Crawford Stewardship Project NewsletterFall/Winter 2016www.crawfordstewardshipproject.org

An interview between Kathy Byrne, former water moni-toring coordinator, and Meg Wise, new water monitoring coordinator.Kathy: I am curious about your background. I know that you went into philosophy and concentrated in environmental ethics. What inspired you to choose this route?Meg: I was inspired by the pro-

Welcome new coordinator

Meg Wise!

Forest Jahnke, CSP CoordinatorAfter years of attempting to

convince municipalities, agen-cies, and departments to do a study of Southwest Wisconsin’s karst geology, Crawford Stew-ardship Project has given up… on waiting!

We have enlisted the help and support of our allies at Valley Stewardship Network, Legion GIS and the guidance of our good friend Professor Emeri-tus Kelvin Rodolfo to complete a survey ourselves. We are call-ing it Karst Landscapes and Groundwater Susceptibility: A Survey of Crawford County.

This spring, CSP successfully obtained a small grant from Save the Hills Alliance to kick-start the process and allow us to pay for some of the time spent by Adam Cox and Brendan He-berlein, our inspired local GIS (Geographic Information Sys-tems) professionals. With their help, we have maps already developed for several layers of data that will go into the survey.

Our three volunteer citizen science events went off swim-mingly and valuable data was collected and corrected, while people learned about the spe-cial geology of the area and how we will go about studying it.

We had three events in Viro-qua, Soldiers Grove, and Gays Mills:

1. We sifted through historic well construction reports and looked for evidence of bedrock karst features (caves, crevices, etc) in the drill logs.

2. We attempted to correct the auto-generated Crawford County well locations using aerial imagery.

3. We used elevation base-maps and aerial imagery to make visual checks on data-derived potential sinkhole lo-cations.

This process will help us refine our groundwater susceptibility meta-map that we will be cre-ating once we have all the piec-es in place and available data

on hand. Our Karst e v e n t s were fun, f a s c i n at -ing, and education-al, and we would like to thank all our volunteers for their participa-tion in the survey.

In addi-tion to the more tech-nical Karst

Survey, Crawford Stewardship Proj-ect continues with the other angles of our karst education campaign, includ-ing our annual karst field trips, and our new Underground World shadow-pup-pet plays.

Our last field trip was attended by around 20 people and, after digging into the geologic history of the area with Professor Emeritus Kelvin Ro-dolfo in his lovely home, we went on a tour of area karst features, including the lovely Crume Spring, and the impressive Three Chim-neys north of Viroqua. Stay tuned for our next field trip around mid-summer in Prairie du Chien!

Our Underground World shadow puppet play has trav-elled to four area schools, both public and private, showing 16 times to classes from kinder-garten to 8th grade. Two public performances were shown in Gays Mills and Viroqua along with some hands-on activities that allowed the children to see the dynamics of karstification in sugar cube mountains. Are you (or do you know) a teacher, summer camp leader, or some-one who works with children in another educational capac-ity? Please contact Marinella Pro (marinellapro1@gmail.com or 608-637-6087) if this short educational performance interests you. Meg Wise continued on page 3Mickey Keeley, Jason Burkum, and John Delaney have fun

correcting well-points for our Karst Survey

Omarú Heras Ornelas, CSP’s newest board member, admires Crume Spring, a classic karst feature

Karst educational campaign kicks into high gear!

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Glory Adams Craig Anderson & Kile MartzEllen ArndorferAsari AcupunctureKarla & William Ashmore Nancy AshmoreSylvia AttelsonBad Axe Blues BandDan BadtkeElaine Baker Sanchen Barnum Denise BenoitBlackhawk AutomotiveGerald & Alice Boehm Mike & Janna Bowers Steven Boysa Bramble BooksEllen Brooks & Dave HackettMolly Brooks Paul & Kathy Byrne Connie Champnoise & Art PlachinskiGreg CheesebroRobert Cheever Bob Clarke Paul Coffman & Lisa WisteMichael & Susan Cohen Deb Conlon Diane & John Craig Carol Dagnon Dancing WatersJohn Danforth Mick Day Sam Diman & Perry NesbittKathy DoerferDriftless BrewingDriftless EdiblesDriftless CaféDriftless OrganicsBeverly Dumas & James CysewskiEdie Ehlert Tim & Linda Eisele Reginald Emshoff Thomas Erb & Cecilia CaronEwetopia Fiber ShopKathy & Paul Fairchild Katie Fassbinder Family Farm DefendersJanet & Theodore Finn

Mark Fishler Larry & Sherry Folyer Susan & Michael Frank Ken Freedman & Linda LiebAnne-Marie & Wil Fryer Jane Furchgott Katie & Frankie Garrity Gary’s Rock ShopNed Gatzke Bealis Giddings Hans & Judith Gill Virginia GoekeGreystone FoundationGerald & Jacqueline Guarnaccio Ken Grunke Fred Hausler Ron & Bobbie Havlik Michael Hedemark & Arlyne John-son

Janis Hein Mary Helgren & Richard RadekCarol Lee Hemingway Dianne & Dan Hendricks Robert Samuelson & Rosa Hen-drickx

Bill & Debbie Hiller Rob Horwich Linda Hunn Rikardo Jahnke & Ilana PestcoeForest Jahnke Lamar Janes & Luna SchallerJudi JelliesLynn Johansen Maggie Jones & David LintonKathy & Jim Kachel Hiroshi & Arlene Kanno Jane Keeley Carol Anne KemenJames Kerler Barb KettnerKickapoo Exchange CoopKickapoo CoffeeJack Knowles Stephen & Barbara Kozerowitz Eli Kramer Matilda KriemelmeyerPeg LaMartinaJill & Pat Laughlin

Peter Lee Thomas Leonard Robert Lewis Liberation ParkDaniel & Sheila Linder Jessie Lindner & Harry HarrisonPhilip Livingston Kathy LoftonRalph Losey Greg Lund Lusa OrganicsGordon Malaise Charles Manski Mari BotanicalsFrancisco & Mary Jane Martinez John & Beth Mentink Marlene MeyerDave & Maggie Mezera Victoria Mistele Dewey Moore & Shelley RobertsJohn & Sigrid Moore Bill & Barbara Motlong MoveOn.comDan Mueller Jane MusseyChristine Myhr Jennifer & Ron Nelson Eric Newman Timothy & Megan Nicholson Brad Niemcek & Sharon MurphyKate Nolan Laura Olah Organic ValleyAndy & Laura Patten Sandy Ursula Petersen Joni Peterson Steven Picus & Sharon SiegelPaul Pienkowski Pineknob Organic FarmAlberta & Frank Piraino Sondra Pittman Gary Porter Quality of Life ChiropracticJerry & Lisbeth Quebe Barbara Regnery RESISTChrisse ReynoldsJeff & Diana Reynolds

Reynolds Oliveira LLCDavid Rieck Kelvin Rodolfo & Kathy CrittendenRooted Spoon CulinaryDavid & Jackie Rosenheim John & Audrey Rosenheim John Salow Jim & Irene Scheckel Kevin & Karen Schuman Joe Schwarte Sheryl Scott Jen ShepardNoralee Sherwood Chris Skaaland & Rachel RedmanKumari Sky Wayne & Ann Smallwood Richard Smith SOUL of the KickapooKevin & Maria Spaight Gregory & Diane Splinter Nancy & David Spriggs Bryan Stanley Ardith StarkChris & Ken Stark Arnie & Irene Steele Michael SteinmetzDon & Mary Stirling John Straka Kathleen Sullivan & Bob JacksonElaine Swanson Agnes & Peter Szidon Tea for the People Anne TedeschiSara Tedeschi Robert & Judith Thompson Jim Tollefson John & Kathryn Urch Matt Urch & Sara MartinezDana & Bob Van Hoesen Viroqua Food CoopAnnie Waitzman Margaret & Jim Walz Brian & Patty Wickert M’Lou WilkieJudy Witt-Croswhite & Bruce PackKaren Wollenburg Michele WorkowskiYellow Bellied Sapsuckers

Thank you donors!We cannot thank our generous donors enough. We are honored to be supported by this community, and besides the occasional small

grant, we are funded directly by individual donations from people just like you. We consider ourselves to be accountable to you, the com-munity, and the watersheds and ecosystems we live in.

Thank you! If you have not donated in the last year, either with your time or money, please consider joining the distinguished group of individuals, businesses, and organizations

above in supporting Crawford Stewardship Project’s work!

Published by: Crawford Stewardship Project, PO Box 284, Gays Mills WI 54631608-735-4277 • csp.county@gmail.com • www.crawfordstewardshipproject.org

Crawford Stewardship Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization registered in the state of Wisconsin. Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled paper.

President: Edie EhlertVice President: Rob HorwichSecretary: Kathy Byrne

Staff Forest Jahnke

Meg Wise

Treasurer: Lamar JanesBoard Members: Ellen Brooks, Omarú Heras Ornelas

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Regional mining Forest Jahnke, CSP Coordinator

Th anks in part to low oil prices, the frac sand boom we saw in the past years has turned into a bust, with many mines scaling back or shutting down altogether. We are now seeing the cases we feared of mines going belly-up and leaving our communities to clean up their messes. Th at said, as the fi rst so-called “dragon ships” fi lled with liquifi ed “natural” gas cross the oceans, and mines continue to speculate and lease more land for mining, it is likely we will see the prices of oil begin to climb again, and a subsequent uptick in silica sand mining in our area to supply the frack-ing industry.

We have a perfect example of this scenario in Pattison Sand Company’s local operations. Th e Bridgeport mine has had comparably little activ-ity in the last year, though they still hauled out about as much sand as a large quarry. In Prairie du Chien, the loading tower and rail switch-yard have not been operating at the breakneck pace they were before. However, the issues of noise and dust aff ecting the community continue and the one concrete promise they made to the neighbor-hood, that they would nicely landscape the front of the loading tower, never happened. Neighbor-hood complaints are discounted or ignored.

At their Clayton mine, in Iowa, Pattison Sand has proposed to rezone an additional 746 acres from A1 Agricultural to M2 Heavy Industrial status to allow for future expan-sions. Since the original 541 Pattison-owned acres were rezoned to Heavy Industrial in 2005 and 2006, an additional 1551 leased acres were rezoned to Heavy Industrial in 2010, expanding the mining area to 2092 acres with no conditions. Th e new proposal would bring the mine to a total of 2838 acres.

Th is time, however, thanks to a dedicated group of concerned local citizens, there has been a vigorous public process. It is yet to be seen if there will be any signifi cant move-ment by the county government to do its due diligence based on the input and information they receive.

Under pressure, the Clayton County Board of Supervisors had approved formation of an inde-pendent Study Committee to look into potential conditions, and aft er an extended public process, 17 basic conditions were suggested to the county. Th ese were disregarded in favor of a minimal set of conditions proposed by Pattison Sand at the last minute with little chance for the public to respond.

Kay Vifi an, a neighbor of the Clayton mine, tells us that, “Th e supervisors chose not to read in the hearings emails received prior to the pub-lic hearings, although some people specifi cally asked that their comments be read at the public hearing. It was very discouraging to see county

offi cials disregard the months of eff ort within the study committee’s fi nal report in favor of a docu-ment produced by Pattison Sand Company.”

Th e Clayton County Board of Adjustments will be the fi nal county authority that could put in place reasonable conditions for this mine. In support of the position of Say No for Now, a Clayton County grassroots group, we believe they should deny the conditional use permit un-til the company is fully compliant with current zoning ordinances and the county can create a framework to address industrial sand mining in the county. Crawford Stewardship Project will continue supporting the brave citizens of Clay-ton County who are making their voices heard and using the public process, despite the intimi-dation and dismissive government they have been subjected to.

Of course the Clayton County government is far from the only unit of government dismiss-ing the legitimate concerns of the citizenry. In August, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources closed the comment period for their Industrial Sand Mining Strategic Analysis draft , a document that seriously concerns Crawford Stewardship Project and our allies. Th e Strategic

Analysis relies heavily on industry-funded stud-ies based on voluntary monitoring by mines, es-pecially in regards to air quality. Th ese studies, based on limited and apparently cherry-picked information, disregard the eff ects of the fi nest (most dangerous) particles, and generally dis-miss concerns about impacts on watersheds, ag-ricultural lands, and roads.

All of this illustrates the importance of broad solidarity among our struggles. From the Stand-ing Rock Camp where the First Nations and al-lies are staging non-violent civil disobedience to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, to the local ordinances and bans on frac sand mining in the Drift less area, we are all connected and must stay vigilant as the fossil fuel industries prepare for another resource-grab.

Regional mining offi cials disregard the months of eff ort within the

Update

Oil industry in a shambles, mines double down, and government looks the other way:

fessor of my fi rst philosophy course, Josh Horn. Josh un-derstood that philosophy was misunderstood and he cleared the air by explaining the im-portance and excitement of philosophy. Philosophy is also challenging, which is what I was looking for. As far as my deci-sion to concentrate in environ-mental ethics, I have been inter-ested in conservation since high school, which is why I chose to go to UW-Stevens Point, where there is an emphasis on the en-vironment. I also believe that my interest in environmental-ism could be attributed to my family’s long camping trips as a child and my grandmother’s love for nature. Simply put, I have a very strong connection with nature.Kathy: Since you were a volun-teer water monitor before you joined CSP staff , what inspired you to be involved in water monitoring, and what would you tell people who may be in-terested in volunteering?Meg: I was interested in being more involved in the commu-nity while also doing something that I love, so water monitoring was a really great activity to add to my summer. I like to get out in the water and feel like I am in science class again. For poten-tial future volunteers, I would tell them that they would have a signifi cant role at CSP, because we cannot do what we do with-out our water monitors.Kathy: What would you like to see happen within our water monitoring program?Meg: I would love to see more younger folks involved.Kathy: How do you think we could make that happen?Meg: I think water monitoring is a great activity for families to do together and also a great ex-perience for younger folks who are looking to try something new or to spark an interest to follow through with. At my high school, I was involved in an environmental aft er-school group and we went out and did activities similar to water moni-toring, so I think it would be very possible to fi nd interested younger folks.

Meg from page 1

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Forest Jahnke, CSP CoordinatorIt seems like every year we are bringing

up the same issues, and every year they become more concerning, as phospho-rous levels build up to alarming levels on some of Roth Feeder Pig’s fi elds. We con-tinue to monitor the surface waters near the CAFO. We have found one to contain continually over state standard levels of phosphorus and at times elevated levels of e-coli. Despite these fi ndings and many other concerns, we are told every year that everyone’s hands are tied.

Based on the number of hogs on the amount of fi elds, we had predicted from the start that this would happen, and sure enough, in a few short years we have seen fi elds reach 340 parts per million of phos-phorous (ppm P), 140 ppm P over the of-fi cial “no more spreading” level set by the WI DNR. At this level, there is serious likelihood of nutrient leaching and run-off , and it would take nearly a century of zero manure applications to this fi eld be-fore it can be drawn back down to NRCS 590 “ideal” levels of phosphorus for crop needs.

With this information in hand, one would expect serious changes would be required in their plan. However, despite looking at the same information and skimming over our concerns, the Wiscon-sin DNR has approved the fi ve year WI Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems Permit without tackling fundamental is-

sues of too many animals and not enough land.

Th e entire situation is dangerous for our waterways, our health, and even the long-term viability of Roth Feeder Pig Inc. Th is is an example of what is happening all over the state, as the WI DNR fl ounders with budget and staff shortfalls, vacan-cies and high turnover, and new directives from top management for a more “hands-off ” approach to regulation.

Communities need to see ways around and beyond the restrictive Livestock Sit-ing Law and the one-size-fi ts-all manure management standards. In Crawford, we have a Livestock Siting Ordinance that gives the county shared responsibility for oversight and enforcement of standards. Bayfi eld and Kewaunee Counties have passed ordinances that go far beyond state standards. It is our hope that the entire karstic areas of Western, Southern, and Eastern Wisconsin follow Bayfi eld’s for-ward-looking example (even if the state rejects it, as they did in Bayfi eld), and do not wait for more than one-third of the wells tested prove to be undrinkable, as in Kewaunee, before fi nally acting to protect Wisconsin’s waterways and groundwater.

Crawford Stewardship Project and our allies across the state will be pushing through our statewide umbrella, Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network, for our leaders to take real action to address rural peo-ples’ concerns.

Meg Wise, CSP CoordinatorOn August 9, 2016, I met

with Kwabena Antwi, also known as Kobby, at the DNR offi ce in Prairie du Chien. Ko-bby is the DNR private forester for Crawford County. Kobby’s responsibilities as forester entail “customer service and outreach.” Some of Kobby’s specifi c duties include provid-ing assistance and guidance on timber harvesting, inva-sive species control, forest im-provement, tree planting, and forest insects and disease.

Kobby tells us that growing up in a “concrete jungle” with

very little exposure to nature led to a, “childhood fascina-tion with biological diversity and other physical natural endowments and a curiosity and internally generated con-sciousness of the need to play an active role in promoting environmental sustainability.”

Kobby emphasizes that Crawford County has exten-sive diversity amongst forests and vegetation including all the major forest types such as Oak, Central Hardwoods, Northern Hardwoods and some coniferous vegetation. In Crawford County, there is

emphasis on timber produc-tion. Kobby says, “I have had the chance to work in diff erent counties, and can say Craw-ford County has some of the best timber resources I have seen, in both qualitative and quantitative terms.”

Th e best piece of advice that Kobby has for landowners is to always carefully consider and articulate their short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives, and ponder the po-tential ramifi cations of their actions and inactions on the integrity of their property and the surrounding landscape.

Questions for your forester, Kobby Antwi? (608) 326-1612 or kwabena.antwi@Wisconsin.gov

Kobby Antwi, Crawford County’snew DNR Forester, here to help

AT WHAT LEVELWILL YOU ACT WITH US

Statewide• October 22 from 10 a.m - 12 p.m. we

will gather on the Capitol steps for our second Stink-In rally.

• Spread our petition for a statewide moratorium on additional CAFO per-mits until current standards are updat-ed and enforced.

• Pressure legislators to set baseline stan-dards to protect our water, and not im-pede local attempts at higher standards.

Regional• Bring attention to our karst land-

scapes and Groundwater Susceptibil-ity Survey of Crawford County, and to its implications for local land uses.Attend town, village, and county meet-ings.

• Write a letter to the editor on an issue you care about.

•  Join our teams of water quality moni-tors and other citizen scientists to gath-er important data.

Individual• Vote with your fork! Buy local, season-

al, and sustainably raised food.• Or contact us any time with your ques-

tions, concerns, or ideas for the future of agriculture!

UpdateHolding polluters accountable:

Industrial agriculture

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Meg Wise, CSP CoordinatorEllen Brooks, CSP’s board

member, and her life partner, Dave Hackett, were recognized for excellence in volunteer stream monitoring and data collection by the University of Wisconsin-Extension and the Department of Natural Resources at the Water Ac-tions Volunteers Symposium in April. Ellen and Dave have been monitoring Halls Branch,

which meets the Kickapoo Riv-er south of Gays Mills, for 16 years.

Th roughout their 16 years in water monitoring, Ellen and Dave have progressed within the program by beginning to monitor total phosphorus in 2014. Dave and Ellen observe, “While our monitoring data has not changed dramatically over the years, we have seen a number of changes in the creek,

mostly caused by fl oods and beavers.”

Ellen and Dave now assist in training new water monitoring volunteers as they have a wealth of experience and useful infor-mation for newcomers.

If you are interested in volun-teer water monitoring, please contact CSP Coordinator Meg Wise for more information at mwisecsp@gmail.com or 608-632-9410.

CongratulationsEllen Brooks and Dave Hackett!

(Back row, left to right) Peggy Compton, Water Action Coordinator, UW-Extension; Laura DeGolier; Tim Asplund, Monitor-ing Section Chief, DNR; Patricia Cicero; Camryn Kluetmeier; Ilana Haimes, Water Action Volunteers Coordinator, DNR; (front row, left to right) Valley Stewardship Network representatives: Christie Homstad, Shelly Brenneman, John Delaney; Ellen Brooks; Dave Hackett; Bill Keen; Charlie Frisk. Photo by Eva Lewandowski.

Ellen and Dave monitoring their site

at Halls Branch

Floods of the

future

Forest Jahnke, CSP CoordinatorOur deepest condolences to all

those who lost life and property in the fl oods this year.

When creeks run brown and jump their banks, trains slide off the rails into the Mississippi, and houses crumble in mudslides, we are reminded how important our relation to the land and water is. When we have three major fl oods in one season, as we have here in southwest Wisconsin, we are reminded that we are entering a new climate, with diff erent and more intense weather patterns.

Crawford Stewardship Project was happy to work with the Craw-ford County Land & Water Con-servation Committee and others to implement climate change con-siderations into our updated Land and Water Management Plan, and we hope that all levels of govern-ment, business, farmers and land-owners take steps to build resil-ience to the storms of the future.

River or road?Mainstreet Gays Mills 9/22/2016

Award-winning water monitors

6Crawford Stewardship ProjectP.O. Box 284 Gays Mills WI 54631 NonProfi t Org.

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Gays Mills, WIPermit No. 16

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Mark your calendars!

Lift your spirits and get down on the dance floor at

Lovethe

Land!

Gays Mills Community Commerce Center

February 4, 2017

5th annual

7 - 11 pm Enjoy live dance music, silent auction, local beer, & lots of other local goodies