While wetlands aren’t the only thing we need to heal our waters, we can’t heal our waters without wetlands.

On August 28th, Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s Tracy Hames and Kyle Magyera testified before the Wisconsin State Legislature’s Speaker’s Water Quality Task Force, sharing how wetlands help manage runoff and reduce erosion and pollution while giving insight to what actions the legislature could do to encourage wetlands as solutions. 

The Water Quality Task Force, convened by Speaker Robin Vos and comprising of bi-partisan legislators from both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, traveled the state this past summer, gathering information and policy recommendations for assessing and improving water quality in Wisconsin.

Our testimony at their recent hearing in Green Bay was a follow-up to a field tour we hosted for its members in early June. At both meetings, we highlighted the importance of wetlands in managing water as it moves across the landscape and through the watershed. And in our testimony in Green Bay, we gave insight into what policy actions Wisconsin needs from its legislature to support watershed health.

Read our testimony, including our recommendations to the Task Force.

Hear our recommendations to the legislature for improving watershed health and water quality by watching our full presentation on WisconsinEye: