Association born and baptized in water

[Skunk]

Association born and baptized in water

Paul Smith, Outdoors Editor, JSOnline

Posted: July 22, 2009

Water isn't just refreshing. It's essential.

For ducks. For marshes. For humans. For communities. And sometimes for ideas.

Jay Reed, former outdoors writer for the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and avid waterfowl hunter, wrote a 1983 column about the relationship between increasingly complex regulations and a decrease in the number of duck hunters.

A state wildlife official wrote back, opining that the hunting regulations were not the problem.

The exchange raised the hackles of one Jerry Solsrud of Delafield, a die-hard duck and goose hunter who happened to believe the regulations were too complicated.

It also planted a seed that, when nourished with sweat - water, if you follow the analogy - and persistence by Solsrud and a cadre of like-minded hunters, flourished into a force in Wisconsin conservation.

"I thought it was time waterfowlers in the state got organized and worked for themselves," said Solsrud, 70. "Other groups of hunters had done it to success. We had unique issues that clearly needed a state voice."

The writing continued - first Solsrud to Reed, expressing his interest in starting a state group, then Reed with another column, publicly supporting the idea - and by 1984 a 501(c) (3) nonprofit named Wisconsin Waterfowlers Association was formed.

Solsrud laughs when he recalls the early days - "Does cook and bottle washer mean anything to you?" - when he was president and there were only volunteers.

But with the support of others, including Rob Kieckhefer, Jim Bolton, Dave Cornwell, Les Didier, Bob Kuehl, Dennis Fruehauf, Bill Koelpin and Bill Maund, the organization took wing.

The group, now called the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, has grown to 6,000 members in 27 chapters and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

The association has expanded from its early emphasis on lobbying for waterfowl hunting issues to become a leader in wetland restoration and environmental education efforts in the state.

Solsrud said the group began by raising money and writing checks to governmental agencies to do habitat work.

But when the association asked one agency to detail the work done with the group's contribution, the response was unsatisfactorily vague.

"That settled that," said Solsrud. "We got into using our own money for our own projects."

100,000 acres of restorations

The association has completed 100,000 acres of wetland restorations from Kenosha to Superior, said Dale Arenz, current president.

"I don't know anyone who puts more of their money where their mouth is," said Arenz, 73, of Delafield.

The association raises about $400,000 a year, said Arenz, and leverages that to about $1 million annually with matching grants.

"All of that money goes back into the ground or for environmental education," said Arenz. "And none of it leaves the state."

The association now has a paid staff of five and one intern. To save money, the staff works from home offices.

The group has received national recognition for its conservation work. In 2007, Jeff Nania, association executive director, won the National Wetlands Award for Conservation and Restoration.

The group has done wetland restorations from 1 acre to more 1,000 acres. The projects include past work at the Mequon Nature Preserve in Mequon and an upcoming 120-acre project at the former Squires Country Club in Belgium, now owned by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust.

The association is on track to complete 16 projects in Wisconsin this year, said Arenz.

The association typically provides its services for free, said Nania, adding that the term "restoration" is a bit misleading.

"All we're doing is setting up a circumstance," said Nania, in his 16th year with the association. "Every property had a history and we try to undo the damage and let the wetland reassert itself on the landscape."

The association adheres to an "ecosystem approach to wetland restoration," said Nania, that involves treating the whole site, including upland, prairie and wetlands. The result is a benefit to a multitude of species, including many nongame birds and reptiles.

Advocates and educators

The group has also been active in advocacy for hunters' rights and in environmental education.

"We firmly believe that hunting, fishing and trapping are good and natural," Nania said. "Someone once said to me that laws are made by the people who show up. We intend to keep showing up."

More than 8,000 students have participated in the association's Outdoor Education Days over the last 10 years.

And as partner with River Crossing Environmental Charter School in Portage since 2002, the association has provided a biologist one day a week to work with students on active field projects.

Students learn about the role of wetlands in a healthy ecosystem and the need to help stem the loss of such habitat in Wisconsin and beyond.

Statewide about two-thirds of the original wetlands have been lost to human development, said Nania, including about 90% in southeastern Wisconsin.

Nania said the group's goal is simple.

"Make Wisconsin a better place," he said. "We know human health is tied to environmental health."

Waterfowl meetings: Speaking of waterfowl, state and federal officials are working out the details for the 2009 hunting seasons. Proposed season structures and bag limits will be released in the next week or so. The public will then have a chance to hear the details and provide input at a series of meetings across the state. Here's the schedule:

August 1, 1 p.m., Wausau - 2009 Post-Flyway Meeting, The Plaza Hotel & Suites, Three Rivers room, 201 N 17th Ave. Wausau

2009 Public Hearings

August 3, 7 p.m., La Crosse - State Office Building, Rooms B-19 and B-20, 3550 Mormon Coulee Road.

August 4, 7 p.m., Rice Lake - Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC), Room 243, 1900 College Drive.

August 5, 7 p.m., Appleton - Agricultural Services Center, Main conference room, 3369 West Brewster St.

August 6, 7 p.m., Pewaukee - Comfort Suites Lake Country, Thunder Bay room, N14 W24121 Tower Place.

Deer: The special committee to develop alternatives to Earn-A- Buck will begin taking public comment Saturday at www.wiherdcontrol.org. Comments received through July 28 will be considered by the committee as it continues fine-tuning its recommendation to the Natural Resources Board. Any proposed changes will go to public hearings across the state this fall. Any change approved by the board wouldn't take effect until 2010.

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