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Find the power in a collective voice

“LAKES IN ACTION” ADVOCACY 101 TRAININGS KICK OFF CAMPAIGN TO AMPLIFY THE VOICE OF LAKE ORGANIZATIONS AND WATERFRONT PROPERTY OWNERS IN WATER POLICY DISCUSSIONS

By Mike Engleson, Executive Director

Wish you could influence public policy makers to be more protective of our lakes and waters, instead of tearing down existing protections?

You can!

And by speaking together, as lake associations and districts, as waterfront property owners, and as individuals who care about their lakes, your voice can be even more powerful.

In the last legislative session, when shoreland protections, water quality, and water quantity were all under attack, the proposals that didn’t make it through to law – things like virtual rights to groundwater withdrawals, rights to individuals to dredge massive amounts of lakebed per year, and giveaways of state-owned lake bed to private interests – failed in part because lake organizations and their members voiced their concerns. Surprised lawmakers took notice.

Wisconsin Lakes and the River Alliance of Wisconsin took notice as well, and that’s why we’ve partnered to create “Lakes in Action”, a new program designed to help you and your lake organization be even more effective in advocating sound water policy at all levels of government.

To launch Lakes in Action this summer and fall, we’re offering a free workshop to teach you the basics of being a good advocate – as an individual and an organization. Using the recent dismantling of Wisconsin’s shoreland zoning law as a real world topic from which to work, we’ll cover topics such as:

  • What can my lake organization do under the law to influence lawmakers? Can my group do lobbying?
  • What are the best ways to communicate and build effective relationships with lawmakers?
  • How can I have an impact and advocate for my lake if my voting address is different from my lake home?
  • How do we build consensus within our own organization as to the group’s position on an issue, or even whether to advocate one way or another as a group?

The trainings, presented by staff from WI Lakes and the River Alliance, will run 3 hours and are free, but registration is required. Due to a family emergency, the originally scheduled August workshops are being rescheduled for September, and the new dates and registration info will be posted here when it is ready. An additional workshop for southeast Wisconsin is also planned for early fall.

We hope to see you at one of these events!