It’s a notable day here at Gathering Waters. Our whole staff and all three interns are in the office at the same time, an occasion so rare that we don’t actually have enough desks. Most days, someone’s in La Crosse or Green Bay or Milwaukee or Hayward. Most days, in fact, more than one of us are somewhere else in Wisconsin working with a land trust or representing land trusts’ great value to this state we all call home.
Rest assured, though: even though we’re not “in the field,” we’re busy. Despite the crowd, it’s quiet except for a steady undertone of keyboard clicking. Here’s what’s abuzz in our hive of people helping people protect Wisconsin.
Our interns, working on lap tops at the counter and in the conference room are whipping up some exciting multi-media projects—a slide show series of WI land trust stories and a video highlighting the work of LMSA–to amp up our online repertoire and raise the visibility of the great work that land trusts are doing. Becky’s addressing invitations to an event we’re co-hosting with the Kenosha Racine Land Trust in a protected orchard in Burlington. (Want to come? Event details are on our website here).
Government Relations guru Mike Carlson is crafting plans for fall workshops for landowners, local governments and land trusts on Wisconsin’s Working Lands Initiative and how the new Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement program help stem the lost of valuable working lands. (You can find more on Wisconsin’s PACE program at www.wisconsinfarmland.org).
Land Trust Programs Director Kate Zurlo-Cuva is preparing a presentation to a conference of GIS experts about how land trusts can use and benefit from advances in mapping technology.
The boss is working his way through emails after a much-deserved week off and preparing for a new round of strategic planning that will define how we help people protect Wisconsin’s special places for the next three years.
Starting tomorrow, we’ll scatter again. That GIS conference is in the Dells, the next LMSA meeting is in Sturgeon Bay. On the calendar next week there’s a meeting with the Ice Age Trail Alliance, another with The Driftless Area Land Conservancy, land trust consulting in Racine County, and a trip to Minocqua seeking funding for our land trust services. If you want to see us, too, stop by! But be warned that we are moving targets.
