Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, Inc

Inside This Issue

A Message from the Executive Director

Hello from the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership Executive Director

Executive directorSince our first newsletter in November 2007, LNRP has continued to build upon our networks and partners committed to protecting and enhancing the natural environment of the Lakeshore Basin.

Although we’ve been very successful in the last year, our continued success depends on people like you, living and working in the communities we help serve.  By becoming a member of LNRP, you are directly supporting community efforts to protect, preserve, and enhance the watersheds of the Lakeshore Basin. 

Your dollars support our local Community Grants Program (keep tuned for our next round to be announced in the fall), the All Live on the Water seminar series, LERN or the Lakeshore Environmental Resource Network, and the Agricultural Watershed Improvement Network (AWIN).

Not only does your donation help fund our programming, it supports the day-to-day running of LNRP including our phones, our mileage, our bookkeeping, and provides required matching funds for grant proposals.

Who are the “Members of the LNRP?”

They are individuals, organizations, businesses and corporations that believe in a healthy environment, a sustainable economy, and people working together to find common solutions to natural resource issues. LNRP supports community efforts and creative regional collaborations for conservation and stewardship, by involving all stakeholders in constructive dialog, raising awareness and carrying out meaningful actions. They’re people like you!

Remember!  The Lakeshore Basin provides an unsurpassed quality of life - a quality of life worth protecting and enhancing!  Become a member of LNRP!  It’s easy, and inexpensive!  To find out the benefits of LNRP, just click here and you’ll be linked to our Membership Page.

Jim Kettler, LNRP Executive Director
Email: jim@lnrp.org
Office Phone: 920-693-2199

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Spring Along the Lakeshore: A Time of Transformation and Opportunity

Julie - LNRP Outreach DirectorBy Director of Outreach Julie Hein-Frank

Rachel Carson wrote: "Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."

As Spring emerges we are reminded once again that the lakeshore basin is full of beauty and mystery. The ice shoals disappear as the lake returns to her shades of blue and green,the steelhead find their way to the mouth of the river to spawn in the icy waters, the warblers again follow the shoreline northward to their summer nesting spots. The leeks burst through last years leaves and the spring peepers have begun their serenades at dawn and dusk.  Each of these phenomenon amaze me and bring me great hope this time of year. We now poke our heads outside and squint at the rising sun. Its warmth begins to shed our winter skin. We plan gardens, talk to our neighbors again. We are given another chance at renewal. An opportunity to transform the way we participate in our communities. An opportunity, to work toward a more sensible treatment of our resources. 

Call it what you like, Environmentalism,  Sustainability, Conservation or simply Awareness. The term doesn't seem to matter when the beach is closed due to e-coli, when the native orchids are smothered out by garlic mustard or when our communities are under high ozone alert. What does matter is action. People working together toward a solution as one community- the lakeshore basin.  I invite you to join the LNRP as we strive to find those "Solutions through Community". 

Please join us in fostering community partnerships and promoting support for activities that advocate a balance between land use and protection of our natural resources in the lakeshore basin:

Join our Membership.
 Sponsor a We all live on the Water Sign
 Become a Member of our Board of Directors.
 Join our Grant Advisory Teams.
 Contribute to our Environmental Solutions Fund.
 Apply for an LNRP Community Grant.
    
 In this issue our event calendar is filled with ways to get involved. Enjoy a guided bird walk or get down to it and pull garlic mustard. Join a river group or citizen monitoring program. Participate in the Door County Festival of Nature.  Kayak and canoe the East Twin River with Woodland Dunes Nature Center.

Listen to the season, and bridge the gap to action on the issues that affect the land and waters that we all depend on. 

See you on the trails and waters,

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New LNRP Board Members

LNRP is pleased to introduce to you Tom Ward and Chris Goebel, as the newest additions to our Board of Directors. 

TomTom was Department Director for the Manitowoc County Soil & Water Conservation Department for the past 32 years. Prior to arriving in Manitowoc County he worked in the Eau Clair County Zoning office.  After graduating college at UW Steven’s Point with a degree in Natural Resource Management, he dairy farmed with his parents for two years.  Tom has facilitated the development of a number of Citizen Organizations in Manitowoc County such as the Friends of the Branch River, the Manitowoc County Lakes Association, Pigeon River Watershed Monitors, and Ground Water Guardians. He was past State President for the Soil & Water Conservation Society and helped re-organize the State chapter to improve operations, organized and was a charter member of the Great Lakes Non-point Abatement Coalition (GLNAC).  Tom is currently Secretary for the Wisconsin drainage areas of the Great Lakes.  He is also currently assisting with the development of a Great Lakes Coalition of organizations to focus on restoring the Great Lakes.

ChrisChris is the former executive director of Glacial Lakes Conservancy, a Wisconsin nonprofit land conservation organization serving Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Calumet and Fond du Lac counties.  He is a lawyer by training, and also holds a masters degree in forest management.  An Illinois native and always a Midwesterner at heart, Chris has moved around a bit in his career, among other things serving time in Washington, D.C. as a staff attorney in the U.S. House of Representatives and heading the National Association of Chemical Recyclers, a trade group of hazardous waste management businesses.  Since coming to Wisconsin in 1999, he has negotiated more than fifty conservation easements covering wetlands, forests, working farms, lake and stream shoreland areas and conservation developments.

If you are interested in becoming a Board member, please contact Jim Kettler at jim@lnrp.org!  We’re looking for representatives from throughout the Lakeshore Basin who have a passion to protect and restore the natural environment and to preserve the quality of our lives.

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Stewardship Expressed Through Painting

Bonita BudyszThe Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership in collaboration with Woodland Dunes Nature Center held a seminar in December on the topic of developing a stewardship ethic through the arts.  Four panelists gave their perspectives of how their painting, poetry, writing, and storytelling impact the way the see and care for the world around them.

One of the artists was Bonnita Budysz, a painter who lives on a farm with her husband in Larabee.  She was born and raised on Silver Creek in southern Manitowoc County then moved to Francis Creek as a teenager.  Bonnita has made her living with her art and Woman Paintingteaching for 33 years developing her craft, first in Milwaukee and then in San Francisco.    However, it was in San Francisco that she was able to hone portrait painting through a job she created at the “prestigious” Hyatt Regency.  In the hotel lobby she would paint interested patrons either in charcoal or by painting with pastels.  In the Los Angeles area, Bonnita studied with Mildred Walker, the founder of the El Camino College Art Department.  She was later invited to teach there on Mildred’s recommendation, starting in the late 1980’s and continuing for several years.  She just returned from teaching two workshops at the Pallis Verde Art Center.

Bonnita's style is defined by her intense study of Impressionism including French and American, and a particularly strong background with protégés of Sergei Bongart & masters of the Russian Impressionist movement.  Her lush and luminous paintings in oil and pastel are widely collected and exhibited in many private, corporate, and museum collections throughout the United States, Canada Landscape painting of rapids in a streamand Europe including the Cultural Galleries in Petropavlosvsk, Russia, and continuing at the Pasadena Museum of California Art as an invited artist member of the prestigious California Art Club.  Bonnita’s painting “Sea O’Sunnies” will be displayed April 27 – May 18 at their 97th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition this year.

She is an award winning member of the Oil Painters of America; an awarded/signature member of the American Impressionist Society and the Pastel Society of the West Coast; and an active member of the Portrait Society of America. International Artist Magazine selected Bonnita's work and style to be part of their recently published book "How Did You Paint That?" She spearheaded the exhibit "Farm Stories: Studies of a Disappearing Landscape" featured at 3 museum venues, showcased in the national "American Artist" magazine, and recognized as an event of historical significance with an award of excellence.  She shares her radiant, vibrant and painterly style by fulfilling an increased demand for portrait commissions and by teaching annual workshops in Wisconsin, California and abroad - last year in Ireland with plans for Italy in 2009.

From Bonnita:

"Creating art requires a soulful search for simplicity and truth, dedication and diligence to the process of painting, and above all, clarity of vision and focus. It is also an exquisite journey that brings me true joy as I pursue my passion to create. While radiant color and luminous light inspire me visually, it is the spark of emotion that ultimately propels me to record these impressions from my life into painted pigment. To respect and honor the inherent dignity of my subjects while at the same time finding and celebrating the truth and beauty revealed each day is what I strive for. It implies that one is "always paying attention" and searching for a sensitive mood to be revealed or a saturation of compelling color to catch one's breath. When all of these elements combine in a painterly, expressionistic effort that feels as if it's lit from within, then magic happens! It is this exciting and emotional process that I find to be the most rewarding. Painting from life raises my level of involvement with nature by being present in it and with it - feet in snow, face in sun, the perfume of lilacs or sweet bird songs stirring the senses! There is something glorious and vital about being in the elements and that exuberance is translated unto the canvas as no other experience can be. A heightened awareness, a sense of being there is what I'm sharing with you."

The collaboration with the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership involves a group of Landscape painting of a small streamplein air painters who have combined to create “Water’s Edge Artists” a group that is painting waterways in the Lakeshore Basin.  Plein air painters paint outdoors directly in the elements of the environment that they are painting in.  The painters reveal the essence of life using all of the senses to capture the light and colors particular to a place. 

A selection of paintings created by the group will be selected for the 2009 calendar during a juried exhibit sometime this summer.  The calendar will be a benefit to becoming a continuing member of LNRP and the entire collection of works will become a traveling exhibit.  We’re also hoping to reach out to other artists such as poets, sculptors, and musicians who come together in the celebration of the natural character of our home.

LNRP is very pleased to be working with Bonnita and the Water’s Edge Artists who so skillfully and beautifully express in their paintings the stewardship of our waterways.  Bonnita is truly an LNRP Champion of Conservation!

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Partnering to Make Waves in the Basin

Notes from UWEX Basin Educator, Debbie Beyer

As a way to update you of projects and partners with which I’ve been working, I’ll highlight a number of water resource projects in which you may be interested. For more information on any of the following, contact me at deb.beyer@ces.uwex.edu and 920-459-6644, or the partners listed:

  • Installation this summer of 14 outdoor exhibit panels at Silver Lake, just west of Manitowoc. Contact Dave Pozorski, Silver Lake Park Oversight Committee, at pozorski2@lakefield.net
  • Installation this summer of 3 outdoor exhibit panels at Krohns Lake, East Alaska Lake, and West Alaska Lake in Kewaunee County. Contact Bill Iwen, Tri-Lakes Association, at biwen@itol.com
  • “Water Awareness” bookmarks, featuring water conservation tips and winning art from student contests in Two Rivers, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan. Ask for bookmarks beginning in mid-May at Woodland Dunes Nature Center (Kelly Eskew 920-793-4007 or kellye@woodlanddunes.com) in Two Rivers, and Wisconsin Maritime Museum (Wendy Lutzke 920-684-0218 wlutzke@wisconsinmaritime.org) in Manitowoc.
  • Level I & II Stream Monitoring Training for Citizen Volunteers: Get your feet wet April 26 at Silver Creek Park. Contact Kelly Eskew at Woodland Dunes Nature Center or Wendy Lutzke at Wisconsin Maritime Museum (contact info above).
  • “Beetle Mania” purple loosestrife control program – volunteers needed! With your help, the attack can continue on one of our worst wetland invaders. Contact Kelly Eskew at Woodland Dunes Nature Center (contact info above), Louie Kolberg at Brillion Nature Center bnc@brillion.k12.wi.us and 920-756-3591, Sheri Speth at Sheboygan County Master Gardeners sspeth@excel.net and 920-467-2002, or Terri Lyon “Beetle Mania” Area Coordinator tlyon@vollrathco.com and 920-459-5401, to find out how you can help raise or release beetles.

None of these projects would be possible without the initiative and dedication of the partners listed. Wow! Look at what we are able to accomplish together! I think it can be said that we ARE making waves!

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Alert from the Door County Invasive Species Team

It is Garlic Mustard Season

Garlic mustard bloomingWhen the snow goes away, garlic mustard season begins.  GARLIC MUSTARD IS ARGUABLY THE WORST TERRESTRIAL INVASIVE AFFECTING The Lakeshore basin.   

Garlic mustard (GM) is an early spring biennial weed that reproduces prolifically and poisons the soil in its wake.  Spring ephemeral flowers and even tree seedlings are no match for a wave of GM.  GM tolerates shade well and a wide variety of soil conditions.  GM seedlings remain green under the snow and begin growing shortly after the snow disappears.  Its crushed leaves smell like garlic and its flowers bloom white before any other natives flower. 

Garlic mustard rosettePulling or raking seedlings and rosettes may be enough to kill them, but once plants begin to flower, they should be put into trash bags and landfilled.  GM can continue flowering and going to seed even once pulled out of the ground.  GM Plants begin showing their 4 petaled white flowers in early May and set seed quickly.  The gm control window is not long, lasting from late April til late June or so, depending upon your exact microclimate.  Last year, numerous new infestations of garlic mustard were reported around the county on recently constructed septic mounds or associated with other soil deliveries.  Make sure the soil being brought into your yard or construction site is free of noxious weed seeds!  

PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELF AND YOUR NEIGHBORS AND PARTICIPATE IN SOUND EFFORTS TO SECURE ITS DEMISE.  See the events calendar for participating in GM control in Peninsula State Park. 

Organize your neighbors and improve your property values by removing and controlling noxious invasives.  Or get your group together to help restore your favorite park or natural area.  Spring is the time to get garlic mustard and a great time to tackle woody invasives like buckthorn.  Contact Coordinator Bob Bultman at 920 746 - 5955 or dcist1@gmail.com.  All citizens groups are encouraged to participate.

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Notes from the “We All Live on the Water” Seminar Series

Water is a key resource for all of Wisconsin but especially for coastal counties like Door, Kewaunee, Brown, and Manitowoc.  Water feeds and nourishes us, and gives us opportunities for recreation.  For many, it is the source of their livelihoods.

The We All Live on the Water seminar series seeks to link river basin groups throughout the basin and build partnerships with local management, river and environmental groups bringing timely and topical issues to the public for discussion and debate.  LNRP has hosted two seminars along with a follow up session since getting funding in July 2007 from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The first seminar (September 2007) examined the impact of cladophora on the Lake Michigan shoreline and the link to phosphorus run-off.  LNRP co-hosted with the Wisconsin Maritime Museum a seminar that brought Harvey Bootsma from the UW Milwaukee WATER Institute as our Keynote Speaker.  Harvey is a leading researcher on cladophora and is looking at urban and rural run-off as primary contributors to the cladophora problem.  To further examine the flow of large amounts of phosphorus into Lake Michigan, the seminar invited experts in agriculture, municipal storm water systems, and construction to address this issue.  Check out our Winter 2008 Newsletter for a story on this seminar “Tensions in the Neighborhood”.

As a follow up to our Cladophora seminar, a steering committee made up of Janet Sosnosky (Stormwater Coordinator for the City of Manitowoc), Scott Gunderson (UW Extension Manitowoc County Dairy Agent), Russ Tooley (Centerville Cares), and Norma Bishop & Wendy Lutzke (Wisconsin Maritime Museum) invited Vicky Harris from UW Sea Grant and Eric Cooley from Discovery Farms to a follow up seminar on March 8, 2008. 

Vicky shared what has been learned about rural and urban pollution sources to the Fox River and the impact of phosphorus from these sources in the waters of Green Bay.  She told us that the Fox River is the largest tributary source of phosphorus to Lake Michigan – more the 11% of the total load.  Non-point sources are the largest part making up 75% and include soil erosion, livestock waste, fertilizers, and urban stormwater.  Sewage and industrial wastewater make up the remaining 25% of the total phosphorus load.  A large project is underway to set a total maximum daily load limit for phosphorus and suspended solids in the lower Fox River basin.  Because there are similar land uses in Manitowoc County, the lessons from the Fox River are likely applicable here.

Eric presented a number of conclusions from Discovery Farms research.  Discovery Farms are working farms that have agreed to be monitored and act as research sites.  Findings have showed that basin waters are not meeting water quality standards.  However, many farms are preparing nutrient management plans that limit the use of phosphorus based on phosphorus content of manure being applied to the field resulting in less phosphorus being applied and overall dollar savings for farmers.  These plans were formerly based on nitrogen resulting on over-applying phosphorus. Soil testing shows many fields have saturated phosphorus levels resulting in more phosphorus than needed for plant uptake and growth.  Eric is confident that as more farmers enroll in nutrient management plans, that agricultural run-off can be minimized.

The second seminar (December 2007) emerged out of discussions with the staff at Woodland Dunes Nature Center in Two Rivers that began as a discussion on how December and the end of the year is a time for reflection and celebration. The idea came forward to build a seminar on watershed stewardship and how to help build a stewardship ethic through the arts including painting, poetry and storytelling.  When the seminar took place our panelists included:  Bonnita Budysz, a plein air painter; Jean Biegun, a poet; Kathryn Gahl, a local writer and poet; and John Roberts – an individual recognized for his strong stewardship and storytelling.  Check out the story about Bonnita and her search for a stewardship ethic in this newsletter.

Upcoming LNRP Seminars

The Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership is going to welcome Gary Becker, Mayor of Racine to Algoma on Saturday April 26th to kick off a ½ day forum on Sustaining Our Water – Our Health, Our Livelihoods at the Farm Market Kitchen, 520 Parkway Avenue, Algoma from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm.  Mayor Becker has been a recognized environmental leader in Wisconsin being the Chair of the Wisconsin Coastal Management Council, the Chair of the Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Development Section for the Regional Collaboration on the Great Lakes.

He will be joined by local experts at the seminar who will speak in two con-current sessions.  One session will offer Pat Robinson from the UW Extension examining the ecological history of northeastern Wisconsin and our human impact on water quality, and Davina Bonness, Kewaunee County’s groundwater specialist discussing the quality of groundwater and education efforts designed to raise awareness of groundwater issues

The second session will offer Kevin Naze, a local fisherman and nature writer exploring the state of the Lake Michigan fishery, and Andy Wallander, Kewaunee County Conservationist and Tom Konop, a local farmer sharing their views on best management practices designed to mitigate the impact of agriculture on surface waters and groundwater. 

Jay Moynihan, Shawano County UW-Extension Community Development Educator, will wrap up the sessions with a unique perspective on sustainability.  Jay was one of the co-founders of the Alliance for Sustainability, Inc. in Ashland Wisconsin in 1996 and was trained in The Natural Step during the mid-1990’s. Prior to joining Extension, Jay worked in strategic planning, governance, and sus­tainable development as a consultant after he left law practice in 1994. He also did community education on sustainability subjects, and wrote a weekly newspaper column on business and sustainability for about seven years. 

The seminar is a great opportunity for government officials, community leaders, business professionals, and the interested public to learn more about the challenges of sustaining our waters and potential solutions that can improve our environment, keep our water supply healthy, and sustain the quality of life.

At 12:30 lunch will be provided by the Farm Market Kitchen for $6 per person for those with reservations.  For more information, or to make a reservation for lunch, contact Jim Kettler at (920) 693-2199 or jim@lnrp.org before April 18th.

The forum is being sponsored by the Lakeshore Natural Resources Partnership, UW Extension, the Farm Market Kitchen, the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission, the Tri-Lakes Association, and the Kewaunee League of Women Voters.

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An Opportunity to Engage with LNRP

The Board of Directors of the LNRP would like to add two new members to the Board.  Are you interested?  If so, read on.

The qualifications we are looking for are these, in order of priority.

  1. A passion for the Vision of the LNRP to promote and facilitate local community efforts that preserve or improve the health of the natural resources of the lakeshore basin.
  2. A willingness and ability to raise money for the LNRP from private individuals, area private and public foundations, and area businesses.
  3. An eagerness to perform the other usual duties of board members: guiding policy, developing strategies, and overseeing the work of LNRP staff and contractors.
  4. A residence in Door or Kewaunee county.  We recently added two new Board members from the southern end of the lakeshore basin.  We’d like to “re-balance” the board, geographically.

The Board meets once a month.  In addition, it carries on some of its discussions and information sharing via e-mail and telephone.  An active Board member would be expected to spend 8 to 10 hours a month on LNRP activities.

If you would like to apply or to learn more, contact the President of our Board, Don Pirrung at  (920) 693-3329 (h) or (920) 451-2822 (w) or by e-mail at Don.Pirrung@earthtech.com

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We All Live on the Water
Life Depends on it - Protect it

Sign Sponsorship is available in your area for your family, group or organization

for more information visit http://www.lnrp.org/we-all-live-on-water.php

Sponsorship includes annual membership to LNRP

We all live on the water

Aldo Leopold wrote: "A true Conservation ethic will evolve only when citizens, not just government alone, take responsibility for managing and protecting our land and waters."

The We All Live on the Water project is the first in a series of collaborative efforts involving five Lake Michigan basin-based organizations in Wisconsin - The Lake Michigan Partners. The focus of this project is to provide a simple method for 3.5 million citizens to more easily contribute to the protection of Wisconsin's coastal natural resources.

This project installed over 250 signs across coastal counties, at strategic river crossings, lake landings, beaches, and public access spots.

The signs provide the 1-800-TIP-WDNR hotline number to report environmental violations and to increase awareness of each participating organization as well as their individual efforts in protecting our natural resource.

For more information, to make a contribution or to sponsor a sign in the lakeshore basin please contact LNRP

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Connecting Partners Across the Basin - Send us your Events- We'll help spread the word!

CalendarIn each issue of The Source we will list a calendar for all basin river groups and organizations to share their resources, upcoming events, work parties, seminars and meeting times. If you would like to participate and be featured in the newsletter events calendar, please send a list of your events to us by email. We are also interested in hearing about field seasons, projects - and happenings along the lakeshore- you are welcome to submit articles, anecdotes or send along information about your group for the "Featured Organizations" section. Please list the county of the event and send any website links and other contact information readers may need to julie@lnrp.org