Blog Articles

Howard Unrath, Clintonville – passed away September 12, 2019.  He was an active Wolf River Chapter member and officer.  He was a familiar face at WWOA’s Annual Meeting for many years.

Raymond Hanson, Madison & Wisconsin Rapids – passed away August 23, 2019.  Ray was a Charter member of WWOA.  Memorials in Ray’s name may be directed to Habitat for Humanity of Dane County, 3101 Latham Drive, Madison, WI 53713; Agrace Hospice Care, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711 or Oakwood Village Prairie Ridge, 5565 Tancho Drive, Madison, WI  53718.

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.