WI Green Fire
Posts about our organization. You can also find more information about WGF under “newsletters.”
Remembering Dan Wisniewski
Dan Wisniewski was a founding member of Wisconsin’s Green Fire and a champion of conservation. The Northwoods Land Trust recently named its 40-acre riverfront property, “The Dan Wisniewski Deerskin River Preserve” in his honor. It is not a coincidence that the Deerskin River is a fine trout stream.
Read More >Earth Day at 50: Hoping for a Better Year
Earth Day— the day each year where I get to share my love for the environment with everyone I know. Many people (including myself) don’t always have the environment at the forefront of their minds as they walk through life. Earth Day is the day where everyone takes a moment to appreciate nature and do …
Read More >Earth Day at 50: Celebrating Dependence Day
Early in July, sometime in the mid-90s, I found myself driving North for a late start to the field season. We headed out early the next morning, visiting two forests before calling it a day. The drill was familiar— flag corners of the quadrats, then count the tree seedlings and saplings, recording substrate and any …
Read More >Wisconsin’s Green Fire is a Critical Voice for Science in Conservation
One of our newest members, Russ Feingold, shares his enthusiasm for Wisconsin’s Green Fire and his own work in conservation. Wisconsin native and former U.S. Senator Feingold serves as an ambassador for the global Campaign for Nature, but his Midwest roots run deep as shown in this testimonial.
Read More >Earth Day at 50: Earth Day Is Every Day
She is my teacher, provider, doctor, and so much more. She is Mother Earth. Growing up on the reservation of Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico, I was taught the importance of taking only what I need from the Earth and to share her gifts with my people. Most importantly, I was always taught how to …
Read More >Wisconsin’s Green Fire Conservation Webinar April 30, 2020: Our Living Ancestors – The History and Ecology of Old Growth Forests in Wisconsin, with John Bates
Northern Wisconsin Naturalist, John Bates, discusses the ecological history and human history of northern Wisconsin forests. He describes remaining old growth forests in the upper Midwest and their values. John’s talk is based in part on his recent book “Our Living Ancestors: The History and Ecology of Old Growth Forests in Wisconsin and Where to …
Read More >Earth Day at 50: In the Shadow of the Pandemic, Can Public Consciousness Shift?
In my 12 years as a communicator with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, I had ambivalent feelings about Earth Day – just as I did during my 24 years as a newspaper reporter.
For most of those years, it was difficult to get environmental stories on the front page. They were hard to ferret out, …
Read More >Earth Day at 50: I Forgot It Was Earth Day
I forgot it was Earth Day. When I woke up, the 50th anniversary of Senator Nelson’s momentous event was lost in the frazzled lightning storm pulsing within my skull. Please forgive me.
The spring peepers sung with purpose and vigor this morning, heralding the advent of April 22nd – but I was deaf to the date. …
Read More >Earth Day at 50: A Volunteer Call to Action
In the early 1970’s, a small group of mostly retired individuals in Schenectady County, NY were moved by the nation’s call to action on behalf of conservation, the first Earth Day. Over the next decade, they created an organization that served as a clearinghouse of natural resources science for the county and state. Keep in …
Read More >Earth Day at 50: Reflections from Youth and Experience
I’ll be honest. Growing up in the far corner of northwest Wisconsin, the first Earth Day didn’t leave much of an impression. In fact, I don’t recall much about it other than a bunch of old people standing around outside giving speeches. As a young college student, I had other things on my mind. Maybe …
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