Rock River Coalition Accomplishment Highlights
Major Programs Initiated 2004 to Present:
Water Star Community: RRC develops a state-wide partnership to begin development of a new municipal recognition project, where communities will be able to earn up to five stars for work in the areas of surface water, groundwater, land use, habitat and human health.
Citizen Stream Monitoring Program trains more than 180 people who measure water quality at 56 locations in the basin. 2005 Wisconsin Voluntary Stream Monitoring Group of the Year
Wetland Monitoring Program, initiated in 2004, is already a model for citizen-based monitoring in Wisconsin. Received 2005 DNR Citizen-based Monitoring Program of the Year Award to honor our two monitoring programs.
Restriction on Excessive Phosphorus Fertilizer use on Residential Lawns: The RRC develops a presentation on the impact of phosphorus on lakes and streams and on the need to restrict the use of excessive application of phosphorus fertilizer on residential lawns.
USGS begins work on GFLOW Computer Model. RRC was responsible for bringing together 17 municipalities and organizations to support the development of the $96,000 model.
Send Your Legislator Down the River is a major annual event with great participation from elected officials.
Rain Garden in Every Community was a partnership between schools, communities and the RRC resulting in 300 students from eight schools helping design and build 12,050 square feet of rain gardens which infiltrate 1,982,786 gallons of rain water each year. (Project completed in 2006)
RRC Rural Development Guidelines and Policies Manual helps many municipalities develop plans to preserve open space and farmland and utilize low impact design for new development. Second edition completed in 2006.
Twenty native shoreline restoration projects weredeveloped as a result of RRC work. A $10,000 DNR River Grant leverages $175,475 resulting in 46,145 square feet of shoreline and 6,000 linear feet of shoreline protected. (Project completed in 2005)
In 2005 and 2006, the RRC helped organize a W atertown River Walk Mayor’s committee who work to generate community support for the new River Walk and help make the plan a reality.
Storm Water Round Tables are held to help municipalities deal with the complex problem of controlling storm water. This is a continuing program of the RRC Stormwater Issue Team.
2005 Rock River Conference continues the work of earlier forums in meeting environmental needs in the basin.
Other Educational Forums, the RRC hosts many other educational activities including a recent ‘Implementing the Agriculture Performance Standards’ for area land conservation, DATCP and DNR staff.
Workshops Held: Over the past three years the RRC has sponsored workshops helping over 750 people to become skilled or knowledgeable about programs and natural resource issues. These workshop topics include Writing Environmental Grants, Storm Water Techniques, Cost of Community Services and Impact Fees, Computer Assisted Land Use Decision Support and Rain Garden and Native Shoreline Restoration.
Rock River Coalition Accomplishments 1994 - 2003
Rock River Coalition honored with presentation of the Wisconsin Groundwater Guardian 2003 Team Award.
Completed the RRC Rural Development Guidelines and Policies Manual (UWEX website), held two workshops with 35 participants on how to use the manual. Presentations have been made to four town board planning commissions.
Managing Stormwater in the Rock River Basin Workshops were held with 65 total attendance.
Several Stormwater Issue Team members participated in the development of the Dane County Permitted Municipalities Stormwater Information and Education Plan. The effort won the Wisconsin Extension Community Development Association 2003 Team Award.
Second year of Citizen Stream Monitoring Program expanded to three new counties: Jefferson, Dodge and Columbia. A total of 140 people have now been trained as citizen stream monitors from those counties and from Rock, Dane, Washington, Dodge, Fond du Lac and Waukesha counties.
A first annual Confluence held in February to provide advanced training for more than 50 citizen monitors.
First Rock River Coalition Annual Report published and distributed to members and friends.
Third Annual Send Your Legislator Down the River event held with 50 participants
Rock River Coalition Environmental Action booklet developed and published.
Design and installation of our first rain garden at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Madison with youth from St. Mark’s and Centro Hispano participating as an "environmental action project."
2002
Karst brochure wins national University Extension Excellence Award.
Three Environmental Grant Workshops held with 98 in attendance.
Began new Citizen Stream Monitoring Program. 100 people trained as citizen stream monitors in Rock, Dane, Washington, Dodge, Fond du Lac and Waukesha counties.
Eight new native shoreline restorations under development.
Second Annual Send Your Legislator Down the River event held with 50 participants.
2001
Sponsored State of the Basin Report public informational meeting.
Sponsored seminar: Conservation Design: Building in Harmony with the Land with 50 participants.
Held the first annual 'Send Your Legislator Down the River' educational event.
Completed 21 Farm*A*Syst assessments to identify potential groundwater contamination sources.
Three natural shoreline stabilization demonstration projects completed at city and county parks.
Due to initial work by the shoreline issue team, $42,000 was raised by area lakes to provide scholarships for buffer interns and part-time staff to implement the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.
Karst (fractured limestone) drinking water concerns display and brochure completed.
2000
Held second Forum ‘Power of Partnerships’ to include citizen comments into issue team action plans and to share successes from other partnership efforts.
Rock River Partnership merges with RRC working primarily through the Water Quality Issue Team.
Sponsored Grow Smart - Grow Green Workshop on developing conservation subdivisions. 180 developers, elected officials, agency staff, engineers and consultants attended the workshop.
Hosted 4 demonstrations on how to properly seal unused wells to protect groundwater from contamination. The primary audience was farmers in four basin counties.
Developed a business partner outreach strategy with implementation in 2001.
Worked with a graduate student to survey past participants of issue teams to identify ways to improve.
1999
Developed action plans with six issue teams to address the top critical issues identified during the 1998 needs assessment.
1998
Agreed to be the DNR's partner team for the basin. Gathered citizen input through written surveys, self-initiated phone surveys and an open Forum identifying the most critical natural resource and environmental issues in the basin.
1997
Enlarged focus from Rock River Corridor to entire basin. Initiated a task force to develop a nomination for the President's National Heritage Rivers Program. More than 100 communities, businesses, organizations and agencies sent letters of support for the nomination.
1996
Incorporated as 501c(3); did extensive strategic planning, determining important goals and activities.
Key supporter of the Rock River Partnership, an alliance of 62 wastewater treatment plants, industries, organizations, county agencies, and state agencies, organized to explore the feasibility of using nutrient trading as the least cost method of improving basin water quality.
1994
Organized. Held educational meetings and forums on a number of topics.
back
to top
|
