 Every year, the Frozen Assets Festival & Fundraiser raises the profile of our lakes as one of our community’s greatest assets. With over 10,000 attendees in 2020, Frozen Assets raised more than $130,000 for our lakes! Since 2012, Frozen Assets has raised $1,200,000 for lake improvement projects, educational programs, and water quality monitoring.
Join Clean Lakes Alliance at The Edgewater for the Frozen Assets Festival! We’ll have FREE, family-friendly activities on frozen Lake Mendota! Thank you to our platinum hosting sponsor The Edgewater, and our other sponsors for making this community event possible.
The Frozen Assets Festival will kick off with the 5K Run/Walk, held entirely on the ice in front of The Edgewater. Register HERE
 The rest of the day will include family-friendly activities on the ice and The Edgewater Plaza. Events will be determined based on current PHMDC guidelines.
Schedule
Saturday, February 5th, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sunday, February 6th, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The Edgewater & Lake Mendota
FREE, open to the public
All Day Events: (Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.)
- Pond Hockey with Phi Gamma Delta – Mu Chapter
- Snowshoeing, courtesy of Rutabaga Paddlesports
- Skydiving ice jump with Seven Hills Skydiving
- Mary B. ice boat on display
- Slap shot inflatable game, courtesy of Madison Capitols Hockey Team
- Science on Ice with the Saturday Science team at the Discovery Building
- Learn about animals that live in cold with WI Sea Grant
- Learn about freezing cold fluids with the Wonders of Physics
- Explore how UW Center for Limnology monitors our lakes in the winter months
- Learn about invisible particles called neutrinos with IceCube
- Learn about ice cores with Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey scientists
Scheduled Activities (Saturday):
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8 – 9:30 a.m. Check in for Frozen Asset 5K Run/Walk
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10 a.m. Frozen Assets 5K Run/Walk begins
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10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Kites on Mendota with Wisconsin Kiter’s Club
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12:30 p.m. Speedskating demonstration with Madison Speedskating Club
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1 p.m. Figure skating demonstration with Figure Skating Club of Madison
All Day Events: (Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.)
- Kites on Mendota with Wisconsin Kiter’s Club
Sector Team Updates
Feb 9: 9:30am - 3pm
Juneau, WI
Registration for the Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil – Healthy Water Group’s 6th Annual Soil Health Expo is open! Please see the attached flyer for more information on the event. We will have Gabe Brown, soil health guru and farmer from North Dakota along with Dr. Rodrigo Werle from UW-Extension discussing how to make soil health practices a success on your farm. That along with some testimonies from local farmers and the successes they have had with cover crops and reduced tillage.
To register for this event, please choose one of the following methods listed below. Thank you and hope to see you there!
To register online: https://dodgecountyfarmers.com/front-page
To register on the phone: (920) 386-3660 (Dodge County Land and Water Conservation Department).
Wisconsin Land and Water maintains a comprehensive calendar of conservation workshops, training, and educational opportunities for our entire state. The calendar allows visitors to search by date, location, and topics. Please visit their website for more information.
February 18, 2022: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Online
Tread through the standards and learn to better read and speak the language. Join us for an hour with DNR veterans for a deliberate walk-through of NR 151, the history of revisions, and an emphasis on expounding the standards/terminology most commonly asked about.
Tue Feb 22: 9am-11am
Location: Online
Evaluations are a requirement under s. NR 243. 16 for new permittees, facilities that haven’t been approved, or for specific reasons, e.g. age. When evaluation reports are submitted in a clear and readable format and contains sufficient information, the review process goes faster and potentially without the need for another evaluation submittal. These evaluations are highly recommended and benefits all involved. The purposes of the workshop include:
- Improvement opportunities in evaluation submittals
- Evaluating waste storage ponds
- Evaluating feed storage
- Evaluating production area runoff controls
- Days of storage information and expectations
Registration: Register by Friday, Feb 9th (Free - no fees).
For more information, contact:
Jeff Krieder 608-212-6547, or
Bernie Michaud 608-512-2065
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The Water Action Volunteers (WAV) citizen stream monitoring program is an ongoing partnership between the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and Wisconsin citizen volunteers.
The program aims to preserve, protect and restore Wisconsin’s 86,000+ miles of streams and rivers by educating and empowering volunteers to (1) gather high-quality stream data useful for decision-making and natural resource management, and (2) share their data and knowledge.
Annually, more than 500 volunteers and an estimated 2,000 supervised students monitor 600+ stream locations throughout the state.
How do I get involved (click this link for more info)?
To get started as a WAV volunteer, you must 1) complete the Online Introduction to WAV course, and 2) attend a 4-6 hour in-person field training at a stream near you! In-person field trainings are held throughout the state from late April–May and combine classroom instruction with hands-on field training to teach you how to measure the six WAV parameters of stream health. You may have a local WAV coordinator based in your area who can tell you when local trainings are scheduled, or you can check our Events page to see upcoming training sessions. We typically post our spring training schedule in late February.
Additional information can be found in this factsheet, “How to get started as a volunteer.”
Washington and Waukesha Counties are in the process of hiring a new Aquatic Invasive Species coordinator. The link to the job announcement is here:
Washington and Waukesha County AIS Coordinator Job Announcement
The Counties plan on having someone hired before Springtime. In the meantime; the people to contact for AIS issues for each county are:
Washington County: Paul Sebo 262-335-4805
Waukesha County: Alan Barrows 262-896-8307
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The Wisconsin Land+Water - Executive Committee made the painful decision to shift the in-person 2022 Annual Conference scheduled for March 2-4 to a virtual setting. The Executive Committee felt the move was necessary due to the rapid increase in Covid19 infections and the uncertainty looking forward. Our number one priority is the health and well-being of our staff along with everyone that would be participating in the Land+Water conference. Read the memo from Executive Director Matt Krueger.
Pivoting to a virtual conference that’s six weeks away (instead of six months like last year) means we will make some adjustments. The conference will have fewer sessions, but will still include the high-quality content you've come to expect. Sessions will take place via Zoom (with no concurrent sessions), at a pace that allows for comfortable breaks in between. Some previously planned breakout sessions may instead be included at our July County Conservation in-person meeting, and others will be offered as WI Land+Water trainings. We appreciate your understanding and continued support.
We plan to have the new agenda and registration distributed the week of January 24. Read more...
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Urban Nonpoint Source & Storm Water (UNPS & SW) Construction Grant applications for projects beginning in 2023 are now available on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s grant program webpage.
The following eligible applicants have until April 15, 2022 to submit applications for 2023 construction projects: cities, villages, towns, counties, regional planning commissions, tribal governments and special purpose lake, sewage and sanitary districts.
The Urban Nonpoint Source & Storm Water grant program offers local governments competitive grants to control pollution that is carried by storm water runoff from diffuse urban sources. The grants reimburse costs of construction projects that control this type of pollution. Eligible construction projects include:
- Construction of structural urban best management practices including wet detention
- Infiltration, or wetland basins, or infiltration trenches
- Engineering design and construction services for best management practices installation
- Land acquisition and easement purchase, including appraisal cost
- Storm sewer rerouting and removal of structures
- Streambank and shoreline stabilization
Please note that Urban Nonpoint Source & Storm Water planning grant applications will not be solicited in 2022 but will be solicited again in 2023.
Join Us: Urban Nonpoint Source Application Webinar
The DNR and UW-Madison Division of Extension will host an Urban Nonpoint Source Application Webinar from 1 – 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2022.
The webinar offers an overview of the Urban Nonpoint Source Construction grant program, what's changed since the last grant cycle and what makes a good construction project.
Register in advance for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with meeting details.
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To better understand the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, the Dept. of Health Services is testing samples of wastewater across the state to look for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This project is a collaboration between the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Monitoring wastewater is used for early detection of COVID-19 within a community. For people with COVID-19, the virus can be detected in their feces shortly after they are infected with the virus, even before they experience symptoms or if they are infected but asymptomatic. By testing wastewater, we can measure the amount of the virus and see whether the levels are increasing or decreasing. This can be an early warning sign of increasing COVID-19 cases within a community. Read more...
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Targeted Runoff Management (TRM) grant applications for projects beginning in 2023 are now available on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s grant program webpage.
The following eligible applicants have until April 15, 2022 to submit applications for 2023 Targeted Runoff Management projects: cities, villages, towns, counties, regional planning commissions, tribal governments and special purpose lake, sewage and sanitary districts.
The Targeted Runoff Management Grant Program offers local governments competitive grants to control nonpoint source pollution. There are four types of grant projects: large-scale total daily maximum load (TMDL), large-scale non-TMDL, small-scale TMDL and small-scale non-TMDL.
Eligible projects include:
- Construction of structural best management practices
- Implementation of non-structural cropping practices
- Staffing costs to plan and install management practices
- Agricultural projects implementing state agricultural performance standards and prohibitions
- Agricultural or urban projects designed to meet TMDL goals approved by the Environmental Protection Agency
Join Us: Targeted Runoff Management Application Webinar
The DNR and UW-Madison Division of Extension will host a Targeted Runoff Management Application Webinar from 9 - 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 15, 2022.
The webinar offers an overview of the Targeted Runoff Management Grant Program, with particular focus on the agricultural application, including both large- and small-scale Targeted Runoff Management projects and TMDL and non-TMDL projects. The webinar will provide an overview of what’s changed since last year and review project eligibility filters and how to pro-rate eligible costs (when applicable). Register in advance for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with meeting details.
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