VernonReporter
Coon Creek - Tim Hundt photo

Coon Creek Watershed to celebrate water, conservation, and community at upcoming Valley Conservation Day

COON VALLEY, Wis.– The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC) is hosting its second annual Valley Conservation Day in Coon Valley May 4th. 

The full-day watershed celebration will feature a performance by Mollie B and Friends as well as other live music, a makers market with more than 50 local artisans, local food and beer, and conservation fun for the whole family. CCCWC, a local conservation nonprofit, hopes the festival will bring residents  together from within and beyond the Driftless Area’s Coon Creek Watershed. 

“We are so excited to welcome everyone to Coon Valley to celebrate all the ways water connects us,” said Sydney Widell, Watershed Coordinator with CCCWC. “And we are deeply grateful to everyone in our watershed community who has helped us make this event possible.” 

One of these major community partners is Coon Valley Dairy Supply Company, a local hardware store, who will be holding the festival on its fields. This land is also the site of the former Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp, which was the headquarters of the 1930s Coon Creek watershed conservation project –the first watershed conservation project in the nation. 

The conservation practices developed by the CCC, community members, and other collaborators during the 1930s eventually reversed catastrophic cycles of flooding and erosion in the Coon Creek Watershed set in motion by settler agriculture. At a time when flooding is once again intensifying, CCCWC is looking to its history of community collaboration to guide the watershed’s path forward.

“We hope our festival calls back the experimental and collaborative spirit that made the Coon Creek project a national model for land and water conservation,” Widell said. “We know that the Coon Creek community has always been at the heart of conservation work, and CCCWC is proud to carry that tradition forward through events like Valley Conservation Day.” 

Some of the community collaborators who will be present at this year’s event include county, state and federal conservationists, partners across the University of Wisconsin System, and local nonprofits, libraries, and farmers. These partners and more will be sharing conservation resources during the Watershed Fair portion of the event, which will run from 12-4:00.  

More Watershed Fair highlights include fly fishing tutorials and the distribution of free kids’ fishing rods, with support from Coulee Region Trout Unlimited, as well as a wide range of childrens’ crafts coordinated by Knutson Memorial Library and McIntosh Memorial Library

Valley Conservation Day will open at 9:00 with a Makers Market including more than 50 local artisans, followed by a free, Coon Valley Lions Club pancake breakfast featuring pancakes from Great American Pancake Company in Cashton and maple syrup from Timber Coulee-based Embark Maple Energy

Mollie B with Coon Creek Community Watershed Council President Nancy Wedwick and Vice-President Tucker Gretebeck – Tim Hundt photo

Other free food will include baked potatoes donated by Potato King, sweet corn, a hog roast from Simply Smoked, and seasonal ferments donated by Viroqua-based Fizzeology. The day will also feature a pickle competition officiated by local radio host Gary Gilbertson, WPR’s Hope Kirwan, and Mollie B at 3:45. Mollie B will also be leading a polka party for kids at 4:30, before she and her band take the stage at 5:00.

Entry to the general event is free. Tickets to see Mollie B perform are $20 in advance for adults and $25 for adults at the door. Advanced tickets to Mollie B can be purchased at this link, or at participating local businesses, and all proceeds will go towards watershed conservation work. CCCWC recommends guests pack lawn chairs and picnicware. 

Oh, hi there. 👋 We are so glad you found us.

If you like our content maybe you want to sign up for our daily email. It's free and you won't miss any stories. One email a day with two or three top stories. It's like having your own personal newspaper. And we won't overload your inbox. Promise.

We don’t spam!

Tim Hundt

Add comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Support Local Journalism – Make a Donation

Upcoming Events

Support Local Journalism – Make a Donation

Upcoming Events