Planning for Protection in SE Wisconsin a report by Tom Slawski, Jeff Thornton, and Hebin Lin. “The strategic plan (Mukwonago River Watershed Protection Plan) is based upon three primary concepts, namely, restoring connectivity along the main stem of the Mukwonago River, restoring and maintaining connectivity of the tributary streams to the main stem of the Mukwonago River, and protecting and expanding riparian buffers.” This is Read more about Planning for Protection: SE Wisconsin’s Mukwonago River Basin[…]

Federal Advisory Committee Draft Climate Assessment Report Released for Public Review.  Provide Comments on the Report! View the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee” or NCADAC  page here and download the report.  It is enormous for download, but also very important for your future, please review it. The NCA is being conducted under the auspices Read more about Draft Climate Assessment Report for Public Review[…]

Happy New Year! As another year comes to a close, the Friends of the Mukwonago River is inspired by your commitment to ensuring our healthy river, lakes and watershed now and into the future. We are energized by your efforts and successes, and look forward to serving you and all of us who care about keeping Read more about Happy New Year 2013[…]

Aldo Leopold Center booklet for managing woods.  Attention to oak species is particularly important in Southwest Wisconsin. The same is true for Southeast Wisconsin and our Mukwonago River watershed. “Oak savannas are defined by having scattered oak trees that are “opengrown”(broad spreading branches). There is typically a lot of sunlight that reaches the ground (50 percent or Read more about My Healthy Woods[…]

The Friend are having an event December 1 to honor and acknowledge our wonderful volunteers and members.  Our honorees are the following:   2012 Watershed Champion Nominees STEWARDSHIP Organization: Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources: For streambank restoration efforts on the former Rainbow Springs property, now the Mukwonago River Unit–Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest The Nature Conservancy: For Read more about Volunteer and Member Recognition[…]

Newell and Ann Meyer Nature Preserve returns to its past. The 374-acre preserve was acquired by the Nature Conservancy in 2006 through the Meyers’ estate and is the headwaters of the Mukwonago River. “Our ultimate goal here is native prairie punctuated by 45 acres of oak savannah and woodlands.” Nice work Nature Conservancy doing the restoration Read more about TNC Restores Meyer Property[…]

Talking Big: Lessons Learned from a 9000 Hectare Restoration in the Northern Tallgrass Prairie.  Article from Sustainability includes a 22 page pdf, downloadable. “Because of its high agricultural productivity and vulnerability to conversion, temperate grassland is considered the most fragmented, altered, and threatened of terrestrial biomes [1,2]. Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of perennial grassland to the sustainability Read more about Talking Big: 9000 Hectare Prairie Restoration[…]

Wisconsin Depatment of Natural Resources announces opening of The Waukesha County portion of the Mukwonago River Unit of the Kettle Moraine on November 10, 2012. They also announced that the master plan process for the former Rainbow Springs property will begin in December 2012. Contact Paul Sandgren, Superintendent, paul.sandgren@wi.gov to participate in the process. All Read more about KM Mukwonago River Unit opens November 10, 2012[…]

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) creates maps of America’s renewable energy resources. Broken down into the major forms — solar, wind, biomass and geothermal — they are an indispensable guide for regions trying to figure out their energy mix, and a fascinating lens through which to view our natural resources. Also see  their GIS based Read more about United States Maps of Energy Resources[…]

Drought leaving some freshwater mussels stranded; Concern reflects growing awareness of animal’s importance. DNR News Release. Now, mussels’ role in ecosystems is starting to shine as scientists learn more about these animals, Kitchel says. “Mussels are our freshwater filters,” she says. A single mussel can filter a gallon or more of water a day, removing Read more about Mussels stranded by drought[…]

Regulating our natural resources provides economic benefits to the state and its people, as well as our resources. Per the River Alliance of Wisconsin,”The estimated benefit to Wisconsin residents of implementing shoreland zoning rules is about $14M. The shoreland zoning rules analysis predicted the value of improved water clarity and increased enjoyment of clearer water Read more about Economic Impact Analysis of NR115[…]

Power plant water dependence threatens the availability and quality of our water.  The Energy/Water Collision describes characteristic ways in which energy-water collisions occur in each region of the country. Power and Water at Risk shows how this plays out across the country. Renewable resources could alleviate some of these conflicts.  Awareness of these conflicts could help us with Read more about Power and Water at Risk[…]