This is why we bond together and fight for those things in which we believe – to leave this world a better place for the next generation, and the generation after that.”