Kathleen Falk has been a remarkable environmental steward within the Wisconsin community. Throughout her endeavors she has always been committed, first and foremost, to land and water conservation.
From 1977 to 1983, Kathleen was the co-director and general counsel of Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, a statewide nonprofit citizens’ environmental protection organization. There she laid the groundwork to extend the Public Trust Doctrine to groundwater, to ensure that there was a public interest in protecting drinking water supplies.
In 1983 she was appointed Public Intervenor at the Wisconsin Department of Justice. She specialized in land use issues, including sewer, wetlands and farm protection, mining, transportation and local government issues, as well as public access to navigable waters.
As Dane County Executive she has been working to rally support for Dane County’s parks and natural areas. In 1999 she brought together a strong coalition of conservationists, realtors, and builders to promote the ten year expenditure of $30 million dollars from the Dane County Conservation Fund. In 2006 she created the Land & Water Legacy Fund to support land and water quality measures as well as environmental education and non-profits.
“[Kathleen] has been a cheerleader, consensus-builder, and tough negotiator, all in the name of our natural resources.” –Jim Welsh, Executive Director –Natural Heritage Land Trust
