Great Lake Gatherings Questions and
Answers
with Mike Strigel, Executive Director, Gathering Waters Conservancy
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1. What are the Great Lake Gatherings and the
intended purpose of these events?
2. What is a land trust?
3. What is the Lake Michigan Shorelands Alliance?
4. What is Gathering Waters Conservancy and the main goals of your
organization?
5. What will actually happen at the Great Lake Gathering events?
6. Who will attend the Great Lake Gatherings?
7. Why are the Gatherings being held in Green Bay, Sheboygan,
Milwaukee and Mequon?
8. What is the connection between business and
conservation – why will businesses be active participants in
the Gatherings?
9. Are there specific long-term economic benefits that can
be realized in these areas of Wisconsin by community leaders and citizens
working together on land and water conservation issues?
10. What position does Gathering Waters Conservancy and Lake
Michigan Shorelands Alliance take on the Great Lakes Compact and why
is it so important to Wisconsin?
11. What is the Great Lakes Regional Collaborative Strategy
(GLRCS) and how does it relate to the Gatherings?
12. What are the most important points you hope
community leaders and policy makers will take away from the Great Lake
Gatherings?
13. What are the most important points that you
want the general public to take away from the Great Lake Gatherings?
1. Q: What are the Great Lake Gatherings
and the intended purpose of these events?
A: The Great Lake Gatherings
are intended to spark conversations about local and regional land
and water conservation. The land trusts of the Lake Michigan Shorelands
Alliance, with support from Gathering Waters Conservancy and the
Joyce Foundation, are hosting open forums this fall in four Wisconsin
communities: Green Bay, Sheboygan, Mequon and Milwaukee. We hope
to encourage new, creative partnerships to protect the places important
to the great quality of life in the Lake Michigan Basin.
Many people
share a common love for the natural treasures in the Lake Michigan
basin. The Great Lake Gatherings will introduce participants
to new partners who are working to protect that treasure in our
shared back yard. We will connect local land trusts with community
leadership—key businesses, elected officials, civic organizations
and involved citizens.
Land trusts play an important role in
preserving and improving the ecological, economic and human health
in the area. One goal of the Gatherings is to encourage community
leaders to look to their land trusts as a resource.
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2. Q: What
is a land trust?
A: A land trust is a private, not-for-profit
organization that protects land for future generations. They
are citizen-run organizations dedicated to protecting trails,
parks, nature preserves, access to rivers and streams, working
lands and wild places. Some are large organizations working internationally,
such as The Nature Conservancy, while others work regionally
or locally. Land trusts of all sizes are run by people who understand
that natural resources are essential to the health of our communities.
Land trusts are the fastest growing conservation
movement in the United States. There are several land trusts working
in Wisconsin’s
Lake Michigan basin such as the River Revitalization Foundation
which is keeping natural lands thriving in downtown Milwaukee
and the Glacial Lakes Conservancy in Sheboygan that is working
to keep land available for agriculture.
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3. Q: What is the Lake
Michigan Shorelands Alliance?
A: The Lake
Michigan Shorelands Alliance (LMSA) is a collaborative group of land trusts working
to protect land and water resources in Wisconsin’s Lake
Michigan Basin. LMSA was formed in 2003 and has already undertaken
strategic conservation planning for the Lake Michigan watershed
and identified eighteen priority conservation sites in the Basin
that will be the focus of further conservation work.
Gathering
Waters was instrumental in establishing LMSA and continues to
work with Alliance members in their conservation and communication
efforts.
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4. Q: What is Gathering
Waters Conservancy and the main goals of your organization?
A: Gathering Waters Conservancy
was founded in 1994 with the goal of establishing a statewide network
of local land trusts in Wisconsin. At Gathering Waters we believe
the state’s land trusts are critical protectors
of the places that make Wisconsin special. Through direct assistance,
policy advocacy and statewide outreach efforts, we strive to
make Wisconsin land trusts stronger.
To date, more than 50 land
trusts work in Wisconsin. Their memberships include over 45,000
individuals and families; they have protected more than 200,000
acres for today’s and future generations.
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5. Q: What will
actually happen at the Great Lake Gathering events?
A: We hope
there will be productive conversation about each community’s
conservation priorities. We expect the Gatherings will attract
each community’s local policy makers, business leaders,
economic development organizations, land owners, civic organizations
and citizens. There will be keynote speakers and panel discussions
that will focus on specific local conservation issues. For instance,
in Green Bay we will hear from the land trust about how they
helped the city keep the Baird Creek Parkway available for public
recreation. Participants will talk about what measures might
help conserve other important lands in the area.
We hope the
discussions will develop a sense of optimism, creativity and
collaboration among many different groups interested in the future
of their shared land and water resources. We believe that by
introducing people working to protect those treasures to one
another, we can inspire innovative conservation around the region.
We will also provide attendees with a “toolkit” of
information, contacts and resources so that they leave equipped
to implement the ideas the Gatherings inspire.
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6. Q: Who will
attend the Great Lake Gatherings?
A: We expect attendees will
include a wide range of people who share a common interest in
protecting their community’s important natural resources.
We will invite community leaders, local policy makers, elected
officials, business owners, economic development experts, land
owners, community organization representatives and citizens.
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7. Q: Why are the Gatherings
being held in Green Bay, Sheboygan, Milwaukee and Mequon?
A: LMSA recently identified
18 priority areas in the Lake Michigan basin where natural lands
and wildlife habitat face challenges from increasing development
pressures. Some of those priority areas are in or near these four
communities. The land trusts in these four areas can help their
communities strategize ways to protect local recreation lands,
waterways and farmland, and to influence long-term economic development
planning.
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8. Q: What is the connection
between business and conservation – why
will businesses be active participants in the Gatherings?
A: Business
owners recognize that the health and appeal of life in the region
attracts a strong workforce and customer base. Many businesses are
actively contributing to their employee’s
quality of life through strong environmental stewardship. Land
trusts are community institutions working to preserve and improve
quality of life. We’re excited to connect corporate citizens
with their land trusts to see what potential partnerships lie
in their common interest to protect the places that make this
region home.
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9. Q: Are there specific
long-term economic benefits that can be realized in these areas
of Wisconsin by community leaders and citizens working together
on land and water conservation issues?
A: Yes, according to a recent Brooking Institute report,
by working together we could create an aggregate economic benefit
to our region of approximately $30 to $50 billion in increased
revenue and economic impact. Learn
more »
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10. Q: What position
does Gathering Waters Conservancy and Lake Michigan Shorelands
Alliance take on the Great Lakes Compact and why is it so important
to Wisconsin?
A: Our two organizations believe the Great Lakes Compact
is critical for the long term health of the Great Lakes. The
Compact, enacted by all states bordering the Great Lakes, is
a multi-state agreement to plan for the welfare of the water
resources of the basin. The fate of the region and our state
is tightly tied to the fate of the Great Lakes. The long-term
economic, health and quality of life benefits for the people
of Wisconsin are enormous. The Compact acknowledges that protection
of this vast basin has to be a cooperative venture. Our land
trusts are powerful community resources and protectors of water
quality; to maximize the value of their work they need the large-scale,
multi-state cooperation the Compact promises.
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11. Q: What is
the Great Lakes Regional Collaborative Strategy (GLRCS) and how
does it relate to the Gatherings?
A: The Great
Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy (GLRCS) is a comprehensive plan to modernize
sewage treatment, clean-up polluted harbors, restore wetlands,
and prevent unwanted, new species from invading the lakes. By
focusing on protecting land and water resources for future generations,
the Gatherings represent one of the key elements of the GLRCS.
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12. Q: What are the
most important points you hope community leaders and policy makers
will take away from the Great Lake Gatherings?
A: We hope community leaders and policy-makers
will view the Gatherings as an opportunity to listen to the concerns
of their constituents and fellow citizens. We also hope the Gatherings
encourage elected officials to formulate and promote ordinances
and legislation that support the environmental health of the
basin. We would like to see our law-makers leave a legacy that
will protect their local land and water resources, foster responsible
economic development and build environmentally-focused communities.
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13. Q: What are the
most important points that you want the general public to take
away from the Great Lake Gatherings? A: We want people
to leave the Gatherings invigorated by new connections. We want
to connect citizens, their land trusts, their policy makers,
neighbors, local businesses and other community leaders all of
whom share the same proverbial back yard. The Gatherings will
inspire action among people with a common interest in the health
of community natural resources. We believe these new connections
will generate ways to protect the places that attract wildlife,
families, visitors and businesses to the region and make Wisconsin
special.
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Questions? Call Liz
Walsh at (608) 251-9131 x12 or email liz [at] gatheringwaters.org.
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