The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council announcing “Learning to Live Without the Dams” Public Education Meetings
“Our purpose in these meetings is to continue to offer education about conservation practices as we enter this new reality and learn to live without the dams.” – Nancy Wedwick, President – CCCWC
Coon Valley, WI: The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC) has announced a series of meetings in response to a proposal that was put forth to decommission all of the PL 566 dams in the Coon Creek and West Fork Watersheds (except Jersey Valley), as reported in the Crawford County Independent Scout.
The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council plans to hold two meetings to educate the public and raise awareness around conservation practices to help slow the water and hopes to “Make Running Water Walk” which is part of the organization’s mission.
The first meeting is on Thursday, May 25 at the Shelter located at the Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center (N455 O Ophus Rd, Coon Valley, WI 54623), Two presentations will take place at 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm to provide information. A tentative June 1st meeting is planned for Viroqua, WI (location and time to be announced).
A historic and unprecedented event is about to unfold, the decommissioning of 23 dams at once. For the past nearly two years, the CCCWC has been working to educate people about increasing water infiltration and decreasing runoff. As a Council, we have worked very hard to build a culture and climate that understands and honors the varying thoughts and feelings, seeks to find common ground, and works to broaden the audience.
We want to share resources for looking ahead and to learn how to live without dams, as well as learn from others. To provide resources, Grassland 2.0 from UW-Madison will join us to give an overview of 2-3 watershed scenarios built with FloodScape, SmartScape, GrazeScape and Heifer Compass, tools that emerged from the Collaborative Landscape Design process of Rich Picture Development in the Ridge & Valley Learning Hub.
This will help folks understand the relative responsiveness of flooding, soil health, biodiversity, and productivity/profitability to Ag land management. They will also invite participation in helping to refine the scenarios. In addition, Greener Pastures from UW-Madison will be there to provide us with an overview of the oral narrative project in the Coon Creek Watershed and the importance of storytelling and participation of people when thinking about and processing impacts and effects of change.
Resources will be provided to the public including varying options for conservation practices, the decommissioning process, cover crops and alternative perennial crop funding, and how to leave public comment.
The proposal timeline includes a public comment period from late June to August 15, with the decommissioning of all dams to occur between July and December 2024.
Who: The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council, Inc. (CCCWC)
What: Public Education Meeting: Learning to Live Without the Dams
When: Thursday, May 25, 2023 – Presentations at 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM June 1, 2023 – Location and time to be announced.
Where: Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center N455 O Ophus Rd, Coon Valley, WI
Resources:
- Federal Register – Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Coon Creek Watershed, La Crosse, Vernon, and Monroe Counties, Wisconsin
- WFK and CC Watershed Planning – West Fork Kickapoo and Coon Creek Watershed Planning
- Crawford County Independent Scout
CCCWC Media Contact
Nancy Wedwick
President
[email protected]
www.cooncreekwatershed.org