You can help.

Your gifts of time and money help to protect water, land, and wildlife habitat in our area’s watersheds. Gift memberships also available.

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Stewardship

It’s what we practice and share to protect our area’s land and water.

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Youth Activities

Because it’s never too early to create a love of nature.
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Water Quality Research

Measuring the effectiveness of stewardship practices.
Become a citizen scientist

Connecting with nature.

Low-impact recreation supports our region’s economy and health.
Explore

Bird-Friendly Farming Launches New Program and Website

 

Herd of cows looking at camera  

Wisconsin Bird-Friendly Beef Certification Program

 

Bird-Friendly Farming is happening in the Driftless!  Check out our new Bird-Friendly Farming website at www.birdfriendlyfarming.org.  It’s a place to learn more about some of our initiatives and gather ideas about how to make farming more friendly for our native grassland birds.

We are also pleased to announce that Jim Munsch’s Deer Run Farm is going to be Wisconsin’s first producer of Certified Wisconsin Bird-Friendly Beef!

In coming weeks, we will be profiling Jim’s farm to learn more about how he is helping Wisconsin farms become more bird friendly.  Next year, we will be opening up the program to grass-fed beef farmers across the whole state, so if you know someone who might be interested, please spread the word.  We can be reached through the contact page on our website.

cow looking at bobolink

 

 

Valley Stewardship Network Celebrates its 20th Anniversary!!

(a year late)

 

VSN turned 20 in 2020 –

We’re celebrating NOW!

Become a new member or

renew your membership today!  

We need your help.  Your membership dollars contribute to the following:

  • Water quality research 

  • Bird habitat preservation and enhancement

  • Watershed council development

  • Regenerative agriculture practice demonstrations 

  • Rotational grazing management plans

  • Prairie establishment

  • Farm, land, and watershed stewardship planning

  • Outreach and education programs

 Join or renew your membership at the $250 level and receive a FREE copy of Doug Tallamy’s book Nature’s Best Hope!  

Offer good through June 2021.

Nature's Best Choice book cover

See below for VSN’s plans to encourage native plantings at all levels throughout the area. 

If you’d like to learn a bit more about VSN, follow this link to a presentation given through the McIntosh Memorial Library where staff members discuss the work VSN does in their local community.

 

Plant Native for Biodiversity!

Valley Stewardship Network is beginning an initiative supporting native plantings in people’s yards and rural lands, based on Douglas Tallamy’s book Nature’s Best Hope.  Throughout the year, we’ll explore the benefits of supporting native plants – even a single plant will bring benefit to local wildlife!  To that end, we’ll bring you information throughout the year to assist you in planting native plants. 

Our Board Chair, Tom Lukens, has begun two, large planting projects – one in a small yard in town and one on a portion of his rural land.  Follow Tom’s adventures in his blog posts on our website at Plant Native for Biodiversity. 

Tom with sod cutter

Look forward to joining us for tours of local gardens with native plants, upcoming talks, and local resources to help with your own native plantings, be they in your yard, your land, or your farm!


T-shirt with image of Kickapoo watershed on the frontConnect to Protect Your Watershed!

These shirts make ideal gifts!  They were designed by local artists and depict local watersheds.  They are 100% organic cotton!

Visit our online shop to take a look at all five of our Valley Stewardship Network Watershed T-shirts!

We’re encouraging everyone to get to know their own watershed and all the people, plants and animals that are a part of it.

We have T-shirts for the Kickapoo, Bad Axe, Tainter Creek, Coon Creek, and West Fork of the Kickapoo watersheds.

Don’t know which watershed you’re in?  Try finding yourself on this map, or contact us at info@valleystewardshipnetwork.org.

Explore your watershed

 For maps of specific land parcels, contact us about custom GIS mapping services.