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Recommendations and Considerations
 Site conservation planning at the local level will create a set of more meaningful, site-specific strategies for conservation of resources at each site. However, there are broader conceptual strategies which have applicability across multiple sites, and throughout the Lake Michigan basin. These strategies will be implemented by the Alliance partners, in coordination with other organizations and agencies, to complement and support the site-specific work they undertake.
Recommended strategies include:
1. The Lake Michigan Shorelands Alliance should continue to meet as an Alliance and each land trust should continue working to build their respective capacity by teaching and learning from other land trusts in the Alliance.
2. Alliance partners will take the lead on developing site conservation plans for each of the priority project areas in their respective service areas.
3. Develop mechanisms to integrate this plan and the subsequent site conservation planning efforts into local Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning. This could be accomplished through involvement of local elected officials and plan commissions in site planning workshops. Implement coordinated education & outreach on recommended conservation actions, targeting local elected officials, plan commissions and planning consultants.
4. Develop outreach strategies for Alliance partner members and others about the ecological, recreational and economic value of conserving these sites, and build a constituency to advocate for their protection, and inclusion in Smart Growth plans.
5. Work with the Wisconsin Department of Resources’ Bureau of Endangered Resources to designate appropriate priority areas as State Natural Areas or expand current SNA boundaries which overlap or fall within priority areas, thus providing eligibility for State Stewardship funds for property acquisition or easements at those sites.
6. Share this plan with potential
funders as a means to direct private and public protection monies
to each priority area. Programs such as the Wisconsin Coastal Management
Program, North American Wetlands Conservation Act, EPA's Great Lakes
National Program Office, and others could provide a great benefit
in meeting the conservation needs in the respective areas.
7. Work closely with legislators, at both the state and federal level, to maintain support for programs vital to land protection in Wisconsin, and provide opportunities for accessing appropriations for projects within the priority project areas.
 8. Distribute this plan to each of the planning organizations and agencies engaged in resource protection within the basin, through site conservation plans and comprehensive planning workshops.
9. Pursue opportunities for increased capacity building funds to the Alliance partners through joint grant proposals and foundation requests.
10. Build on current county-level work in the seven southeastern Wisconsin counties to develop coalitions of environmental, conservation and advocacy groups working on common critical conservation projects and issues. These coalitions can provide visibility, support and resources for accomplishing the conservation goals set out in site plans, as well as raise awareness of and funding for open space and natural area protection.
a. Work in partnership with the Milwaukee County Conservation Coalition on developing support for a bond referendum for open space protection.
b. Partner with the Land Conservation Partnership of Washington County to build support and secure funding for a county-wide PDR program.
11. Ensure that major federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation , and Liability Act (CERCLA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the like, are protected and appropriately implemented.
12. Revise this assessment regularly, to incorporate new information about natural resources, conservation opportunities, significant threats and partnership opportunities.
Funding Opportunities for Implementation
Three general areas where opportunities for implementation seem to be strong are:
1. Fox River Valley
and greater Green Bay watershed -- the Fox River Natural Resources
Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlement provides funding for protection
and restoration activities throughout the northern part of Wisconsin's
Lake Michigan basin;
 2. Milwaukee Metropolitan
region – the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's
Conservation Plan and GreenSeams program provide funding for protection
and restoration activities within the watersheds of the Menomonee,
Root, Oak Creek and Milwaukee rivers; and
3. Door County --
the county's conservation partners have secured funding from the
North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant program for land
acquisition.
Other potential funding sources for
implementation of the strategies outlined above, as well as site-specific
strategies developed for each priority area includes The
Conservation Fund's low-interest revolving loan fund for
conservation projects within the Great Lakes basin. The Environmental
Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office
makes grants for projects which provide conservation benefit
to the Great Lakes basin. The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat
Network Fund makes grants of $500 - $3500 for grassroots,
citizen-led initiatives to protect and restore aquatic habitats
within the basin. The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
makes grants to local non-profit conservation organizations
for projects that enhance and restore coastal natural resources.
Read
the Landscapes of Opportunity report Conclusion»
Please contact Liz Walsh at liz [at]
gatheringwaters.org or 608-251-9131 x12 with any questions about
Landscapes of Opportunity.
Photo provided
courtesy of Gill Gribb |
