Recent News

Results Posted on Public Meetings for Regional AIS Plan 

To read comments from public meetings on the regional AIS plan held in fall, 2007, check this web site under Projects , Citizen Involvement and AIS. The plan will soon be available to the public. It has been drafted by Coordinator Candice Mortara and currently is being reviewed by the AIS Steering Committee, a 15 member Advisory group, and the Winnebago Lakes Council. Implementation of the plan depends on partnerships with area municipalities, civic and conservation groups and the general public. Funding for the plan comes from a $75,000 state grant applied for in 2006 by the Lakes Council, UW Oshkosh and UW-Extension.

REPORT ON LAKE BUTTE DES MORTS SURVEY AVAILABLE

About 70 percent of the 630 property owners on Lake Butte des Morts recently returned a survey of their views, attitudes and practices on their waterfront property. The survey was undertaken by the Winnebago Lakes Council and the Butte des Morts Conservation Club with assistance from UW-Extension. Thanks to the enthusiastic response, the Lakes Council and other groups will be able to design programs to promote environmentally responsible behavior. The idea behind the survey came from Doug McKenzie-Mohr's Community-Based Social Marketing, a book that may be of interest to area residents. Results of the survey have been tabulated and are now available. Contact us.

Tools Raise Community Awareness about Lakes

Three tools developed by the Winnebago Lakes Council are now available to the public to help raise community awareness about stewardship projects for the Winnebago Pool lakes.

1. Media Contacts for the Winnebago Lakes Area. Groups and individuals wishing to promote their lake projects now have access to a media list of radio and TV stations, daily and weekly newspapers, and other publications specifically addressing the five counties surrounding the Winnebago Pool. Where available, the person responsible for environmental news is noted. The Media List is modeled after one created by the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative for a broader audience. You may want to look at this group's website, which also contains a Communications Plan describing how to convey your message to the public: www.wisconsinbirds.org.
2. Inventory of Protection and Improvement Projects on the Winnebago Pool. For groups and individuals seeking information about what's happening on our lakes, this inventory lists the Pool's most visible agencies and organizations, with brief descriptions of projects and responsibilities attributed to them.
3. Winnebago Lakes Council Annual Stewardship Awards. These awards will recognize individuals and groups who contribute to the protection and improvement of the Winnebago Lakes. Later this year the general public and organizations with interest in the lakes will be contacted by the Lakes Council to nominate individuals and groups for the first presentations. Six annual awards are proposed.

These tools were developed by the Lake Council with financial assistance from the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation and a Wisconsin DNR Small Scale Planning Grant.

Download and print these tools. Adobe Acrobat reader required.