Northwest Wisconsin Lakes Conference Comes to Spooner June 22

Dave Zentner shows off a prize catch.

Make your plans now to attend the 2012 Northwest Wisconsin Lakes Conference, which will be held this year on Friday, June 22 in Spooner at the Spooner High School.  This regional event has become one of the state’s premier lake conferences.  The all day program will again be a great opportunity for lake enthusiasts, local government officials and others interested in protecting our water resources to take in a number of educational presentations, visit many informative exhibits and network with fellow conference attendees.

Stan Tekiela sets up to 

photograph wildlife.

Two keynote speakers will be featured at the conference.  Dave Zentner, twice named National Conservationist of the Year, will lead off the  morning with presentation titled, “Citizen Conservation During Divisive  Political Times.”  Dave is a retired business owner, avid outdoorsman, who loves hunting and fishing, and past national president of the Izaak Walton League and a lead proponent in the establishment of Voyageurs National Park.  In the afternoon, award winning author, naturalist and wildlife photographer Stan Tekiela will give a talk on “Fascinating Loons.”  Stan has written and photographed over a hundred state-by-state field guides and other books on nature.  He also has a nationally syndicated NatureSmart Column that takes an in-depth look at animals, plants and nature in general, as well as lots of Gee-Whiz Nature Stuff.  You won’t want to miss Dave’s and Stan’s presentations.

Conference breakout sessions will cover a wide array of lake-related topics and issues, including: communicating your lake message, lake education projects, motivating lake volunteers, aquatic plants, coalition and collaboration building, connecting youth to water, lake science and state of our lakes, invasive aquatic plant management, lake legislative updates, utilizing student researchers, understanding developmental impacts on water quality, and wild rice.

The registration fee is $40, which includes: admission, program materials, a continental breakfast and lunch.  Students, both high school and college, can attend free of charge, but need to indicate the school/college they attend on the conference registration form. 

For more information or to register, contact Wisconsin Lakes at 1-800-542-5253 in Wisconsin or (608) 661-4313 or go online at www.wisconsinlakes.org.  For more detailed information on the conference program and speakers, contact John Haack at (715) 635-7406 or john.haack@ces.uwex.edu