Our Wisconsin Waters

This year, the Program Theme Committee has chosen “water” as it theme series following the Nobel Conference’s examination of “Our Global Ocean” as a source of inspiration, danger, and knowledge. Today, Nicole Van Helden, Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy, discussed how the mission of the Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.  They are a private nonprofit conservation organization that works in more than 30 countries.  There are 1 million members worldwide – 22,000 being in Wisconsin. Scientists predict by 2025, two thirds of the population will face water shortages.  People take this freshwater resource for granted not realizing where this water is coming from and the actions we take that have an impact on it.  The Alliance for Water Stewardship is working to develop a voluntary program based on an international water stewardship standard to define actions that businesses and water users worldwide can and should take to improve social, environmental and financial sustainability of water use.   One half of the world’s population currently lacks access to safe drinking water and sanitation.  Appleton’s drinking water comes from Lake Winnebago.  Seventy seven percent of American’s (not on a private well) were unable to identify the source of their drinking water.  If people don’t realize the source of their drinking water, they are less inclined to be involved in what’s needed to protect this resource.  The Green Bay Watershed encompasses northern forests, agricultural lands, big cities and small towns, connecting people from Appleton and Escanaba to the Fox and Peshtigo Rivers.  Everything that happens on the land or in the water in this watershed has an impact downstream.  What happens in Lake Winnebago or the Fox River has an impact in the Bay of Green Bay and Lake Michigan.  The Bay of Green Bay is one of the largest freshwater estuaries in the world.  Over 10 million people rely on Lake Michigan for their drinking water.  Green Bay’s health has been degraded over the years from chemical pollutants, nutrients, sediments, evasive species and wetland loss.  Even through the overall health has been challenged, this system is capable of adapting and stabilizing for the long term.  It is still one of the most ecologically productive systems in the Great Lakes.  Important water initiatives have been underway in the Fox River for a number of years to restore its health.  The Boldt Company is coordinating the dredging and water clean-up to remove the largest PCB contamination in the United States.  Several years ago, The Nature Conservancy was asked to convene partners working in the Green Bay Watershed to come up with a comprehensive vision and plan to create a healthy watershed.  Some of the priorities that emerged where to protect the remaining coastal wetlands and enhance population of key species such as the Northern Pike. Services that the wetlands provide include shoreline protection from erosion, cleaning and filtering polluted water, habitat for fish and migratory birds, and buffers from intense storm events.  Over 70% of the wetlands have been lost on the west shore of Green Bay.  For Northern Pike to have a healthy population, they have to have spawning area.  Some of these areas are blocked by a bridge or culvert.  The Nature Conservancy is working to identify where these barriers are and to remove them to open up habitats for the Northern Pike.  The Door Peninsula is one of the most biologically diverse landscapes in the Great Lakes region.  The Nature Conservancy has protected nearly 6,000 acres in Door County.  The Great Lakes contain 20% of earth’s freshwater, is the drinking water source of 40 million people and there are 500 beaches.  How can you make a difference to ensure clean or abundant water?  Replace expensive, less quality-regulated bottled water with drinking fountains and provide your employees with reusable cups. You will save money, reduce your carbon footprint attached to buying and discarding petroleum-based plastics, and ensure that the water that comes from out taps never ceases to be of the highest quality because people will always expect it to be such.