Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshop
Science-based Training to Protect Lakes in Vilas and Oneida Counties
Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops - Fall 2025
Wisconsin’s Green Fire is continuing to offer our Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops for lake association leaders, members, and lakeshore property owners in fall 2025. These workshops will help participants protect and improve their lakes without the cost of a consultant and lake management plan!
We offered these small-group workshops at no cost to participants. To sign up, contact Mike Meyer at mmeyer@wigreenfire.org.
The Fall 2025 workshops had strong attendance, drawing 18 participants from 17 different lake districts and associations across Vilas, Oneida, Iron, and Langlade counties.
What to Expect
We developed these workshops specifically for leaders and members of lake associations and lake property owners in Vilas and Oneida Counties.
Lake associations made up of citizen leaders often struggle to identify and implement the best approaches to protect lakes, especially without hiring costly consultants. This project is designed to train lake associations to identify and assemble the data necessary to identify watershed threats and areas of highest conservation need for their lakes and next steps for lake protection.
The presenters leading the workshops have over 100 years of combined professional experience on Wisconsin lakes: Dr. Mike Meyer, Jim Kreitlow, and Patrick Goggin.
- Dr. Mike Meyer is WGF's Senior Scientist, retired from a career in lake and wildlife research with WDNR.
- Jim Kreitlow is a retired WDNR Lake Biologist focused on Northern Wisconsin lakes.
- Patrick Goggin is retired from the UW Extension Lakes Program.
Dates and Location
Each workshop is a two-day event. Space is limited. Participants receive additional details after signing up.
- Vilas County - September 10 & 12, 2025
- Oneida County - October 1 & 3, 2025
Both workshops took place at the UW-Kemp Natural Resources Station in Woodruff.
The address is 9161 Kemp Road, Woodruff, WI 54568.
Are you interested in participating?
We seek lake association members and lake property owners who can relay workshop outcomes to their associations. Afterward, we hope you will share what you learn at the workshops with others in your community!
>> To sign up, contact Mike Meyer at mmeyer@wigreenfire.org.
Participants should be comfortable using a laptop with Microsoft Office (bring your own laptop) and be able to follow the online data acquisition process and share digital files. The presenters will guide you through all the steps.
We welcome you to share this opportunity with your colleagues, friends, and neighbors in Vilas and Oneida Counties. Space permitting, we will welcome participants from neighboring counties as well.
Funding Support
Funding for the development and implementation of the workshops was provided by the Arthur L. and Elaine V. Johnson Foundation, which supported the creation of workshop content; Wisconsin DNR Surface Water Grants – Lake Education, which funded the Vilas and Oneida County workshops in 2023 and 2025; and the Vilas and Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Associations, which supplied matching funds for those years. Additionally, Wisconsin’s Green Fire contributed in-kind support through staff and resources for both the development and delivery of the workshops.
For more information about the workshop, email Mike Meyer: mmeyer@wigreenfire.org.
