THE PRAIRIE PROMOTER Grassroots Conservation in Action TP E Volunteers Receive Awards VOL 29, NO. 3 wards for “Conservationist of the Year” A and “Volunteer Steward of the Year” were November 2016 handed out this fall to two of our own. Ron Endres from the Empire-Sauk Chapter received 2016 Conservationist of the Year from IN THIS ISSUE Gathering Waters Conservancy at a ceremony Nov. 2 at the Friends of Wisdom Prairie Dinner 2 Executive Director’s Message Lecture in Middleton. Zach Kastern from the Glacial Prairie 3 President’s Message Chapter was honored by the WI Department of Natural Resources with the Volunteer of the 3 Editor’s Notes Year prize Sept. 17 at the DNR’s annual picnic at Wisconsin River State Natural Area. 4 An Artist’s Eye Ron’s nomination to Gathering Waters was 5 The Future of Conservation initiated by TPE member Carla Wright. In his supporting letter, member Dennis Connor said 6 Insect Overwintering Ron was a “stalwart conservation leader and a dedicated, persistent and generous soldier in the 9 Conservation Legends pursuit of conserving our declining environmen- tal heritage.” 10 Chapter News For numerous years, Ron has been active as a volunteer with several land conservation 15 New Members & Donations organizations, including Ice Age Trail, The Prairie Enthusiasts, Wisdom Prairie and Dane County Parks. Not only does he selflessly give his time and resources to the land – especially prairies and savannas – Ron also shares his learnings. For example, Ron has worked tirelessly to collect, process and give away the very heart of natural area restoration - native plant seed. On his own, Ron commutes to local and distant sites where particular species of plants Ron Endres (top, photo by Dennis are known to prosper, and at the appropriate Connor) and Zach Kastern (bottom, time, collects the seed. He then harvests, dries photo by Jerry Newman) and processes the seeds into what is considered Continued on page 8 Our Mission Listening out on the prairie The Prairie Enthusiasts seek to ensure the Chris Kirkpatrick, Executive Director perpetuation and recovery of prairie, oak savanna, and other associated ecosystems arlier this year, TPE adopted a three-year of the Upper Midwest through protection, Strategic Plan, which gives the Board & management, restoration, and education. E In doing so, we strive to work openly and Staff direction and guidance for the future. The cooperatively with private landowners and number one priority continues to be finding other private and public conservation groups. ways for the organization to increase support for each chapter. To better understand needs, new board president Scott Fulton and I began Officers visiting each chapter this summer, and listening President - Scott Fulton Vice President - Vacant to its core leaders. Secretary - Jim Rogala When we are done, we want to know how Treasurer - Nick Faessler TPE’s 11 chapters function, how they see them- Past President - Jack Kussmaul selves in the future, and what they see as priorities. So far, Scott and I have met with more than half the chapters, and these visits have started to paint Directors a picture of who we are as an organization, and where we would like to go in Chippewa Savannas - Caroljean Coventree the future. Coulee Region - Jim Rogala We are hearing that, regardless of size or focus of the chapter, everyone Empire-Sauk - Rich Henderson Glacial Prairie - Alice Mirk wants more active volunteers, more members engaged with chapter leaders, Many Rivers - Deanna Pomije and better ways to communicate with members and the public. Some chap- Minnesota Driftless - George Howe ters want more land protection projects; others desire outreach to the com- Northwest Illinois - Paul Rode munity and schools. Some want help teaching prescribed fire techniques to Prairie Bluff - Nick Faessler develop more experienced and trained burn bosses. All the input is extremely Southwest Wisconsin - Linda Lynch important for us to hear, and to share with chapter leaders and members. St. Croix Valley - Evanne Hunt Scott and I are inspired by the conversations, and we feel renewed enthu- Prairie Sands - David Hamel Director Emeritus - Gary Eldred siasm from local chapter leaders. By talking about short- and long-term goals, while celebrating the amazing things we are doing right, it helps us all see Staff what we could accomplish together. It’s this sharing of passion and vision Executive Director - Chris Kirkpatrick that brings us together, and it’s what allows us to grow, stretch and become Communications Coordinator - Joe Rising a stronger organization. Bookkeeper - Jerry Pedretti This is true prairie enthusiasm, and we want everyone to be a part of the shared future vision. Editorial Volunteers Scott and I will continue these visits and look forward to hearing from Chippewa Savannas - Caroljean Coventree many more of you by the end of the year. If you would like to share your [email protected] Coulee Region - Jim Rogala thoughts, please contact me. I can be reached at TPE’s office in Viroqua by [email protected] phone at (608) 638-1873, or email [email protected]. Empire-Sauk - Cate Harrington [email protected] Minnesota Driftless - George Howe [email protected] Many Rivers - Deanna Pomije [email protected] Glacial Prairie - Alice & Walter Mirk [email protected] A nnual Photo Contest Northwest Illinois - Rickie Rachuy [email protected] Prairie Bluff - Tom Mitchell major highlight of every TPE annual conference is the Photo Contest. Photos can be submitted by anyone of anything related to prairies [email protected] A Prairie Sands - Ray Goehring and savannas. The finalists will be selected by the conference host chapter [email protected] (Northwest Illinois for the upcoming conference - see insert in this issue), and Southwest Wisconsin - Linda Lynch the winners are determined by a vote of the conference participants. All final- [email protected] ists receive the framed print of their photo used at the conference, and the winning photograph will be used on the cover of our next annual report. Prairie Promoter Editors - Debra Noell & Scott Fulton Please send your photo files by email before February 1, 2017 to Joe Rising [email protected] at tpe@The PrairieEnthusiasts.org. Please contact Joe at (608) 638-1873 with any questions. Photo Credits - Jim Schultz (front page), Dennis Graham (back page) 2 The Prairie Promoter President’s Message Scott Fulton, President t the annual meeting in show for what we do together. I continue to be amazed at A July, I was honored to be the remarkable diversity among TPE’s chapters. elected President of The Prairie Another major focus is to develop a new organization- Enthusiasts. wide Communications, Outreach and Education Committee. My predecessor, Jack Over the last year, TPE has added significant new resources Kussmaul, left quite a legacy in this area, including the new color Prairie Promoter, a behind. Under his leader- completely rebuilt website, an eNews service and larger ship, TPE grew dramatically Facebook presence. Chapters are also stepping up their own in membership, staff, capabil- efforts, with quite a few new initiatives under way. The over- ity and acres of land under all goals of the committee will be to support the staff and our protection. Perhaps most chapters in these activities and to provide policies and over- importantly, Jack put TPE on the path to accreditation as a sight where required. I personally believe very strongly that land trust, a challenging undertaking that we are on track to communications, outreach and education are not only tools complete in the next two years. This work is building a solid that we use to build our membership and raise funds, but are foundation for even more growth in the future. Luckily for all also a critical part of our very mission as an organization. This of us, Jack will remain very active with TPE in his formal roles committee will be open to any TPE member who would like as ex-President and chair of the Fundraising and Accredita- to help, so please let me know if you are interested in partici- tion Committees. On behalf of everyone, I extend my sincer- pating or have ideas in this area. Contact me at est thanks to Jack for his outstanding service to us all. [email protected]. My own first order of business is to get to know all of our The local chapter/regional organization structure we chapters much better and to begin building deeper personal have is highly unusual among both land trusts and conserva- relationships with the many individuals who contribute so tion organizations in general. This makes for some daunting much on the ground effort and support across the organi- challenges for those of us who take on leadership roles. zation. As mentioned in his message in this issue on Page However, I believe a great deal of value to the world is being 2, executive director Chris Kirkpatrick and I have started a created by our unique federation of passionate, knowledge- process of meeting with leaders and key members of all 11 able and local human communities focused on learning about TPE chapters. I have spent many wonderful hours so far driv- and protecting, restoring and managing the natural com- ing back and forth across the Driftless Area on this mission munities we love. I am looking forward to working with all of and have been impressed by the deep commitment so many you as we continue to build a better TPE together. E ditor’s Notes Scott Fulton his is my last entry as editor of The Prairie Promoter. I’ll Journal Gazette as a staff writer. T certainly miss it; it’s through my work as editor that I In 1997, Debra earned a Master of Social Work degree formed such respect and appreciation for the many layers of from Indiana University-Indianapolis, and she now works as TPE and its chapters.