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At Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council, Inc., we work cooperatively with partners throughout the state to make Central Wisconsin a better place to live and work. As an RC&D, we are able to work across county lines to address local concerns by using consistent and sound conservation principles with “Conservation That Works!”
Through the hard work of every team member at Golden Sands RC&D, we were able to bridge the gap between conservation and community to educate and implement conservation practices for the benefit of us all as well as nature. In 2022, numerous educational events for students were given to help strengthen their understanding of surface water, groundwater, and steps we can take to prevent the spread of invasive species. Efforts to control invasive species, such as Japanese knotweed, buckthorn, and purple loosestrife were implemented in several counties. Our soils and grazing teams completed and implemented copious amounts of managed grazing plans, Environmental Quality Incentive Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, and Conservation Reserve Program contracts to implement sound conservation practices within our agricultural communities.
To learn more, continue exploring our 2022 highlights page to find out about all of the accomplishments we have achieved throughout the year. If you are interested in reading about the details of our projects within each county, see our 2022 county summaries!
Thank you all for your continued efforts and support to make Central Wisconsin a better place to work and live by implementing “Conservation That Works!”
I am excited to see where 2023 takes us!
Sincerely,
Kendra Kundinger
Kendra Kundinger,
Executive Director
2022 HIGHLIGHTS
Building Relationships Within Community and Nature
Photo Credit: Catherine McKenzie
WE PROMOTE
CLEAN WATER
Our Clean Boats, Clean Waters program assisted six lakes in Central Wisconsin with hiring and training eight Watercraft Inspectors. Our team of inspectors, which included local college and high school students, were hired to talk with boaters at boat landings about the importance of removing plants and draining all water to prevent the spread of invasive species. In total, our team inspected over 3,000 boats and talked with over 3,000 people about how to inspect their boats for hitchhiking invasives. Their efforts helped boaters to recognize that they play a big role in keeping our lakes beautiful!
OUR EVENTS
Hover over the images to learn more!
CONSERVATION FIELD DAY
We had the honor of hosting 279 5th grade students from three Waupaca County Schools for our annual Waupaca County Conservation Field Day. The Field Day took place in September at Hartman Creek State Park and offered students 16 different hands-on field stations, each highlighting a different conservation concept or career. Field stations covered the following topics: Managed Grazing, Conservation on the Farm, Compass Navigation, Fisheries Management, Snapshot Wisconsin, Boating Safety, Soils, Aquatic Plants, Terrestrial Invasive Species, Aquatic Invasive Species, Wetlands, Solar Technology, Trapping, and a tour of the Hellestad pioneer house!
AGRICULTURE PASTURE WALK
In August, we worked with Meadow Lane Farm to host a pasture walk on organic practices and holistically caring for animals. The day included a walking tour of the property and Dr. Paul Detloff speaking on his experience treating animals using organic practices during his long career as an Organic Valley DVM. Topics included: restructured water, soil health, and holistic methods of treating different ailments in cattle. It was a successful event with over 35 attendees. Thank you to Midwest Nutrition for sponsoring lunch and to Denise and John Hilgart for opening their farm to share their experiences and help educate others.
Photo Credit: Haley Nelson
INVASIVE SPECIES FIELD DAY
Golden Sands RC&D is the fiscal sponsor of the Central Wisconsin Invasives Partnership (CWIP). In October of 2022, CWIP held an invasive species educational day at Oakwood County Park in Waupaca. We had 12 people attend this event so that we could showcase the work that CWIP had done throughout the summer at Oakwood Park, educate them about invasive species and invasive species identification, and also educate them about invasive species control. It was a very informative day and we hope that this event will lead to more engagement in 2023!
NEW GARDEN FENCE
The Cornell/Whitney Garden, by Mead Park in Stevens Point, received a huge upgrade of new fencing this past October. A big thank you goes out to Chris Klesmith for all of his organizing and help with this project. The supplies acquired for this project were provided to the gardens from funding from Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church and CoVantage Credit Union. Cutler Fence assisted with fence supplies and offered some project coaching. We also want to thank Giving Gardens of Portage County, Travis Gohan Ketchum, Mayor Mike Wiza, and all of the support and help with constructing the new deer fence for the gardens.
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WE OFFER
AIS BIOCONTROL
We completed our 3rd year of assisting Buckatabon Lakes Association with their biological control program for Eurasian watermilfoil. Over the three years, we collected native milfoil weevils and cultured them in fish tanks to provide nearly 900 weevils total for the group’s mass rearing program. The mass rearing program produced large numbers of weevils for stocking in milfoil beds, as part of their comprehensive biocontrol program. Other important aspects of biocontrol include weevil monitoring surveys and enhancement of shoreland habitat. See our biological control webpage for more about our biocontrol research and a downloadable biocontrol manual!
OUR VOLUNTEERS
Congratulations to the Hansen brothers, Raymond “Skip” and Richard ”Dick”, who are 2022 Invader Crusader Award recipients. True to the name, the Hansen brothers have been invader crusaders for many years by participating in many different practices. Their combined accomplishments include participating with Central Wisconsin Invasives Partnership to educate on invasives, purple loosestrife biocontrol by raising Galerucella beetles, and removing invasive plants in Porters and other lakes. Their hard work also includes upland invasive species removal paired with prescribed burns and native plantings. Congratulations Skip and Dick!
If you are interested in volunteering, click on the button below for more information.
WE WELCOME YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you to our 2022 partners, sponsors, and donors for your generosity! Please click on the donate button below if you support our mission to manage natural and human resources, in ways that are consistent with sound conservation principles, by working across county lines to address local concerns.
2022 INCOME SOURCES
