2020 Lake Michigan Champions of Conservation

In 2020, the following nominees were selected as our Lake Michigan Champions of Conservation:

Lifetime Achievement Award: William Mueller, Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory

William Mueller is the former director of the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory. Present at every moment of the Observatory’s young life and the author of many of its proudest accomplishments, Mueller retired in October 2019.

Mueller served as Director since 2013. He succeeded the Observatory’s founder, the late Dr. Noel Cutright, one of the state’s leading ornithologists, who died that year. Under Mueller’s leadership, the Observatory sponsored scientific meetings, a hawk watch, butterfly workshops, and annual celebrations of World Migratory Bird Day, growing the organization into a respected independent non-profit research, education, and conservation advocacy group.

Mueller coordinated the Observatory’s Waterbird Watch at Harrington Beach State Park beginning in 2012 and oversaw the growth of the Southeastern Wisconsin Conservation Summit, a popular two-day scientific conference held each year in early November.

The Observatory’s former chief scientist, Bryan Lenz, now coalition campaign manager at the American Bird Conservancy, characterizes Mueller’s work this way: “Bill poured his heart and soul into making the Observatory what it is today. For that, Wisconsin's birds and I are grateful.”

Mueller was conservation chair for the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology from 2002 to 2012. He served on the steering committees of both the Midwest Migration Network, founded in 2014, and the second Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas, where since 2015 he led statewide training efforts that helped recruit more than 1,900 volunteers for five years of field work.

Mueller also has been the driving force behind the creation of a network of Motus migration monitoring towers in Wisconsin. Under his leadership and with his collaboration, Motus towers were erected at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve, Camp Whitcomb Mason, Woodland Dunes Nature Center, and Eagle Valley Nature Preserve. His legacy continues, as new towers are being erected this year at the Milwaukee County Zoo and Madison Audubon Society’s Goose Pond Sanctuary.

He is actively involved with a number of ornithological groups around the state, including the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership, where he is co-chair of the Issues Committee and a member of the Steering Committee. Mueller is also project coordinator for the Milwaukee BIOME Project, a group of 12 scientists and more than 150 volunteers working on the migratory stopover ecology of birds in an urban area.

Mueller earned his master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee after completing graduate research on the biogeography and recent decline of the Red-headed Woodpecker.

In 2013, he walked 246 miles across the state of Wisconsin to increase awareness about bird conservation and to raise funds for the Bird Protection Fund of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. He received a Migratory Bird Treaty Centennial Stopover Award in October 2016.

Mueller has led by example, generously sharing his knowledge, passion and determination for bird conservation with anyone who had the good fortune to know him. Ryan Brady, conservation biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, sums this up well:

“You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more hard working and passionate about bird conservation than Bill Mueller. His energy transcended his age, his knowledge was cutting edge, and his experience unmatched. Simply put, Bill got things done. And he did them not for himself but for the birds, the health of our environment, and to ensure that future generations might experience the simple yet necessary joys of nature.”

Dick and Mary Smythe, Climate Change Coalition of Door County

Dick and Mary Smythe founded the Climate Change Coalition of Door County (CCCDC) more than seven years ago and have been the driving force behind the Coalition since its formation, tirelessly doing the lion’s share of the work.

The Coalition was the first organization in northeast Wisconsin to focus on the crucial issue of global warming at a time when there was a need for outreach and education but resources on the science of climate change, its impacts, and mitigation and adaptation strategies were largely unavailable. Raising awareness and understanding of climate issues, and thereby fostering the political will to act, is crucial to the future health of the Great Lakes, our communities and agriculture. Dick and Mary realized the responsibility of Great Lakes communities to lead on this issue and took the helm.

As part of the Coalition’s activities, Dick and Mary spearheaded a unique drive to get area businesses to sign on to a Climate Declaration, stating that climate change is real, driven by human activity and demands action. To date, over 125 area businesses have signed the Declaration. While a number of volunteers solicited signatures, the two of them led the drive and have secured the most signatories. It is hard to overstate the importance of the Declaration as a unique accomplishment in Wisconsin, and it continues to grow, showing the broad public and business support for dealing with climate change as an issue that affects everyone regardless of political affiliation.

Under Dick and Mary’s leadership, the understanding of climate change has grown significantly over the last six years. Every spring, CCCDC has put on a Climate Forum in Sturgeon Bay, bringing in nationally recognized experts. Attendance has averaged at about 135 people, including a number of community and political leaders, teachers, students, health care professionals, land trust leaders and others. The Forum has received rave reviews.

CCCDC has also hosted periodic evening sessions with speakers and discussions, and in collaboration with the Peninsula Pulse, has run a monthly Climate Corner column continually for at least five years, featuring writers from throughout Wisconsin and beyond. There is no question that CCCDC has significantly increased recognition in Door County and beyond of the causes, impacts and needed actions to address global warming.

Dick and Mary lead by example. They are tireless workers who inspire others to volunteer and participate. They are optimistic and always searching for ways to improve and extend CCCDC’s outreach and activities. They are also practical and never overlook the nuts and bolts of keeping the organization on track.

CCCDC has flourished against the odds for new volunteer organizations over the last eight years and has become a very well-recognized Door County community-based organization. More and more people see and understand the importance of addressing climate change as their responsibility to future generations. And with the continued leadership of Dick and Mary, CCCDC will almost certainly continue to thrive.

Rebecca Armbruster and Jamie Propson, Mishicot School District

The Mishicot School District has a unique opportunity with their K-12 school buildings adjacent to school owned property with a variety of habitats for outdoor learning. Habitats include forests, riparian, grasslands, and wetlands. Segments of the East Twin River (connects to Lake Michigan) and Johnson Creek also run through the property.

Rebecca Armbruster and Jamie Propson, two teachers within the Mishicot School District, have led the efforts to renovate a nature center on school property, rehabilitate trails, eradicate invasive species, and improve environmental curriculum for K-12 students within the district.

After 4-5 years of work, the building has been transformed into a thriving nature center packed with taxidermy fish and wildlife including full-size bear and deer mounts. Trails are once again usable and pleasant for the local community and students. With plenty of student help, invasive species such as buckthorn and honeysuckle have been removed from forested areas. Prairie seed was planted within grassland areas with the help of local conservation agencies. Student-built projects such as birdhouses and benches have been placed along trails.

Training opportunities are being held to enhance environmental education curriculum for teachers from both the Mishicot SD and surrounding districts. Teachers recently participated in an on-site training through a partnership with Project LEAF, Wisconsin’s K-12 Forestry training program for teachers.

Partnerships have been built with a variety of education and community organizations through this project and collaborations have emerged that will sustain the project for many years to come. Local businesses, the Mishicot Lions Club, the Mishicot FFA chapter, Woodland Dunes Nature Center, Wisconsin DNR, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Project LEAF, LNRP, other grantors, staff, students, and teachers are some of the partners.

Jamie and Becky exemplify strong leadership qualities and lead by example. None of these improvements would have happened without their vision and dedication. They organize events, motivate and inspire students and teachers into action, and give their extra time on nights and weekends for this project. Staff, teachers, and the community has been spurred into action because of their leadership. The legacy from this project will inspire environmental education and stewardship for many years to come.

Eric Peterson, Fox 11 News

Eric Peterson, an Assignment Reporter with Fox 11 News in Green Bay, often covers conservation stories within northeast Wisconsin. With shrinking advertising revenues, pressures on the media, and other stresses on local news outlets, very few reporters are willing to cover conservation and environmental stories. Eric is one of the few reporters that seeks out conservation stories that air weekly on the nightly news.

He is a one-person-show that reaches out to conservation professionals and their organizations for story ideas; conducts interviews; and edits and produces his own stories. He goes out of his way to understand his topics and gain firsthand knowledge. Eric takes boat trips with fish biologists on rough waters, tromps through muddy farm fields to understand management practices that improve water quality, seeds wild rice on blustery days in November in Lower Green Bay, and travels to remote islands to document preservation projects.

Eric helps educate the public and brings attention to important conservation projects and issues within the region. Very few, if any, other reporters are currently producing these types of stories within the Green Bay news market. Eric’s gift is that he is able to distill the technical information behind his stories into simple messages that resonate with the public. Through his creative process, he is able to help promote the need and understanding for conservation within the region.

Eric’s stories bring attention to the important conservation work being done throughout the region, the need for sustained funding, and the importance of our natural resources. He is helping educate the public, decision-makers, and others in a way that the community of conservation professional often cannot. His impacts will be felt for many generations to come.

Eric has built relationships with the local conservation community throughout northeast Wisconsin. He is easy to work with and makes his collaborators comfortable being on camera. His editing weaves together stories that shine the light on important conservation topics throughout northeast Wisconsin.

Eric is a strong leader and champion for natural resources. His stories educate tens of thousands of local residents about the importance of conservation. Many of his TV stories are also translated into social media posts with wide distribution. He is truly unrivaled in his commitment to the continuous production of conservation stories throughout the year.

Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance

The Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance is a growing non-profit that works closely with partners including municipalities, county land conservation departments, WDNR, waste-water treatment plants, universities, elected officials and other non-profits in the watershed to advance their mission of protecting and restoring the waters of the Fox-Wolf River Basin. Together they have forged a partnership that is greater than the sum of its parts and are really driving change and a cross-jurisdictional approach to improving water quality.

As a partner in agricultural conservation, Fox-Wolf is currently managing over $6M in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants and provides funding for staff in four county land conservation departments, cost share for agricultural best management practices and research. As home of the Northeast Wisconsin Stormwater Consortium (NEWSC), Fox-Wolf staff provide direct support for communities with urban storm water permits and work with its members to provide training for municipal staff. Support from NEWSC members allow Fox-Wolf staff to provide K-12 education, and to exhibit and host a Watershed Cleanup that engages more than 1,000 volunteers annually. As a leader in searching for cost effective solutions, Fox-Wolf has worked on advancing alternate compliance options for point sources. In 2018, Fox-Wolf facilitated a water quality trade for total suspended solids (TSS) for Heart of the Valley Metropolitan Sewerage District. This was the first TSS trade and the first trade in the state to occur in a watershed with a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).  

While historically the organization’s efforts focused heavily on the Lower Fox River, the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance has been working in the Winnebago System as the Winnebago Waterways Program Coordinator since 2016 and completed the Winnebago Waterways Lake Management Plan earlier this year. The organization also expanded programming by adding AIS Coordination for the Winnebago Waterways in 2017, which expanded to cover a five-county region in 2020, and began working with the Waterways Association of Menominee and Shawano Counties to improve lake and stream health in the northern part of the watershed in 2018.

The newest endeavor of the organization is collaborating with the Alliance for the Great Lakes to develop the Lower Fox River Clean Water Agenda. With support from WDNR and many other partners, the Agenda will integrate existing planning and management tools, with a funding strategy and governance framework to build additional support to meet water quality goals in the bay of Green Bay.  

The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is led by a Board of Directors who are actively working in the watershed to advance Fox-Wolf’s mission. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance staff is accepting the award on the organization’s behalf.