Wetland Coffee Break
The Wetland Coffee Break series helps keep our community of wetland lovers connected and learning about wetlands throughout the year, from anywhere! Bring your coffee and learn about wetlands, the plants and animals that call them home, and the many natural benefits they provide to our communities. Sessions are held on Zoom and feature time for audience Q&A.
See below for a list of upcoming presentations and to register. Once you register, you’ll receive an automatic email including the URL link and password you’ll need to access the meeting. We record and post each presentation so you can watch any that you missed live. You’ll find links to these recordings below, and you can also find them on our Facebook page.
We are grateful to all of the presenters for sharing their knowledge and expertise and to everyone interested in learning more about wetlands! If you are interested in giving a Wetland Coffee Break presentation, or if you have a wetland topic you’d like to see covered, please contact Katie.Beilfuss@wisconsinwetlands.org.
Beginning November 1st, 2024, certification of attendance to Wetland Coffee Break presentations will be available to people seeking continuing education credits. Learn more about how to receive a certification of attendance here.
Register for a Wetland Coffee Break
Helping farmers, saving cranes
Ryan Michalesko, International Crane Foundation
Friday, October 18, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
The story of the Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) is one of true conservation success. Only recently, the species—one of the oldest on the planet—was nearly extirpated (regionally extinct) in the Midwest. Sandhill Cranes are thriving due to a mix of factors, including better wetland protection and management, as well Sandhill Cranes’ shift to agricultural crops after losing their natural grassland habitat. Modern row crop farming practices have created an easy way for cranes to locate food in the form of germinating corn seed during the breeding season, causing significant damage to corn crops. Ryan Michalesko will discuss how the International Crane Foundation is expanding its efforts to find real solutions to support farmers while also protecting cranes and the landscape.
Ryan Michalesko works as the Landowner Engagement Specialist on the North America Program team at the International Crane Foundation. Through the involvement of farmers and other key parties, Ryan is working to innovate solutions to crop depredation by Sandhill Cranes. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Planning and master’s degree in Natural Resources Policy from UW-Stevens Point.
Draft wetland functional assessment tool for Wisconsin and Minnesota
Friday, November 1, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
The Wisconsin and Minnesota Wetland Rapid Assessment Methods (RAM) are currently used to evaluate wetland function and inform some regulatory and mitigation decisions. Supported by US Environmental Protection Agency wetland development grant funding, state agencies in Minnesota and Wisconsin are working jointly to update their RAM with a quantitative tool that evaluates several wetland functions, including water quality, hydrology, ecology, and human use values. Tune in to hear Tom Pearce from Wisconsin DNR discuss the strategy and goals for developing the new tool, provide an overview of current tool functions and scoring, and share an update on stakeholder engagement efforts.
Tom Pearce is the Waterways Program Intake Team Supervisor at Wisconsin DNR. He received master’s degrees in urban and regional planning and water resources management from UW-Madison. Tom previously worked for WDNR as a coordinator for the wetland regulatory program and a project manager for the in-lieu fee wetland mitigation program. Prior to working for WDNR, Tom spent five years working in environmental education and conservation leadership.
Reed canarygrass: A comprehensive literature review for wetland managers
Craig Annen, Integrated Restorations, LLC
Friday, November 15, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) is widely considered to be one of the most problematic invasive species of North American wetlands, and reversing a reed canarygrass invasion is generally considered an unrealistic management goal, even on a local scale. In point of fact, sufficient data have been published to understand how and why reed canarygrass invasions occur and also to design and implement effective management strategies for wetlands under threat from this species. However, this information is fragmentary and scattered throughout the relevant scientific literature (more than 1,000 studies from over 300 journals in ten different languages). To address this issue, beginning in 2002, restoration practitioner Craig Annen set out collecting and examining the extensive body of reed canarygrass literature in detail. In this presentation, Craig will summarize this literature review project and introduce an indexed literature compendium that will be made available to the wetland conservation community.
Craig Annen is Operations Manager and Research Director with the firm Integrated Restorations, LLC. Craig is passionate about wetland management and conservation. He is also a gourmet chef and enjoys baseball and waterfowl hunting.
Aerial herbicide application on invasive wetland plants: Planning, process and lessons learned
Jason Fleener, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Friday, December 6, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
Wisconsin DNR has contracted aerial herbicide application services for several years to combat invasive phragmites, cattail, and other wetland invasive plant species. Jason Fleener, wetland habitat specialist with WDNR, will outline the various steps to plan out and implement a successful spraying project, discuss how to choose the best method for application (helicopter or drone), and how to choose the right chemicals for a project. He will also share the results of treatments and lessons learned.
Jason Fleener is the statewide Wetland Habitat Specialist in Wisconsin DNR’s Bureau of Wildlife Management. He has 13 years of experience in this program overseeing wetland habitat program delivery on DNR managed lands, including hydrologic restorations, wetland infrastructure management, habitat prioritization, wild rice conservation, and wetland grant program support.
Purple loosestrife biocontrol model in Wisconsin
Friday, December 13, 2024
10:30 am CT
Description
Watch previous presentations
Click “Older Entries” below to see more past presentations, or view our Google Sheet index of past presentations here.
Wetland Coffee Break: Piloting natural flood management in the Lake Superior basin
Kyle will provide an overview of a natural flood management initiative in the Lake Superior Basin aiming to reduce flood risks and create climate-resilient infrastructure.
Wetland Coffee Break: Amphibians and reptiles of Wisconsin
Dr. Joshua Kapfer is co-author of the recently-published volume “Amphibian and Reptiles of Wisconsin,” assembled by an expert team of editors and contributors. Learn more about the information in this new book and hear stories about some of the amphibians and reptiles it describes.
Wetland Coffee Break: Restoring wetland amphipods to revive wetland habitats
Amphipods are important wetland invertebrates that indicate water quality and healthy aquatic plant habitats and are a key food for waterfowl.
Wetland Coffee Break: The influence of beaver dams on Wisconsin trout streams
Beavers and the wetlands they create play a complex role in the dynamics of low-gradient streams of the Upper Midwest, especially where dams alter important habitat for trout.
Wetland Coffee Break: Wetland restoration for ravine protection in SE Wisconsin
Hear from Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary & Arboretum about their restoration project of about two acres of wetland, and the installation of other storm water management measures over roughly six acres.
Wetland Coffee Break: The fascinating fishes of the floodplains of Wisconsin’s largest rivers
The Mississippi, Wisconsin, Wolf, and other large rivers in Wisconsin have extensive floodplain wetlands that support a diverse fish fauna. Some species are important gamefish, but most are little-known yet vitally important to a healthy ecosystem. Join John Lyons,...