Sessions & Presenters

The Future of the Red Cedar - How can we intentionally direct the future we want in our watershed?
Many people think of rural landscapes as relatively unchanging and stable, but with changing agricultural markets, higher demand for energy, and expanding land needs, there are many potential changes that rural communities will have to contend with. Instead of waiting to react to the winds of change, let's talk about how we can intentionally aim for a positive future as a community in our food, energy, water, and landscape systems. 

Tara Greiman is the Wisconsin Farmers Union Director of Conservation and Stewardship. In this role, she connects the many conservation-focused projects of the WFU to help promote win-win scenarios that benefit farmers, our food system, and our environment. These projects include grassroots efforts of WFU natural resource committees, partnering with staff projects to serve our watershed program, rural energy systems, and enhancing the connection between healthy local food systems, communities, and the environment.

10 Years into TMDL/Watershed Monitoring
The waters of the Red Cedar River Basin are listed as impaired based on nutrients, sediments, and excessive algal growth by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The levels of pollutants and impairments are the result of complex interactions between land use, groundwater, bedrock, and ongoing management activity. To fully understand the causes and effects of the degradation of the land and water of the Red Cedar River Basin, it is crucial that we collect long-term monitoring data. The Red Cedar Basin Monitoring Group has long been a part of efforts to restore the watershed, and funding from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin has allowed us to create an internship program that supports standard monitoring alongside student training and research. Along with students and other faculty members, we have collected data on the extent of harmful algal blooms and the concentrations of cyanobacterial toxins in Menomin and Tainter lakes. We have also collected data on the long-term stability and functionality of reach-scale restoration projects on Gilbert and Wilson creeks, along with the impacts of urbanization and reach-scale corridor improvements along Galloway Creek in the city of Menomonie. These projects have powerful potential to serve as scalable templates for understanding and improving water conditions throughout the basin. With our next six years of funding, we will continue to train the next generation of ecosystem scientists, restoration practitioners, and water quality specialists, collect data to advance watershed science and management, and provide data for evidence-based rehabilitation of the Red Cedar Watershed.

Nicole Hayes is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Her research interests include water quality, under-ice primary production, and cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms. For the previous four summers, she has worked with local undergraduates (UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-River Falls) to sample Menomin and Tainter lakes and study the cyanobacterial blooms that occur every summer. Alongside undergraduate researchers from UW-Stout, she has conducted under-ice experiments to determine how much cyanobacterial growth is happening when the lake is frozen. Dr. Hayes graduated with her PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology from Miami University in 2015. She continued studying water quality in green lakes in Saskatchewan and Minnesota prior to starting as a faculty member at UW-Stout in 2020.

Keith Gilland is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. His research focuses on the rehabilitation of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of the upper Midwest, including sport fish habitat, urban stream and stormwater management, and prairie and savanna restoration. He received his doctorate in environmental biology from Ohio University in 2012 and began working at Stout in 2016. His work on monitoring the Red Cedar Basin has been funded by a series of grants from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, and he has been participating in citizen science monitoring of the watershed through the Watershed Action Volunteers program with his students since 2017. He serves as land manager for the Chippewa Savannas chapter of the Prairie Enthusiasts and site steward for their Dobbs Landing project site located along the Red Cedar River near Colfax. He is also a member of the management board for the Colfax Red Cedar Preserve and Recreation Area and is active in conservation and restoration projects at both sites with Stout's Natural Areas Club. He is also a member of Menomonie's Urban Forestry Board.

Federal Agricultural Policy and the Implications for Water Quality and Soil Health
This presentation will discuss current federal agricultural policies and the ways in which they work towards or work against watershed conservation goals. We will pay particular attention to the on-farm economics and an analysis of the effectiveness of these programs. Lastly, we introduce novel policy mechanisms that can achieve conservation goals at the watershed level.

Jeff Hadachek is an assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jeff’s research and extension program addresses the economics of soil health and water quality in Wisconsin agriculture and the U.S. more broadly. Prior to joining UW in August 2023, he received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, and is an undergraduate alumnus of Kansas State University. He grew up in North Central Kansas on his family’s row crop farm and cow-calf operation. 

Wisconsin's Farmer-led Watershed Protection Groups: insights from local on-farm activities & research
The Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture provides yearly funding to 50+ farmer-led watershed protection groups statewide.  Each year, these groups support farmer education and adoption of soil health practices designed to minimize flow of nutrients into surface and groundwater.  This session will showcase real world practice implementation outcomes on how local farmer-led groups are contributing to the protection of watersheds in our region. 

Presenters:
Joe Ailts, Tina Barone, Tryston Beyrer, and Becky Brathal

Aquatic Invasive Species
This presentation provides an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) 101 overview of Wisconsin’s Invasive Species Identification, Classification, and Control Rule (Wis. Admin. Code NR 40). Participants will learn about the legal framework guiding AIS prevention and response, how to identify common aquatic invasive species, and how species are classified in Wisconsin. The presentation will also introduce the Wisconsin DNR’s pathway-based approach to AIS prevention and highlight citizen-based monitoring and reporting opportunities. Participants will gain an understanding of how pathway-focused strategies reduce the risk of new introductions and how individuals can actively contribute to prevention, early detection, and reporting efforts to help protect Wisconsin’s waters.

Presenters:
Amy Kreitlow

Amy Kretlow is the Aquatic Invasive Species Program Coordinator with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. She leads the AIS statewide program and helps in coordination efforts, supports local partners, and helps guide strategic planning to reduce the spread and impact of invasive species across Wisconsin’s waterways.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Conservation and Environmental Sciences from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is committed to strengthening partnerships, improving data-driven decision-making, and supporting effective community-based partnerships to protect the state’s lakes, rivers, and wetlands. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and grandkids and greatly enjoys showing them the wonders of the natural world, in particular the many lakes and rivers we are fortunate to have in WI. She spends many a summer day at the family cabin, chasing pheasants through fields in the fall, or hoping to hook into a salmon on Lake Michigan.

SNAP, Local Foods
 

Presenter:
Erin Thompson

From Streets to Streams: How Cities Are Protecting Water Quality?
Learn how the Cities of Menomonie, Rice Lake, and Cumberland are improving water quality through urban stormwater projects, public education, and compliance with Wisconsin DNR MS4 permits. This session highlights practical examples, lessons learned, and how municipal efforts help protect local lakes and rivers in the Red Cedar Watershed.

Presenters: 
Megen Hines, Environmental Program Coordinator, City of Menomonie, mhines@menomonie-wi.gov
Jay Michels, Partner & Senior Project Manager, Emmons & Olivier Resources, City of Cumberland Consultant, jmichels@eorinc.com
Tyler Siebert, Superintendent of Community Services, City of Rice Lake, tsiebert@ricelakegov.org

 

Lakes District Updates
There are multiple lake associations and lake districts within the Red Cedar Watershed that are actively working on projects to protect and improve water quality.  Come learn about projects happening on Rice Lake, Tainter Lake, and the Chetek Chain of Lakes.

Rice Lake Protection District, Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District, Chetek Lakes Protection Association

Presenters:
Al Brown, Jamie Lideen, and Christina Solie

Advocacy in the Red Cedar Watershed.
Opportunities to improve water quality in the Red Cedar Watershed exist at the federal, state and local levels and take the form of regulations and voluntary incentive-based efforts.  The history of these efforts is a mix of success and failure.  In this session, Wisconsin Green Fire and Wisconsin Conservation Voters will shed light on opportunities and approaches for future action with insight on the history of water quality efforts in the region.

Presenters:
Paul La Liberte, Quinn Rowe, and Kate Reilly.