RiversReport

NOVEMBER 2011 | VOluME 2 NO. 3

Photo: Kate Morgan

A Sweet Water Update

JEFF MARTINKA, SWEET WATER

Learning for life

Jeff Martinka

he Sweet Water partners have continued to make strong progress as the end of 2011 approaches. Heres my brief summary to supplement the updates provided by Sweet Water partners in larger stories elsewhere:

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Its free, and it shows that you support the work of Sweet Water. Visit swwtwater.org for more information.

2011/2012 Green Infrastructure Mini-Grants Sweet Water raised $52,500 for Kinnickinnic and Menomonee River watershed green infrastructure mini-grants the first round of 11 applications were considered by our grants panel and winners will be announced at the Sweet Water holiday party on December 14th. Watch for news soon of a second call for 2011/2012 applications; that round will be available to community-based projects in all five Sweet Water watersheds. Please thank our mini-grant supporters this year, including the Fund for Lake Michigan, MMSD, Wisconsin Energy Foundation and CH2MHill. Pilot Stormwater Outreach Effort Completed Based on our 2010 watershed implementation plans and following on the release of our Public Water Quality Survey results in January, the Real Water Park stormwater outreach effort was launched on August 17th. It included a successful media event in West Allis, followed by a six-week billboard and on-line advertisement effort. Support was provided by 11 Menomonee River governments, the WI DNR, the WI Coastal Management Program, Fresh Water Future, and Sweet Water itself. We plan to expand those nonpoint source pollution education efforts in 2012 with new community support and with the continued guidance of Sweet Waters talented Communications Committee. Menomonee River Watershed-Based Permitting Project Well-Underway Sweet Water applied for $100K from the EPA to create a watershed-based (WSB) storm water

permit framework for the Menomonee River watershed. Representatives of the Menomonee River watershed municipalities, EPA, WI DNR, MMSD, SEWRPC, and Sweet Water partners began a series of WSB Permit Working Group meetings in June, meeting every other month in an effort guided by SEWRPC. EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman, WI DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp, and Joyce Foundation representatives, including Molly Flanagan and former Wisconsin Governor and Joyce Trustee Tony Earl attended a public event marking the effort on August 31st on the Menomonee River waterfront in Wauwatosa. Progress on the Root River Watershed Restoration Plan By May, Sweet Water had raised about $305,000 from the Fund for Lake Michigan, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, and Racine County to support creation of a watershed restoration plan for the Root River. SEWRPC began work on that plan in July. Sweet Water, Root Pike WIN, River Alliance of Wisconsin, and UWExtension will host five Root River Watershed Action Team meetings annually to inform the process and to sustain community involvement. Recent Root River group meetings in Greendale and Mt. Pleasant included tours of local green infrastructure and riparian restoration successes. Big News at the Fund for Lake Michigan The talents of the new Program Director of the Fund for Lake Michigan are already familiar to many conservation partners in Wisconsin. Vicki Elkin was selected in September as the first full-time staff member of the Fund, a newly formed grant-making continued on page 2
Photo: FFlM

Inside this Issue

New Publication .............................. 2 Work to Expand to Headwaters ..... 3 Year in Review: AOC ....................... 4 EPA Award Event ............................. 4 Menomonee WAT update............... 5 Welcome Brett Wallace .................. 5 Green Tier legacy Communities ... 6 KK Recreational use Survey .......... 6 Keepers of the River ....................... 7 upcoming Events ............................ 8

Vicki Elkin, Fund for Lake Michigan Program Director

continued from page 1 organization dedicated to enhancing the health of Lake Michigan, its shoreline and its tributary river systems. While formally launched early in 2011, the Fund for Lake Michigan has already proven itself to be an important partner in many Sweet Water-connected efforts. Prior to joining the Fund, Vicki worked as a Policy Initiatives Advisor at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, working on land use, water quality, energy, and sustainability issues. Vicki led the Departments Working Lands Initiative and worked to establish the new Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) program. Before joining DATCP, Vicki worked at Gathering Waters Conservancy, a nonprofit umbrella group for Wisconsins private land trust organizations, including serving as its Executive Director from 1998 to 2006. In addition strengthening Gathering Waters partnerships, Vicky led bipartisan efforts to increase funding for Wisconsins Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. She earned an M.S. in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We congratulate Vicki on her new position and look forward to working closely with her and the Fund for Lake Michigan Trustees in the coming years. Sweet Water Active in Four Milwaukee TMDL Projects As reported in prior RiversReports, MMSD received four Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants from the EPA to complete third party Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) analyses in the Sweet Water region. TMDLs calculate maximum amounts of particular pollutants that can be received by a river or water body without harming water quality. The goal of TMDLs is to outline the fastest path to cleaner water. MMSD selected the engineering firm CDM as its lead consultant on all four TMDLs. CDM has extensive national experience in TMDL work, including on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on the Rock River TMDL. Sweet Water was selected to provide MMSD with stakeholder involvement and public outreach support so important to the success of the TMDLs. The Sweet Water efforts began in October and the first stakeholder meeting will be held on November 14th at the Wauwatosa Public Library. Sweet Water Active in Fall Water Events Sweet Water reps were featured as Milwaukee water heroes at the Sweet Water reps were featured as Milwaukee water heros at the Present Musics big Water concert at the Marcus Center on August 31st. We were featured in a workshop at the EPAs State of Lake Michigan Conference in Michigan City and we produced the watersheds track of the Milwaukee Water Councils Water Summit V at Discovery World Museum, both in September. In October, I served as program moderator at the Urban Water Sustainability Leadership Conference at the Pfister, presented at the Alliance for Great Lakes Urban Stormwater workshop at Discovery World and with a number of key partners, co-presented at two workshops at the National Land Conservation Conference at the Frontier Airlines Center. Looking ahead, plans are underway for Sweet Water to host the 8th Clean Rivers Clean Lake Conference, slated for April 30th, 2012 at Discovery World. Sweet Waters Strategic Planning Update Our collaborative began a concentrated planning and assessment effort in April, working with our friends at the Joyce Foundation, Steering Council members, and many nonprofit and governmental partners. That work culminated in October with a report and proposal to the Joyce Foundation. On a parallel track, the Sweet Water Executive Committee is laying a foundation for a broader strategy effort, one that we hope to launch this winter. Much has been accomplished but truly, the effort has only just begun. On behalf of the Sweet Water Steering Council and our community partners, I hope you stay engaged.

New Publication Available: Inside the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds

KATE MORGAN, 1000 FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN

he watershed restoration plans for the Menomonee and Kinnickinnic Rivers are based on two key plans: MMSDs 2020 Facility Plan and the 2007 Wisconsin Regional Water Quality Management Plan Update. The subsequent watershed restoration plans were developed from these two foundational documents by the consultants at HNTB with critical additional input from the Watershed Action Teams for both watersheds.

The publication, Inside the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds, is a summary of the SE Wisconsin Regional Water Quality Management Plan Update 2007. Nancy Frank was the primary author of the publication. Frank serves as the chair of Sweet Waters Steering Council and is an associate professor at UWM in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning. The summary provides a foundation for understanding the status of the health of our rivers, the goals envisioned for the areas waters, the actions needed to advance water quality throughout the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds, and the role of Sweet Water in these efforts. The publication can be found on Sweet Waters website. Go to the Publications page at swwtwater.org.

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Work to Expand into Agricultural Headwaters of the Menomonee River

CHERYl NENN, MIlWAuKEE RIVERKEEPER

prairie grass mix for a contract period of ten years. The plan provides one-time incentive payments of $2,000/acre for riparian buffers, and $1,000 for field borders (that provide protection for ditches and other areas eventually draining to the river). The costs for establishing a buffer and field border (seeding, planting, etc.) will be shared through existing Ozaukee County state and federal grants. The goal for their grant request is to install 50 acres of riparian buffers and 20 acres of field borders. Ozaukee and Washington County are working together to craft grant requests for spring 2012, which would build on and learn from Ozaukee Countys existing program and expand it to focus on the headwaters areas of the Menomonee River Watershed. The grant would focus on targeting erosion by installing 75 foot riparian buffers along a waterway to prevent soil from leaving the field and entering streams. Upland practices such as grassed waterways, contour buffer strips, and stream bank stabilization may also be an option to reduce sediment from entering streams. In addition, stakeholders discussed the need for better coordination pertaining to connecting existing farmers interested in the Greenseams program with county, state, and federal partners that could enroll them in other opportunities for rural landowners designed at improving water quality. Conversely, partners working closely with farmers could encourage them to contact Greenseams and other land trust partners if they are interested in conservation easements or selling their properties for conservation. The Agricultural Committee of the Menomonee WAT hopes to meet regularly to encourage more collaboration among stakeholders and increase communication with Menomonee River Watershed agricultural producers. If you are interested in volunteering for this committee, please contact Cheryl Nenn at (414) 287-0207 ext. 2 or Paul Backhaus of Washington County at (262) 335-4803.

Riparian buffer in Ozaukee County

n early June, the Menomonee River Watershed Action Team hosted a meeting of stakeholders working in the rural, agricultural headwaters of the Menomonee River Watershed including the Land and Water Conservation Departments of Washington and Ozaukee Counties, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, NRCS, Menomonee Falls, and MMSDs Greenseams program. Our primary focus is to maintain productive farmland while minimally impacting the natural resources and water quality of the Menomonee River Watershed and to do this by offering financial and technical assistance to rural landowners. The meeting focused on identifying priority landowners to contact in the Menomonee River Watershed, including the Nor-X-Way channel, which is the second highest total suspended solids loading area in the watershed. Agricultural lands are also major sources of phosphorus and bacteria, which are pollutants of concern identified in the Menomonee River Watershed Restoration Plan. Washington County sent out a mailing to all Menomonee River Watershed farmers to let them know about available federal funding sources in 2011 to provide cost-share for the implementation of conservation practices but received little interest due to constraints posed by many of these programs. Ozaukee County has had success procuring
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funding from the Fund for Lake Michigan to provide additional enhancement funds to implement riparian buffer programs and other agricultural BMPs in select watersheds in Ozaukee County, and project partners were interested in starting a similar program in the agricultural portions of the Menomonee River watershed that spans both counties as well as portions of Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties (that are largely urban). Ozaukee Countys program focuses on existing farmland that drains directly into a ditch, tributary, or main channel of Sauk or Sucker Creeks that will be targeted for riparian buffers and field borders. This program is designed to be farmer-friendly to allow agricultural producers to manage and periodically harvest their grassland riparian buffers. The riparian buffer initiative allows flexibility and adaptive management options, which will lead to enhanced landowner participation and long-term buffer sustainability beyond a normal 10-year agreement that is part of federal funding programs. Ozaukee County staff will work closely with landowners to select areas in need of riparian buffers and field borders, to properly site the buffers and field borders, and to develop a long-term management plan suited to the farm operation. Landowners will have the option of installing a harvestable cool-season grass mix or native

Photo: Ozaukee County land and Water Management Department

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A Year in Review: The Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern

MEGAN 0SHEA, WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATuRAl RESOuRCES

ow, it seems like only a short time ago that I was moving to Milwaukee in the middle of a snow storm to begin my position as the coordinator for the Area of Concern; its hard to believe that was nearly 10 months ago. In that time, I have learned a great deal from so many of you about this area and the potential it has. Many of you have attended our stakeholder meetings, and have provided input and suggestions about how we might best engage people in our efforts to determine the actions we still need to take in order to no longer have this worst of the worst Area of Concern (AOC) designation. As the year comes to a close, were working on developing an important document that lays out our plan of action for the Area of Concern in the next few years. This action plan will benefit greatly from your review and comments. We have been assured by EPA that the needs we identify in this plan will be critical for AOC-related projects to receive Great Lakes funding. This provides us with a great opportunity to fund projects that will help us make even more progress towards dealing with

the water quality issues that we face in the area. This plan is an important step. You have the opportunity to comment on the draft plan until November 14th. It is posted at http://dnr. wi.gov/org/water/greatlakes/priorities/milwaukee.htm. You can also use that link to find out more information about the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern and the DNRs Office of the Great Lakes. Early next year, we will resume our stakeholder meetings for the AOC and then DNR will submit a revised version of the action plan to EPA. Additionally, we also have some funding available for monitoring in the AOC. If you have ideas for monitoring needs that you think might be a good fit for the program, please let me know. Again, thank you for your time, interest, and shared enthusiasm as we take this important first step in improving our water quality in Milwaukee. And please, dont hesitate to contact me if you have any questions (414-263-8625). Have a peaceful fall season!

Event Marks EPA Award to Develop Innovative Approach to Improve Water Quality
KATE MORGAN, 1000 FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN

Through working cooperatively to identify key pollutants and best practices to address those pollutants, the watershed-based permit offers municipalities a potential cost-effective approach to water quality improvement. It will also enable the municipalities to customize their actions to the characteristics of the specific watershed. Key leaders spoke at the event including Susan Hedman, EPA Region 5 Administrator; Cathy Stepp, WI Secretary of the WI Department of Natural Resources, Anthony S. Earl, Joyce Foundation Board Member and former Wisconsin Governor, and Kevin Shafer, Executive Director of the MMSD. Jill Didier, Mayor of Wauwatosa, and Tom Grisa, Brookfield Director of Public Works, also gave welcoming remarks. The watershed-based approach for stormwater permitting was strongly recommended to the EPA in a 2008 National Research Council report on the EPAs stormwater permit program. The EPA award for the Menomonee River is one of three awarded national to pilot this innovative approach. Susan Hedman, EPA Region 5 Administrator stated, This project will enhance Southeastern Wisconsins reputation as a water quality leader. For more information about the watershed-based permit for the Menomonee River, see Jeff Martinkas update on page 1.

From left: Anthony Earl of the Joyce Foundation, WI; DNRs Cathy Stepp, Jill Didier of the City of Wauwatosa, U.S. EPAs Susan Hedman, MMSDs Kevin Shafer, and Tom Grisa of the City of Brookfield.

n August 31, a group of over 35 people assembled at Hart Park in Wauwatosa to attend a formal announcement of the award of $100,000 from the EPA to MMSD, Sweet Water, and the Menomonee River municipalities. This award will fund the development of a watershed-based stormwater permit.
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Photo: MMSD

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THERESA MORGAN, RIVER REVITAlIZATION FOuNDATION | CHERYl NENN, MIlWAuKEE RIVERKEEPER

The 2011 samples have been analyzed for E. coli and Enterococcus; however, additional funding is needed for genetic sampling to detect Bacteroides. Meanwhile, several problem pipes have been detected and fixed on Honey Creek and the Kinnickinnic River with leadership from MMSD. Riparian restoration, construction of new wetland habitat and a biodiversity assessment project along the Little Menomonee River is near completion. This project includes creation of an ephemeral pond and removal of invasive species in the riparian buffer, in addition to a biodiversity assessment of plants and animals at this site. This work will help identify objectives and priority sites for habitat restoration and protection in this portion of the Menomonee River Watershed. Capacity for long-term restoration and wildlife monitoring at this site needs to be established and the Menomonee WAT will help identify potential options for this work moving forward. Milwaukee Riverkeeper will begin work on a Wisconsin Coastal Management Program funded project to identify fish passage impediments in the Menomonee River Watershed, and to prioritize opportunities for addressing these impediments and decreasing aquatic habitat fragmentation. There will be a training this fall for volunteers interested in helping with this project. Work is anticipated to run into fall/winter 2012. Work continues to advance on identifying priority locations in the watershed to focus private-sector green infrastructure efforts to reduce stormwater pollution. Most recently, SWWT partners met with the City of Milwaukee to gain access to their SLAMM modeling data, which identifies areas of greatest concern pertaining to loading of sediment and other pollutants into local waterways. Once analysis of this data is complete, we will reach out to targeted property owners and encourage them to employ green infrastructure practices on their propertypointing them to available financial incentives and educating them on the long-term financial, environmental, and other benefits of green infrastructure.

Photo: Milwaukee Riverkeeper

Welcome to New Steering Council Member: Brett Wallace

weet Water welcomes Brett Wallace to the Sweet Water Steering Council. Wallace is a professional engineer and serves as the Southeast Region Operations Director for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. As operations director he is responsible for providing management direction on the daily operations of the Region, as well as, working as part of the leadership team to deliver transportation programs and projects. Wallace commented, Joining Sweet Waters Steering Council is a natural extension of my interests in community involvement and the outdoors. Im pleased to join the partnership and to have the opportunity to help advance the Sweet Waters goals. With many stormwater initiatives interfacing with transportation projects, Wallace will bring an important perspective and expertise to the Steering Council.

One of the many stormwater outfalls tested for bacteria.

ith the last days of fall upon us, the folks in the Menomonee River WAT have been busy finishing up summer projects, applying for funding to implement new projects, and attending wonderful events held throughout the watershed. The Menomonee WAT continues to meet every other month at UW-Extension to discuss project updates, steps needed to move projects forward, and how WAT members can play a role in Sweet Waters efforts. Below are some highlights of priority project implementation happening in the Menomonee River WAT. Milwaukee Riverkeeper has had some recent success with their bacteria work. Results from 2008-2010 stormwater samples on the Menomonee River from the UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute show that over 40 percent of samples and over 33% of outfalls tested have been found to be positive for human strains of Bacteroides, which is bacteria that is associated with the human gut. This provides further proof of the widespread problem of failing infrastructure and potential cross connections that is allowing for human inputs of bacteria to enter the river on a consistent basis. These results provide us information to prioritize pipes that should be addressed by municipalities and MMSD to get the biggest reductions in bacteria loading to our rivers.

KATE MORGAN, 1000 FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN

Check out Sweet Water on Facebook!

facebook.com/SE.WI WatershedsTrust.org

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Photo: WI DOT

Menomonee WAT Update

Green Tier Legacy Communities: The Future of Healthy Landscapes

STEVE HINIKER, 1000 FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN

he future of our landscape can be told by the health of our communities. If we value the communities where we live and invest in their future, we will have a place that we can proudly leave for future generations. Its when our communities deteriorate that we look for new places on the landscape to develop. That departure typically means farmland

lost to subdivisions and new roads to carry more cars and the decay of neighborhoods left behind. If we care about Wisconsin, we need to tend to our homes. The sustainability movement is all about creating better places to live. Sustainability efforts are intended to improve the environment, the financial health and the social structure of communities. Many continued on page 8

Kinnickinnic River Recreational Use Survey: UWM Students Gather Data on Potential Exposure Risks
BEN GRAMlING, 16TH ST. COMMuNITY HEAlTH CENTER

our geography students from the University of WisconsinMilwaukee helped Sweet Water make great strides this summer in surveying recreational use patterns along the Kinnickinnic River. The Kinnickinnic River Watershed Action Team identified this effort as a priority project in 2010 as a way to determine where the greatest risk of human exposure to bacteria-laden water may be, and therefore where expensive find and fix activitiesefforts to repair leaky storm sewers that carry bacteria to the rivershould be prioritized to protect human health. Over the course of four weeks this summer, the group walked the length of the Kinnickinnic River mainstem, Lyons Park Creek, the 43rd Street Ditch, Wilson Park Creek, Holmes Avenue Creek and Villa Mann Creek, noting evidence of recreational activity and interviewing people they encountered along the way. A report that detailed their findings was shared with the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Action Team at its September meeting. The team worked to rate more than 170 stretches of river or tributary lying between known stormwater outfalls. The ratings were based on the risk of human contact with surface water as a result of recreational activity. They also made recommendations on where it would make the most sense to try to provide safe and enjoyable access to the river corridor.

Based on their work, two adjacent stretches of the Kinnickinnic River as it winds through Pulaski Park showed to have the greatest risk of direct contact and the best place to provide new and improved access to the river based on current recreational patterns. Portions of the Kinnickinnic River mainstem running through Jackson Park and Wilson Park Creek running through Wilson Park were also identified as potential problem areas worth improving for safer use. While the group was in the field, they also helped collect condition information on stormwater outfalls along Wilson Park Creek a gap that existed in otherwise detailed records held by a Milwaukee Riverkeeper. The student participation was part of a Geography Field Work course offered through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukees Geography Department. Many thanks to students Robert Rogness, Allison Rolandi, John Schneider and Thomas Shropshire Jr., along with Professors Mick Day and Chris DeSousa for their efforts to organize and carry out this project. Staff from the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center and Milwaukee Riverkeeper worked with the students to design the survey methodology and guide their work in the field.

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Keepers of the River: Citizens Step Up to Help Protect the Local Waterways
ClARE PIllSBuRY, RIVER AllIANCE OF WISCONSIN
Photo: River Alliance of Wisconsin

Monitoring also helps to identify water quality problems that can be addressed by the DNR. Little by little, stated Nenn, Were convincing the DNR that the information we collect can be used in addressing state water quality policy and management practices. Fostering local river stewardship is another focus of the citizen monitoring project. Mike Kuhr, states that one of the reasons for his involvement came living in close proximity to the Menomonee River. Living so close to the Menomonee River, says Kuhr, everything I do to my land is going to affect this waterway. Therefore, the least I can do is to help protect it. As president of the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Kuhr also has a vested interest in preserving the fisheries value of the various streams and rivers in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern. From an anglers perspective, explained Kuhr, citizen monitoring helps create more fishing opportunities through its influence on DNR river and stream management. Therefore, the

Volunteers monitoring for total suspended solids.

itizens in Southeastern Wisconsin are stepping up to help protect Wisconsin waterways from phosphorus, the pollutant responsible for algae blooms in rivers and Lake Michigan. Thanks to the efforts of Milwaukee Riverkeeper and the River Alliance of Wisconsin a phosphorus monitoring project is now set up in the Milwaukee River watershed.

Living so close to the Menomonee River, says Kuhr, everything I do to my land is going to affect this waterway. Therefore, the least I can do is to help protect it.
Mike Kuhr
organization sends out three teams of two monitors once a month to various sites along a stretch of the Menomonee River. The current plan is to continue monitoring for 3-5 years in order to obtain consistent data on the health of the river. You Can Help! This year, organizers of the citizen monitoring program hope to draw an even bigger crowd of volunteers. Nenn says that she would like to see more volunteers monitoring the Menomonee River, as well as the Kinnickinnic River. A lot of volunteers will show up for the training and then not commit to do monitoring, stated Nenn. There is educational value in training more eyes and ears, but it can be hard to get people to commit to one sampling event a month. With more volunteers, the program can continue to gain success in addressing issues of local water management. Therefore, it is time to call the citizens of Wisconsin forward and ask them to take an important step in maintaining the health of their rivers, lakes, and streams. If you, or anyone you know is interested in becoming a volunteer monitor please contact the Milwaukee Riverkeeper at info@milwaukeeriverkeeper.org.

The phosphorus monitoring project includes over eighty-eight volunteers monitoring within the Milwaukee River Basin, an area that spans over 900 square miles. It is funded by the WDNR and tied to their work in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern and Sweet Water watershed restoration projects in the Menomonee and Kinnickinnic Rivers. Cheryl Nenn, the official Milwaukee Riverkeeper, emphasized the importance of this project, stating, The majority of the work done through this program is by our volunteers. If no one volunteered to help monitor, many of our monitoring efforts would cease to exist. Its that simple. Fostering Stewardship and Changes in Government Policy According to Nenn, the goal of this volunteer-driven project is to collect data for river management that is consistent and can inspire stewardship among individuals in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern. Recently, there has been a push for monitoring to be included as a part of DNR river restoration projects. This would include pre-restoration project and post-restoration project monitoring, the purpose of which would be to assess the effectiveness of restoration efforts and DNRs policy intended to improve water quality.

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continued from page 6 communities in Wisconsin are adopting sustainability principles in their growth. Most of those communities start with their Smart Growth plan as a basis for their efforts. Last December, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin announced the formation of the Green Tier Legacy Communities Charter a unique partnership to assist communities in developing and implementing sustainability measures. Under the Legacy Communities Charter municipalities take actions and share information to achieve superior environmental performance with regard to one or both of the following areas: (1) water quality and water resources management; and/or (2) sustainability practices. The Charter, which is in effect until December 1, 2015, has been signed by the DNR, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Municipal Environmental Group Wastewater, Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp, and the Cities of Appleton, Bayfield, Fitchburg, and Middleton and the Village of Weston. Communities participating in the charter have direct access to a Wisconsin DNR resource team that provides technical assistance to communities and acts as a single point of contact for all interactions between the community and the department. Other nongovernmental partners in the charter provide technical assistance to participating communities. The Legacy Community program is not intended to replace, substitute or compete with any other sustainability effort taking place in Wisconsin. It is intended to compliment and to add value to whatever ongoing efforts may be taking place. It is also a starting point for a community wanting to follow a pathway towards sustainability. Green Tier Legacy Communities are demonstrating leadership in improving the economy, the environment and the quality of life in their communities. We are working to increase the number of communities participating in this innovative program in the months and years to come. For more information about Green Tier Legacy Communities visit www.1kfriends.org or contact Steve Hiniker at hiniker@1kfriends.org.

Upcoming Events
Freshwater Futures Fall 2011 Climate Symposium

November 1112 in Milwaukee www.freshwaterfuture.org/news-announcements.html/43/

Milwaukee River Basin TMDL Stakeholder Workshop

November 14 from 9:30 a.m. Noon Wauwatosa Public Library, Firefly Room 7635 W. North Avenue, Wauwatosa
Water Policy Forum

November 14 from 1:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute 600 E. Greenfield Avenue, Milwaukee
Menomonee Watershed Action Team Meeting

November 15 from 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. UW-Extension Offices 9501 W. Watertown Plank Road, Wauwatosa
Root River Watershed Action Team Meeting

November 16 from 10:00 a.m. Noon Boerner Botanical Gardens 5879 S. 92nd Street, Hales Corners
Kinnickinnic Watershed Action Team Meeting

November 16 from 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 16th St. Community Health Centers Parkway Health Center 2906 S. 20th Street, Milwaukee
Sweet Water Holiday Party

December 14 from 5:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. At the Horny Goat Brewing Company 2011 South 1st Street, Milwaukee
Clean Rivers, Clean Lake Conference

April 30, 2012 Discovery World 500 N. Harbor Drive, Milwaukee

RiversReport PARTNERS
PARTNERS

CONTRIBuTING EDITORS Jeff Martinka, Sweet Water Kate Morgan, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin Gail Epping Overholt, uW-Extension

Learning for life

600 East Greenfield Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53204 (414) 382-1766 WEB swwtwater.org EMAIL martinka@swwtwater.org
PHONE

university of Wisconsin Extension 9501 W. Watertown Plank Road Wauwatosa, WI 53226 (414) 256-4632 clean-water.uwex.edu EMAIL gail.overholt@ ces.uwex.edu
PHONE WEB

This publication made possible in part through the generous support of

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