Posted June 11, 2026- OCCWA is happy to share the Wisconsin DNR's details of their offered Virtual Public Listening Session on June 19th. This is the public's opportunity to share feedback on how the DNR should allocate recently released PFAS funding.

WDNR Posting Below:

Invitation to PFAS Legislative Listening Session for Individuals and Communities, June 19

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a public listening session to gather feedback from individuals and communities about the agency’s PFAS law program development.

The public listening session for individuals and communities will take place virtually on June 19, 2026, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Registration is required. Those who are unable to attend or prefer to share feedback in writing can use this form. A separate listening session for researchers and technical audiences will take place June 17. 

2025 Wisconsin Act 200 and 2025 Wisconsin Act 201 authorize the DNR to develop programs to understand the prevalence of PFAS throughout Wisconsin and then address it. The DNR has flexibility for how the programs are implemented, but state law defines the type of activities that may be funded. Some of these activities include:

• Private well sampling 
• Addressing contamination in public water systems 
• Sampling drinking water at schools and daycares 
• Sampling high-capacity irrigation wells 
• Sampling of biosolids, sludge and other wastewater  
• Landfill leachate treatment systems for municipally owned landfills
• Investigation, interim actions, immediate actions and remedial actions in the community 
• Technical assistance to local units of government
  

It’s critical for the DNR to hear your thoughts now so they can be considered during program development and implementation.

Some potential topics of feedback could include:

• How the DNR allocates funding for different uses or to different types of applicants.
• The process to apply for funding, such as what has worked well in the past or created barriers to applying for funding.
• What technical assistance or support is most needed.
• How the DNR can share information about funding opportunities to the greatest number of potential applicants.
• The types of materials and information you would need from the DNR to understand these programs and potentially apply for funding.
  

Information About PFAS  

PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals that have been used for decades in various products, such as non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foams. These contaminants have made their way into the environment in a variety of ways, including spills of PFAS-containing materials, discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants and the use of certain types of firefighting foams. 
PFAS do not break down in the environment and have been discovered at concentrations of concern in groundwater, surface water and drinking water. These chemicals are known to accumulate in the human body, posing several risks to human health including certain cancers, liver damage and decreased fertility.

Information about PFAS can also be found on the DNR’s PFAS webpage and on the Wisconsin DHS website.

Event Details
What: Virtual Public Listening Session
When: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on June 19, 2026. Register for the public session

Posted May 27, 2026- The wonderful work of Trout Lake Station is highlighted in their Summer 2026 newsletter, including a July 31st open house. 

Trout Lake Station's Director Gretchen Gerrish share's her introduction letter below. The full TLS newsletter may be viewed at  Trout-Lake-Station-Newsletter-2026.pdf . If you have never visited, we recommend you attend their always educational and entertaining open house.

As I sit writing this note by the fire pit on the shore of Trout Lake (yes, many of you likely know the exact spot!), I assure you that the cool and calm depths of this water persist. 

Persistence is the guiding principle that keeps all of us at Trout Lake Station (TLS) focused on our ultimate mission to support the next generation of students pursuing water knowledge. Trout Lake students will engage in a variety of research projects this coming summer. Planned student projects include testing how forward-facing sonar changes catch efficiencies for different game fish species, evaluating aquatic plant and fish interactions in lakes invaded with Eurasian watermilfoil, testing the implications of plant succession in Manoomin (Wild Rice) waters, and measuring greenhouse gas production across lake productivity gradients. Other students will write about these projects and create art, media, educational and outreach materials to share.  

We are so grateful for everyone’s Day of the Badger support which goes directly toward these student experiences. The Center for Limnology was a top five Day of the Badger fundraiser for all of UW Madison in 2026. Your support directly translates to more student research experiences at TLS and Hasler Lab this summer and beyond At Oneida County Clean Waters Action, we are dedicated to promoting environmental awareness and protecting our planet. We believe in sustainable living and strive to help individuals and communities make more eco-friendly choices. Our organization was founded in 2005 and has since been working towards a greener future for all.

 While the federal funding landscape continues to be tumultuous, we are working hard to ensure the persistence of the North-Temperate Lakes Long Term Ecological Research (NTL-LTER) program.  Federal funding remains a possibility and alternate funding models are being considered with new partners throughout the state. We are also exploring innovative fee-for-service activities like our new community-engaged water temperature data collection service using DockSensIQTM (pages 4-5). 

The summer of 2026 is gearing up to be one of our busiest seasons yet with every cabin full of student and early career researchers. New and returning projects continue to build and grow in scope and in the number of people employed and partnering throughout the region. In addition, Trout Lake Station staff are already starting to plan for the next Intertribal Manoomin Camp in September and Science in the Northwoods in October. Keep your eye out for our Save-the-Dates for these upcoming opportunities to connect.  

And come visit this summer during our annual Open House on Friday, July 31st to see all the amazing work. While here, join me by the lake to enjoy some of that cool calm Trout Lake holds and to meet some of our young, emerging leaders. Enjoy a few of their stories shared here! 

Gretchen Gerrish, Director, Trout Lake Station 

ggerrish@wisc.edu 

University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology 

Posted May 19, 2026- Town of Pelican passes Wave Boat Ordinance.

The Town of Pelican has joined other Oneida County towns in passing a Wake Boat Ordinance. As reported by The Northwoods River News on May 4th the town completed the ordinance process to the delight of residents in attendance. The excerpt below, from The Northwoods River News article recapped the meeting:    

"A round of applause from a near-roomful of residents rewarded the Pelican town board at its meeting on May 4.

There, the board completed what it had begun at its Feb. 9 meeting, when it had agreed to take the first step toward enacting an ordinance to prevent enhanced wake boating on the town’s 59-acre Buck Lake, 71-acre Fish Lake, 58-acre Hixon Lake, 443-acre Lake George and 401-acre Lake Thompson by submitting a draft ordinance and condition report to local government recreation administrator-conservation warden Robert Kneeland.

With more than 60 days having passed since the DNR received the materials for review, the board voted to enact the ordinance as it was presented, delighting the gathered crowd.

A round of applause from a near-roomful of residents rewarded the Pelican town board at its meeting on May 4.

There, the board completed what it had begun at its Feb. 9 meeting, when it had agreed to take the first step toward enacting an ordinance to prevent enhanced wake boating on the town’s 59-acre Buck Lake, 71-acre Fish Lake, 58-acre Hixon Lake, 443-acre Lake George and 401-acre Lake Thompson by submitting a draft ordinance and condition report to local government recreation administrator-conservation warden Robert Kneeland.

With more than 60 days having passed since the DNR received the materials for review, the board voted to enact the ordinance as it was presented, delighting the gathered crowd. The other Oneida County towns who have already adopted Wake Boat ordinances"

Pelican now joins Lake Tomahawk, Newbold, Cassian, and Hazelhurst as Oneida County towns who have chosen to protect their lakes from the damages of unregulated wake boating. For any other towns interested in creating their own wake boat ordinances, we recommend contacting The Last Wilderness Alliance at:  Contact 1 — Last Wilderness Alliance 

Posted May 16, 2026- National Forest roadless rule Town Hall to be held at Nicolet College in Rhinelander June 4th.

OCCWA representatives will be on hand for this important informational Town Hall The event is a collaboration of the League of Women Voters of the Northwoods, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Sierra Club - Wisconsin Chapter, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, and Wisconsin's Green Fire. Come on out and speak up for our National Forests!

From Wisconsin's Greenfire:

Why should you attend this town hall meeting?

25 years ago, the US Forest Service (USFS) held more than 600 public meetings in the process to create the "Roadless Rule." This rule protects millions of acres of forests and grasslands in the USA by limiting the building of new roads and logging in these areas. The rule could soon be repealed. The USFS’s process to repeal may not include a single public meeting.

Instead, Wisconsin's Green Fire and several partners are holding our own public town hall at Nicolet College in Rhinelander.

• During the town hall, we will take public comments from attendees. We will then submit them into the Federal Register during the public comment period.
• The special guest speaker is Dr. Mike Dombeck who led the rulemaking process for the roadless rule as the chief of the USFS.

We believe in the power and importance of public input to shape public policy. Every voice matters from local to national decisions. While we find the USFS's decision not to hold public meetings on the Roadless Rule regrettable, we hold great respect for the federal employees who work to care for our forests, especially here in Wisconsin.

Join us for this public town hall and share your views on the roadless rule and our national forests. Share this invitation widely!

RSVP for the June 4th Town Hall at: Public Town Hall: The future of our wild Roadless forests 

Posted May 14, 2026- Knowles Nelson shares the latest legislative snub as potential funding for the program becomes more dire.

On May 12th Knowles Nelson shared the latest news below.

Yesterday, Governor Evers and Republican legislative leaders announced a deal on a package of outstanding legislative priorities. Legislators had reported that Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program reauthorization was on the table during these negotiations, but it was ultimately left out.

We're disappointed. This program has waited long enough, and every month without funding is another month Wisconsin's land trusts, local governments, friends groups, and the DNR can't access the grants they count on to protect the places that make this state special.

The property tax deal still has to pass the legislature, and it's not a sure thing. Democrats were cut out of the negotiations and aren't happy about it, which could make things complicated for Republican leaders who are likely to need some Democratic votes for the package to pass. The legislature may act as soon as tomorrow. We're watching closely, and we're in active conversation with legislators who care about this program. If an opening emerges, we'll be ready to move.

In the meantime, we’re preparing for January 2027. We've been meeting with candidates, getting legislators out on the land, and working to have a strong Knowles-Nelson bill ready to move the moment the new session begins. None of that stops while we watch this play out.

Ninety-three percent of Wisconsin residents support renewing this program. Our job is making sure every legislator who takes office in January knows that and has no excuse not to act.

Thank you for staying with us through this long fight.