By Bruce Ross, Executive Director
April 9, 2020
Just a quick update on what your WWA is up to in this unusual spring. Peter is still out doing his thing: finding grants and projects, designing restorations, arranging permits, and coordinating contractors… making a difference on the Wisconsin landscape.
- We have received a grant award submitted in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife service for over $250,000 that will be a part of their Partners for Habitat program. WWA’s role in bringing this federal money to restore Wisconsin wetlands and associated uplands (for breeding habitat) includes our effort and dollars – we’re leveraging about $27,000 of Duck Stamp dollars to help make this grant a reality. WWA will also administer the contract and fund accounting (Thanks Kelcy!).
- Jim Freck, WWA Habitat Committee Chair, Peter and I have had a couple of intense, lengthy, and ultimately productive, meetings to better align Peter’s work with the work of our new Habitat Committee. Great sessions (although they could be better in person, especially if Jim Freck’s home brew is involved).
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Jim Freck showing off the interior of a nesting box at Jackson Marsh in March 2020
Wood duck boxes should be ready on all of our Adopt A Wildlife Area (AWA) projects (DNR says we can still do AWA-type work, but with some specific precautions—Mike Alaimo has the guidelines).
- We are always looking for habitat projects – and several of you have raised your hands to play a role in helping to find good new project sites. We’d like to be able triage early project identification to allow Peter to focus his artistic talents in the latter parts of our restoration process, where his artistry brings the greatest rewards, but it’s more difficult than we anticipated. While we are still we are working through that, and will get there, of course that’s been impacted by our COVID reactions. Hang in there.
