Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute receives award from the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council
ASHLAND, Wis. - Collaborations between the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College and regional communities are being noticed on a statewide level in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council is recognizing the Institute through the Project Partnership Award.
"We are pleased to receive the Project Partnership Award from the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council," said Mike Gardner, coordinator of cooperative education and research at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute. "As an organization we have worked creatively with regional communities to get urban forestry off the ground. It's wonderful to be formally recognized for these efforts."
Altogether, successful grant pursuit by the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute has resulted in $100,000, or four urban forestry grants of $25,000, being received by the Institute from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The Institute then administers the grants on behalf of regional communities.
"Area residents are striving for safe, healthy, and beautiful communities," Gardner said. "Our role has evolved to connect these diverse regional planning efforts with real outcomes."
For more information about urban forestry efforts at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, please contact Mike Gardner at (715) 682-1481, or e-mail mgardner@northland.edu <mailto:mgardner@northland.edu>.
Speakers Discussed Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Planning and Management History
Howard A. Learner of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, and Don Waller of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spoke in November at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute.
The speakers reviewed Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest planning and management history before delving into how current controversies are being resolved through policy change and recent court decisions. To do this, Learner and Waller explored issues surrounding the Cayuga Timber Sale, close to Ashland, and how forest planning and management efforts are working to protect habitat and wildlife diversity. Their discussion demonstrated how legal and political tools can connect U.S. Forest Service planning and management more fully with conservation biology.
Learner, an experienced attorney, is the president and founder of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest's leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization in Chicago, Ill. Learner is responsible for the overall strategic policy direction, financial oversight, and leadership of the regional public interest organization. He received a law degree from Harvard Law School and is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Law School.
Waller is a professor of Botany and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches courses in ecology, evolution, field biology and conservation biology. Waller works with environmental organizations and state and federal resource agencies to improve forest and game management through links to conservation biology. He is associate editor of "Ecology Letters."
Environmental Leader Nathaniel Reed Visits Northland College
Nathaniel Reed said he is encouraged by today's young people — especially those who are dedicated to and interested in the natural world.
The former assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior spoke in October at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College after touring the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore earlier in the day with Park Superintendent Bob Krumenaker.
Reed's lecture, part of the "Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute Presents" series, outlined his involvement in environmental policy development in Florida, his home state, and on a national level.
During the time he served as assistant secretary under the Nixon and Ford administrations, Reed influenced and carried out several significant initiatives.
He helped fund the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore by being involved with the first appropriations bill related to the park.
Department of Interior policy on the use of a coyote poison, Compound 1080, changed while Reed worked for the presidential administrations. He also formed an Interior team to ban the use of DDT, and another to select land for protection under the Alaskan Lands Act.
Reed worked to prosecute eagle killers, supported the creation of new national parks and wildlife refuges, and opposed Corps and Bureau of Reclamation dams and drainage schemes.
Just before his address on Tuesday Reed said he notices and is inspired by the quality of explorative curiosity in students, including those on the Northland College campus.
"I think the environmental movement got a bit complacent," Reed said of the eight years former President Clinton held office.
He explained that today's youth have helped prompt growth in a movement that was becoming stagnant, and he was critical of current appointments, related to resource protection, made by the current presidential administration.
He noted his own beliefs in sound budgeting, strong national defense, and proper management and protection of natural resources.
Reed is past vice-chairman of the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy. He is in the process of leaving the Natural Resources Defense Council board, though plans to remain involved in clean air and fisheries issues.
Reed was the first president and chairman of the 1,000 Friends of Florida, and is the current vice-chairman of the Everglades Foundation.
Do you want to read more?
Check out some of our other media coverage in our pressroom, including Emerging Issues columns that Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute fellows have issued to the local press.
Are you a media representative or a freelance writer looking for story ideas? We have plenty to write about at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute. Call us at (715) 682-1223 for more information.