Fish Like a GIRL

Last month I attended my first Lumberjack RC&D meeting as a voting member. The conservation committee from Vilas County nominated me to represent the county and I gladly agreed to do so. I am excited to have the chance to represent a county in the Northwoods where I have spent so many of my outdoor days.

I do stream monitoring in Vilas County. I fish there, I hike there and, overall, just enjoy the outdoors. While I was born and raised in Oneida County, both counties feel like “home” in many ways when I’m enjoying my favorite outdoor recreational activities.

That said, I came to the meeting with anticipation. I sat with the representative and county conservationist from Marinette County, a county which just recently rejoined Lumberjack. But perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. 

For those who do not know about Lumberjack or, perhaps, what an RC&D is all about, I’m going to back up a bit.

RC&D stands for Resource Conservation and Development. The RC&D Program was established in the Agriculture Act of 1962. Administration of the program was placed under the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Each RC7D Council nationwide is quite independent and has the ability to carry out those activities that will help each reach their most important goals. According to the National Association of RC&D Council’s website, there are more than 25,000 volunteers who serve on local councils.

Lumberjack is one of four RC&D Councils in Wisconsin. Golden Sands, River Country and Southwest Badger are the other three. Lumberjack is involved in a number of natural resource initiatives, as one might imagine. 

The counties we cover include Florence, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Shawano and Vilas. Working with the county land and water departments, we identify and fund natural resources and community projects. 

In a nutshell, what we do is attempt to blend government programs with local needs.

One of the things for which Lumberjack is responsible is the forest inventory. The Council has held the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Inventory Contract since 2002. They employ 10 inventory foresters to fulfill the obligations of this contract. 

Lumberjack holds two contracts, The Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) and the Wisconsin Continuous Forest Inventory (WiCFI). The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) carries out the FIA, and is responsible for measuring out approximately 550 plots. The data from these permanent plots allows annual tracking of forest conditions. The state contracts with Lumberjack to measure an additional 550 plots. 

With both of these inventories, the idea is to track regional forest trends over time. The information collected helps in determining forest extent, cover, volume, growth, mortality, removals and habitat as well as assessing the overall health of the forests. 

Lumberjack also awards community conservation grants. Each year entities apply for grants from the Council. Those applications are due December 31, so for entities still looking for funding for a project, there is still time to get in for this round of grant opportunities. 

This year, Lumberjack helped to fund nine different programs, a few of which we heard updates on during our meeting last week. Some of the projects this year included the ADA accessible combination fishing pier and kayak launch at Town Line Lake Park, a project with which many readers are likely familiar. 

Lumberjack also helped sponsor a project at Trees for Tomorrow, with upgrades and updates to outdoor classroom seating. 

Another cool project I learned about at the Lumberjack Council meeting was one that is in play in Shawano and Menominee counties. It is the WAMSCO project, which stands for Waterways Association of Menominee and Shawano Counties. We got to check out an education trailer the program uses to educate kids, and even adults, on waterways and conservation and protection of those waters. I have said it a number of times, but I think kids and conservation really go hand in hand. Whether it is terrestrial invasive species, Clean Boats Clean Waters, stream monitoring, or monitoring of the state’s other fun species of animals, getting to kids around that fourth-grade mark really can make a difference. Not only does it possibly get some of them thinking about a career in natural resources, but it brings that day home to their families. If they learn about all the critters that live in a stream and why it’s important to protect them and that stream, you can bet they are going to come home and tell mom and dad that day. They will probably tell grandma or grandpa the next time they come over. They might even tell the next person in line at Walmart who happens to have a pool noodle or some water wings in their cart about how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. 

It is funny, but that is the way kids work.

But back to Lumberjack. 

The Council also serves as a fiscal sponsor to several non-profit organizations and groups. One of those is Wisconsin Headwaters Invasives Partnership (WHIP), about which I have written several times in the past. WHIP is one of three Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs) in Lumberjack’s geographic location. Timberland Invasives Partnership (TIP), and Wild Rivers Invasive Species Coalition (WRISC) are the other two. 

Lumberjack is also the fiscal sponsor the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (WTFP). This is a consortium of groups dedicated to building young forests on appropriate lands, both public and private. The idea in expanding these forests is to also expand habitat for some declining bird populations such as the American woodcock and the golden winged warbler. 

Another group for which Lumberjack is the fiscal sponsor is FLOW AIS. FLOW stands for Forest, Langlade, Marinette and Oconto Waterways. 

Derek Thorne is the coordinator for this group. I first met him when he was working as an LTE for Stephanie Boismenue at Oneida County land and water. He has since moved on to run this program, which is great for him, and he works as a Lumberjack employee overseeing the program

The Council also employs two certified and licensed pesticide applicators for last resort invasive species control. 

As I said, I am super excited to be sitting on this council and plan to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from and work with some of the best conservation minds in the Northwoods. I am excited to see what projects are brought forward after the first of the year and to learn about all aspects of those projects. It is always great to network with like-minded people, but it is even better to learn about all of the projects people have thought up and planned out that are just waiting for funding. 

To have a small part in seeing some of these projects to the finish line is an amazing opportunity, and one that I will not take lightly.