Blog Articles

Patricia Gehrke, Winter – passed away Wednesday, September 4, 2019.  Pat and Mike always looked forwarded to attending the Annual Meeting and Pat’s warm smile could light up a room.  Memorial services are scheduled for Thursday September 12 at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Ladysmith, WI.

The Wausau and Marathon County Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department is beginning the process of updating its Fifteen-Year Forest Plan which will guide the management of our 30,195-acre Marathon County Forest from 2021 – 2035. Please help us with this important process. We want to hear from you about issues to address with plan revisions. Please submit feedback by September 25, 2019.

NRCS Wisconsin Offers $7 Million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program-Floodplain Easements Apply Now, Until September 30 to be Considered for Funding Due to the recent catastrophic flooding events, Congress has provided the U.S Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service in Wisconsin with over $7 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program-Floodplain Easements (EWPP-FPE). The program’s focus is to provide landowners with another option for those frequently flooded agricultural fields.

MADISON – State plant health officials are advising consumers who bought rhododendrons or azaleas this spring and summer to be on the lookout for signs of a disease that could spread to oaks and kill them. Plant health staff with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection have identifiedPhytophthora ramorum, or P. ramorum, on rhododendrons at a northern Wisconsin nursery.

Donald Grassl, Wausau – passed away on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.  Don opened his beautiful woods to WWOA members for the 2015 Annual Meeting Field Day.  Memorial donations in Don’s name may be directed to https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org

The WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has detected emerald ash borer for the first time in Pierce County. This is the first new county detection of 2019 for Wisconsin.  There have also been finds this year in 46 new municipalities in counties where EAB had already been detected previously.

NRCS Offers more than $200 Million in Emergency Funding to Restore Flood-Prone Lands: 11 states identified to invest in floodplain easements WASHINGTON, July 24, 2019 – In response to recent flooding impacting many parts of the United States, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces the availability of $217.5 million dedicated to funding conservation easements on certain lands damaged by flooding and other natural disasters.

Joan Woelfel, Suring – passed away July 24, 2019.  Joan and her husband, George, have been longtime members of WWOA.  Joan is mother of WWOA members Karen and Randy Cooper (WWOA Board of Directors and Phoenix Falls Chapter Chair) of New Berlin and Mountain.  Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at St.

MADISON​ – Recent severe weather in northern and central Wisconsin has resulted in significant damage to homes and businesses throughout the region. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) asks affected property owners to seek trusted contractors for repairs and to be leery of “storm chasers” that come knocking at your door with aggressive sales tactics.

Public comment period open through August 16, 2019 WOODRUFF, Wis. – Plans for improved access to the Northern Highland – American Legion State Forest through the designation of approximately 19 miles of all-terrain and utility vehicles routes on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources roads in the state forest are now available for public comment.