Before and after images of the water diversion structure and small dam the CCCWC helped fund at the Coon Valley Conservation Club. Attendees at CCCWC’s Sept. 4th meeting will have a chance to tour the project and learn how CCCWC can support conservation work where they live.
CCCWC Vice President Tucker Gretebeck presents the Coon Valley Conservation Club with funding to construct a water diversion structure and small dam on land the club manages near coon Creek. CCCWC supported 25 percent of the project, in partnership with the Club and Vernon County Land and Water. Photo: Tim Hundt.
State of the Watershed: Coon Creek Community Watershed Council showcases completed projects, marks third year
By Sydney Widell, Coon Creek Community Watershed Council
COON VALLEY, Wis.- The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC) is celebrating its third season this fall, as well as the 91st anniversary of the nation’s first watershed conservation project, which was centered in Coon Valley.
CCCWC is looking forward to marking the occasion during its September 4th meeting at the Coon Valley Conservation Club, which will include live music, a community dinner, a State of the Watershed address and other conservation project updates from watershed residents, a tour of a project CCCWC funded at the Coon Valley Conservation Club, and more.
“Our watershed community is growing, strengthening relationships, having fun, and realizing the many conservation, economic, and social benefits and opportunities that flow from our commitment to conservation and our community,” said CCCWC president Nancy Wedwick, who will deliver the State of the Watershed address. “We are excited about the many opportunities that are before us.”
In her State of the Watershed address, Wedwick plans to discuss the unprecedented federal flood control dam decommissioning project slated for the Coon Creek Watershed in the coming months. She will also highlight the nearly $20,000 of on-the-ground conservation initiatives CCCWC has supported in the past year, like the Coon Valley Conservation Club’s recently completed water diversion structure and small dam.
The diversion structure is intended to prevent runoff from nearby farmland from creating gullies and ditches on lands the Conservation Club manages along Coon Creek. CCCWC partnered with Vernon County Land and Water and the Coon Valley Conservation Club to fund this work.
“This project was a priority because the ditches had grown substantially in the last few years with heavy rains,” said Zach King, a CCCWC board member and president of the Coon Valley Conservation Club. “I think it would be great if others learned that between CCCWC and Vernon County Land and Water, there is plenty of funding out there to make these large scale projects attainable for landowners.”
Meeting attendees will be able to tour the recently completed project during the meeting, and learn about ways to partner with CCCWC to support their own conservation projects.
The September 4th meeting will begin with dinner and music at 5:30, followed by the State of the Watershed address and other speakers at 6:30. The Coon Valley Conservation Club is located at S1005 Knudson Ln in Coon Valley. The event is free and all are welcome. Guests are encouraged to bring their own picnicware.
The mission of the Coon Creek Community Watershed Council is to continue the historic legacy of conservation leadership through improving and restoring our soil, water, and air as stewards of the Creek Watershed. We focus on strategies and practices that individuals can implement. Together, we are learning to make running water walk.