Overview
The Wisconsin Land Trust Conference is a networking, training, and inspirational event for land trust staff, board members, partners, and anyone interested in land conservation efforts in Wisconsin.
Thank you for joining us for the 2025 Wisconsin Land Trust Conference! We convened in Madison, Wisconsin on March 12-14, 2025 at the Wisconsin Masonic Center.
We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to bring so many people together for the conference and the first-ever Knowles-Nelson Lobby Day.
Find more information about the 2025 conference below.
Join Us
Registration is open!
$250 member, $300 non-member, $115 student
Board and staff members of a Gathering Waters member land trust, and individual members of Gathering Waters are eligible for the member rate, a savings of $50.
Online registration is now closed. Please contact Lily Butler, lily@gatheringwaters.org or 608-251-9131 x20, if you would like to attend. Space permitting, we may be able to accept additional registrations.
Scholarships
Gathering Waters is offering scholarships to staff and board members of our member land trusts who would otherwise be unable to attend the conference.
Fill out this form to apply for a scholarship.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and applicants will be notified of the status of their application as soon as possible.
The deadline to apply for a registration scholarship has passed.
Schedule
The schedule for the 2025 conference is below.
Attendees could choose between multiple sessions presented at the same time, categorized under three tracks: 1) Land Stewardship, 2) Communications and Fundraising, and 3) Conservation Planning.
Read more below about individual sessions.
Wednesday, March 12
Day One
Meet in the main lobby of the Wisconsin Masonic Center to check in, receive your Lobby Day participant packet, and enjoy a light breakfast.
Hear from a special guest speaker and Team Knowles Nelson leaders about the status of Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program reauthorization. Materials and key talking points about the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program will be provided.
Lunch will be served in the Wisconsin Masonic Center’s beautiful Grand Ballroom. Seats will be assigned by senate and assembly districts, so you’ll have a chance to meet and strategize with your advocacy team.
Make the two-block trip to the Capitol.
Say “Knowles-Nelson!” Take a group photo before we enter the Capitol.
Attend pre-scheduled meetings with legislators and their staff. Share success stories that demonstrate why Knowles-Nelson funding is essential for preserving Wisconsin’s outdoor legacy.
Check-in for participants who did not attend Lobby Day.
As Lobby Day meetings wrap up and those attending the conference start to arrive, meet up for drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and good conversation in the Wisconsin Masonic Center’s Grand Ballroom until 6 pm.
Thursday, March 13
Day Two
Check-in for participants just arriving for the conference.
Connect with your people in similar roles, or with similar goals or conservation priorities over breakfast out. We’ll provide some recommendations of the best spots nearby.
Hear from a panel of land trust leaders about recent trends in the Wisconsin land trust community.
Land Protection Track
An essential session that demystifies the core components of robust land protection and stewardship programs. Whether you’re managing conservation easements or fee-owned properties, this workshop will walk you through the critical systems needed to meet Land Trust Standards and Practices and accreditation requirements. Deepen your understanding of why these systems matter for long-term conservation success. This session is perfect for new land protection and stewardship staff and seasoned land trust leaders looking to strengthen their organizational systems.
Communications and Fundraising Track
Every person on a land trust’s staff and board should play a role in fundraising, but not everyone has to add to the equation in the same way. The “Triple-A” model (created by Kaye Sprinkel Grace) provides a way to talk about each team member’s interests and competencies, and how to utilize these as part of an organization’s development team. Gain insights and tools to assess the mix of ambassadors, advocates, and askers on your board, and to identify where further training and recruitment could be helpful.
Conservation Planning Track
This is Part 1 of 2 GIS sessions. This session will provide an overview of the GIS resources offered by Gathering Waters and an orientation to using those resources. Learn what data you can access in the conservation geodatabase and how to put the data to work yourself. This session is great for both new users of the GIS database and those looking for a refresher.
Lunch will be served in the Wisconsin Masonic Center’s Small Dining Room.
Land Protection Track
The innovative approach, Buy-Protect-Sell, empowers land trusts to respond to unique, and sometimes urgent, conservation opportunities. Whether your land trust is faced with escalating land prices, challenging barriers to protecting working lands, or looking to expand your conservation impact, this session will provide practical insights into structuring deals, building funding partnerships, and managing risks. Drawing from successful examples across the state, get the knowledge you need to evaluate strategies to strengthen your conservation toolkit.
Communications and Fundraising Track
Land trust staff often juggle a lot of different responsibilities and priorities. This session will take a common-sense approach to walk you through the Land Trust Standards and Practices about financial records and basic internal controls. Understand practical methods to communicate financial information in meaningful ways to staff and board members. Get tips that will help you keep all the balls in the air. There is likely to be actual juggling!
Conservation Planning Track
This is Part 2 of 2 GIS sessions. This session will explore the decision support tool, which is a powerful interactive application intended to aid conservation planning efforts by putting a tremendous amount of data at your fingertips. Walk through the robust filtering capabilities to help you quickly zero in on particular geographies and conservation priorities. Test drive the tool with the expert guidance of Mike Koutnik, who builds and maintains this app for the Wisconsin land trust community. Both novices and power users are invited to attend.
Take a field trip to some of Groundswell Conservancy’s conservation easement and fee simple properties in the Black Earth Creek Valley. Hear from landowners, local decision makers, and land trust staff, then hike through this beautiful area (weather permitting).
This field trip is a chance to visit a really special place in Wisconsin. Black Earth Creek is a Class I trout stream known nationally for the quality of its fishing. It is rated as one of the top 100 trout streams in the nation by Trout Unlimited. The Black Earth Creek Valley also has a lot of high quality prime farmland and wetland areas that are characteristic of the valley floor. Learn more here.
After the field trip, return to the Wisconsin Masonic Center for a happy hour followed by dinner.
Enjoy dinner at the Wisconsin Masonic Center.
Friday, March 14
Day Three
Breakfast will be served at the Wisconsin Masonic Center.
Land Protection Track
Back by popular demand (this session was presented at the 2023 conference), explore the various approaches and challenges of a land trust deal. Consider how those approaches and challenges might shift in the future given the social, economic, and other trends impacting land trusts in Wisconsin. Updated information and a new, hypothetical conservation project make this session worth attending again (or for the first time!).
Communications and Fundraising Track
Leverage the power of storytelling to build stronger relationships with audiences. Learn effective strategies for communicating the great stories in the land trust community (with tips for both development and communications staff). Take things a step further with tips on repurposing content and sharing your personal values with followers and supporters.
As the conference wraps up, grab a snack before you head home.
Our Speakers
Session presenters bring perspectives from their varied experiences across Wisconsin land trusts and beyond. Learn more about session leaders at the 2025 conference below.
Carol Abrahamzon
Executive Director, Mississippi Valley Conservancy
David Allen
Consultant, Development for Conservation
Charlie Carlin
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Gathering Waters
Abbie Church
Conservation Director, Mississippi Valley Conservancy
Angie Doucette
Midwest Senior Farmland Program Manager, American Farmland Trust
Jen Filipiak
Executive Director, Driftless Area Land Conservancy
Carol Fisher
Certified Public Accountant, The Nature Conservancy
Chris Gutschenritter
Director of Land Conservation Law Program, Gathering Waters
Stephanie Judge
Director of Conservation, Driftless Area Land Conservancy
Chris Kirkpatrick
Conservation Manager, Mississippi Valley Conservancy
Kari Kirschbaum
Land Protection Director, Northwoods Land Trust
Mike Koutnik
Owner, Michael A. Koutnik Consulting
Kelly Larsen
Midwest Farms Fund Program Manager, The Conservation Fund
Brandon Mann
Easement Stewardship Manager, Groundswell Conservancy
Pat McMurtrie
Annual Giving and Outreach Manager, Gathering Waters
Clint Miller
Vice President and Regional Director, The Conservation Fund
MaryKay O’Donnell
Midwest Senior Program Manager, Land Trust Alliance
Chris Radford
Executive Director, North Central Conservancy Trust
Matt Reetz
Executive Director, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance
Julie Schartner
Land Protection Specialist, The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin
Tom Stolp
Executive Director, Ozaukee Washington Land Trust/River Revitalization Foundation
Venue &
Lodging
Wisconsin Masonic Center
The 2025 conference will be held at the Wisconsin Masonic Center in downtown Madison. The facility is historic and unique, crafted in Art Deco style, and versatile with a variety of meeting spaces.
Madison Concourse Hotel
Lodging for the 2025 conference will be available at the nearby Madison Concourse Hotel. The hotel is within walking distance of the Masonic Center (about 1 block away). If you have mobility issues, talk with us about how we can help make your experience as easy as possible.
Reserve Online
Reserve your room using the Book Online button below.
The cutoff date for the room block was February 12, 2025.
Email cthomas@concoursehotel.com for help with booking a room.
Reserve by Phone
1. Call the hotel at 608-781-3060 and press 3 to reach the front desk.
2. Mention the block name “Wisconsin Land Trust Conference” or block code 0503LANDTRUST when booking.
FAQs
The conference is designed for land trust staff and board members. Volunteers, people from partner organizations, and those interested in land conservation in Wisconsin are also welcome to attend!
Attendance is typically about 100 people, representing land trusts and conservation partners from across the state.
The schedule includes some sessions that are attended by the entire group, as well as “concurrent” sessions where you can choose between multiple topics scheduled at a given time. There is also time for networking over breakfast and lunch, between sessions, and in the evening.
The conference is typically held in the spring of each year. The location changes from year to year. The 2025 conference was in Madison.
Registration for the 2026 conference will open in late 2025 or early 2026.
If you are unable to attend the conference for any reason, we will be able to refund 50% of the registration fee by a certain date. After that date, we will not be able to issue any refunds. Substitutions will be accepted. Thank you for your understanding.
Dress for the conference is casual and layers are recommended for your comfort. The event is mostly indoors. There is typically an outdoor field trip, so we recommend bringing appropriate footwear and outerwear.
The conference typically includes most meals served at the venue when the group is scheduled to be together. Check back for specifics on the next conference.
The Dessert Potluck Competition is a long-standing Wisconsin land trust tradition. Participants bring a dessert to share for the event. An expert panel of unbiased judges selects a winner. We were unable to host a dessert competition at the 2025 conference due to venue restrictions related to food. We hope to bring the dessert competition back in the future.
Please contact Lily Butler, lily@gatheringwaters.org or 608-251-9131 x20, and we’ll do our best to provide you with an answer.
2025 Conference Sponsorship
Find all you need to know about conference sponsorship here in this packet.
Thank You
Thank you to the following sponsors for supporting the 2025 Wisconsin Land Trust Conference!
Our sponsors play an essential role in the success of the Wisconsin Land Trust Conference. If you would like information or to discuss particular sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to Creal Zearing, at 608-251-9131 x18 or creal@gatheringwaters.org.
Gathering Waters serves member land trusts across the state. To become a member, or for more information, please contact us.
