Organizations Filed Purposes:
Dedicated to protection, restoration, and enjoyment of wetlands and associated ecosystems through science-based programs, education, and advocacy
Wetland Outreach and Education: in 2019-20 WWA Developed and presented education and outreach programs to diverse audiences of laypersons and experts, and advanced the use of wetland science on matters related to wetland conservation. Programs include advising landowners about wetland preservation, restoration, and management; an annual wetlands science conference; workshops, field trips, and presentations; and distribution of a book, "My Healthy Wetlands," to help landowners care for their wetlands. Nearly 400 people attended and participated in WWA's 2020 wetland science conference.
Public Policy Advocacy: In 2019-2020, WWA worked collaboratively to help local and statewide decision makers understand the importance of wetlands as solutions to the water quality and quantity issues that our communities are facing. Our work includes hosting field visits for state legislators to demonstrate how wetland protection and restoration can provide ecological and societal benefits. Our Executive Director was appointed by the governor to the Wetland Study Council. This council, representing private, agricultural, conservation, and other diverse interests is charged with discussing and developing recommendations on timely wetland issues in a manner that considers the needs and perspectives of diverse stakeholders. We worked with legislators to develop state legislation to fund planning and development of wetland demonstration projects in Ashland County. These projects will show how cost-effective wetland restoration can be used to address the effects of large runoff events. The bi-partisan legislation, was unanimously enacted into law and planning and implementation is now underway. WWA also helped state legislators develop a bill creating a general permit for hydrologic restoration projects. The bill would also create a hydrologic restoration council, made up of agency and private technical experts to promote widespread use of hydrologic restoration programs in Wisconsin. This legislation passed unanimously in the House, but was stalled due to the COVID-19 closure of the Senate floor sessions. This bill will be reintroduced in the 2021 legislative season.
Place-based Projects: Our place-based work in several areas across Wisconsin helps local governments implement wetlands as solutions to protect infrastructure such as roads, culverts, dwellings, etc from floods. In 2019-20 WWA worked with the Village of Plover, local growers, and others in the Little Plover River watershed to restore river flows and conserve groundwater; and participated in a multi-partner effort to study watersheds in northern Wisconsin to show how wetlands restoration can be used to solve runoff and other water issues in the Lake Superior Basin.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Tracy Hames | Executive Director | 40 | $64,528 |
| Gretchen Benjamin | Board Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Nicole Staskowski | Board Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Linn Duesterbeck | Board Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Tim Jacobson | Secretary | 0.5 | $0 |
| Tod Highsmith | Treasurer | 0.5 | $0 |
| Jim Ruwaldt | Vice chair | 0.5 | $0 |
| Alison Pena | Chair | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202130759349301108_public.xml