Current Projects
Driftless Area Initiative: An effort to encourage multi-state collaboration to improve water quality and natural resources in the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area: An effort to improve and restore grassland on a landscape scale in the 49,000 acre Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area.
Southwest Wisconsin Forest Stewardship Initiative: A cooperative effort between Southwest Badger RC&D and the Kickapoo Woods Cooperative to increase forest health and productivity, improve wildlife habitat, and promote public awareness of the importance of managing woodlands.
Southwest Wisconsin Grazing Initiative: An effort to encourage more landowners to implement managed intensive grazing to increase profits while protecting soil and water quality.
True Costs of Harvesting Woody Biomass Project: The goal of the "True Costs" project is to determine whether low grade under utilized woody biomass is a viable and cost competitive feedstock for energy production. The project will implement a minimum of ten biomass harvesting demonstrations covering more than 100 acres. The data collected will allow us to quantify the harvesting cost and the volume of available woody biomass on a per acre basis.
Switchgrass Research to Determine Best Management Practices for Maximizing Yield: The Switchgrass project will look at the economic viability of growing switchgrass as bioenergy crop in Southwest Wisconsin. Southwest Badger RC&D is working with researchers from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Data will be collected from actual working farmland. Trials on each farm will compare various herbicides and fertilization rates to determine best management practices for maximum yield and economic return.
Forest Invasive Species: An effort to halt the alarming spread of forest invasive species in Southwest Wisconsin by providing direct one-on-one technical assistance to landowners.
Biomass Inventory and Analysis Project: Southwest Badger RC&D is working with River Country RC&D and the Driftless Area Initiative to evaluate warm season grass fields in Grant, Lafayette, and Iowa counties. Data on stand quality, volume, establishment, techniques, and management needs will be collected from each field.
Friends of the Platte River: An effort to create a formal watershed group that empowers citizens to implement changes that improve water quality in the Platte River watershed.
Belmont-Platteville Trail: Southwest Badger RC&D is working with Lafayette and Grant Counties and other local stakeholders to construct a paved trail between Belmont and Platteville.
Kickapoo Valley Trail: Southwest Badger RC&D is working with stakeholders in Crawford and Vernon Counties to develop a "roads as routes" bicycle trail through the Kickapoo Valley from Wauzeka to Milton.
Urban Storm Water Management Alternatives: To help communities address urban runoff and its impact on water quality Southwest Badger RC&D will begin planning several workshops to educate municipalities on various alternatives to traditional storm water runoff management.
Village of Viola Urban Forestry: Southwest Badger RC&D has committed $5000 to help the village of Viola remove trees damaged by the August 2005 tornados and develop a tree planting plan to replace lost trees.
Dry Fire Hydrants: Dry fire hydrants are pipes installed adjacent to waterways. They provide firefighters direct access to water without a municipal hydrant, thus eliminating travel time to the nearest town.
Tree Shelter Sales: Southwest Badger RC&D sells Tree Pro tree shelters. Tree shelters protect young trees from pests and the elements.
Past Accomplishments
Temporary Stream Crossing for Logging Operations
Platteville Area Stream Stewardship Network
Snowden Watershed Study
Small Acreage Options Conference
Hazelnut Project
Chip Plant Feasibility Study
Yellowstone Lake Watershed Improvement Project
Marketing Study for Traditional Asian Vegetables