COON VALLEY, Wis.– Watershed planning efforts in the Coon Creek Watershed are moving forward, thanks to a $10,000 grant awarded to the nonprofit Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC) by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI-DNR) in early February.
The watershed plan, which follows the Nine Element framework outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is meant to help assess the contributing causes and sources of nonpoint source pollution, involve key stakeholders and prioritize restoration and protection strategies to address water quality problems.
The planning process is a collaboration between CCCWC, partners in La Crosse, Monroe, and Vernon Counties, Valley Stewardship Network, and Coon Creek Watershed residents. With the help of its recently awarded WI-DNR Surface Water Grant, CCCWC will support the planning efforts by facilitating farmer and community member involvement in the process, developing outreach and education strategies, identifying management measures that will help reduce nutrient pollution in critical areas, and more.
“The amount of work happening at the local level to support our lakes, rivers and watersheds is incredible. It’s amazing to see the level of communication and coordination between members of these organizations, local government representatives, DNR Biologists and other stakeholders,” said WI-DNR Surface Water Grant Program Manager Jen Jefferson, in a DNR press release. “The effort it takes to develop such meaningful projects is commendable.”
The Surface Water Grant Program is designed to support local and regional partnerships working to improve water quality across Wisconsin counties and watersheds. According to WI-DNR, it allocated more than $6 million in grant funding to CCCWC and other Wisconsin-based nonprofit organizations and municipal and county governments this year. In its grant announcement, WI-DNR highlighted CCCWC’s work as an example of how its surface water grant program can be implemented on a watershed scale.
This is not the first time CCCWC has been awarded a DNR Surface Water Grant. In 2023, CCCWC also received $10,000 through the program, which CCCWC President Nancy Wedwick said helped the council begin the multi-year work of developing a Nine Element Plan for the Coon Creek Watershed.
“The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council is very happy to receive its second DNR Surface Water Grant Award,” Wedwick said. “This award will allow us to continue education and awareness about water quality, outreach to stakeholders, gather baseline data, and support the DNR efforts to create a Nine Key Element Plan in one of our subwatersheds, all with the goal of increasing water infiltration to mitigate flooding.”
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