We protect what communities depend upon.
CSP organizes to protect the resources we all depend upon, seeking to engage the entire community in the process. After many years advocating for this land, its waters and its people, we see these efforts not as battles to be won, but as opportunities to engage with neighbors and bring people together around issues that impact us all. We aim to work together for lasting solutions.
Scroll on to see how we protect and why. As you read, look for opportunities to engage with our projects and campaigns. Decisions are made by those who show up, we encourage you to participate!
Water Quality Monitoring
Whether you fish, swim, or paddle, we all know that water is a major part of what makes the Driftless special.
Contact:
Omaru Heras, Water Quality Monitoring Program Manager
oheras@crawfordstewardship.org
Reports:
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Wisconsin WAV database (includes data collected by CSP)
Our ongoing work includes:
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Facilitating at least one Water Action Volunteers (WI DNR program and UW-Extension) Water Quality Monitoring Training in April/May of each year.
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Coordinating:
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Active volunteers at 13 sites (streams and springs) of specific concern in Crawford county, ensuring data logging.
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High school students at a site next to North Crawford District School in an educational collaboration.
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Volunteers at two sites being intermittently monitored for Microplastics.
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Supporting citizen monitors in neighboring counties through coordination, logistical help, and guidance towards available resources.
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🦺 website under construction 🦺 [...add in testing, working with labs, analyzing/publishing results, and reporting/recording to agencies.]
Significant Results:
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2008 – 2021: Over 100 volunteers have been trained in alliance with the WAV Program (WI DNR and UW-Extension) & Valley Stewardship Network, and the 2017 Water Rangers of the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project. There are 30 current active volunteers in 8 sites of concern and other local sites.
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2013: Crawford Stewardship Project (CSP) received the Citizen-based Monitoring Award for Group Effort at the Citizen-based Monitoring Conference in Wisconsin Rapids held by UW-Extension and the WI DNR.
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2016: WI WAV Stream Monitoring Award in the “Adult Volunteer” category won by CSP volunteers Ellen Brooks (also a CSP Board member) & Dave Hackett.
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2018: WI WAV Stream Monitoring Award in the “Adult Volunteer” category won by CSP volunteers Debbie & Bill Hiller.
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Due to the constant submission of more than 10 years of data, Sites # 10032119, # 10044917 and #10052569 were placed on the impaired waters lists in 2018, 2020 and 2022, respectively.
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2022: The WI WAV Stream Monitoring Award in the “Adult Volunteer” category was given to CSP volunteers Kathy (who also was a CSP Board member and staff) & Paul Byrne.
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2023-2024: 15 volunteers passionately monitoring 13 sites (8 of specific concern, 3 requested by the DNR, and one for young students).
What you can do:
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The spring trainings consist of three stream monitoring levels available to people who want to join existing sites of concern and tributaries of the WI and Kickapoo Rivers in Crawford Co. Monitoring is done once a month for an hour or so from May till October, and is a great and fun way to help out while getting outside!
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Level 1 (first year): teaches entry level volunteers how to monitor dissolved oxygen, temperature, transparency, streamflow, habitat assessment, and macroinvertebrates (biotic index), using Water Action Volunteers (WAV) methods. An excellent way for everyone to participate in citizen science and to get to know their local waters better. No previous experience necessary!
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Level 2: brings volunteers to the next level of independence, and involves using more sophisticated devices to test for dissolved oxygen, pH and temperature.
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Level 3: involves research and special projects, such as Total Phosphorus testing. We also include and sample for E. coli, total coliform, background bacteria, fungi, Staphylococcus sp & aureus, MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and DNA marker for specific feces sources. State and local labs are pillars in this process.
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The data collected gives us a baseline of stream health, which is critical for determining how various types of land use affects our watershed. Every result is carefully recorded, shared publicly, and submitted to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Extension University of WI-Madison, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
**🦺 website under contruction 🦺**
pardon the discombobulation
Our approaches:
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We watchdog the siting of polluting industries in our communities, and monitor those already here.
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We alert residents and landowners about public processes that could impact community health, local control, and natural resources.
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We facilitate bottom-up communication to empower those most impacted to participate productively in relevant decision-making processes.
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We catalyze citizen groups & build grassroots networks. Since 2009 we’ve catalyzed and supported over a dozen new groups at local, regional, and state levels, working on a range of issues from mining to agriculture to protectors of unique local ecosystems.
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We work with with allies, experts, media, and government, coordinating and aligning our organizational strategy with wider movements.
Our work has directly resulted in hundreds of letters to the editor and contributed to articles on issues related to our mission. Our many campaigns facilitating public input have resulted in a broad array of resolutions, moratoriums, and ordinances at township and county levels; in one instance our organizing contributed to over 1200 comments opposing a CAFO permit.
Industrial-scale operations threaten our local communities in multiple ways: by depleting shared resources, polluting our water & air, exporting wealth away from our local economy, and contributing to industry consolidation that puts small and medium-scale operations out of business.