Affinity Grant Awards - 2013

Affinity Grant Awards made to local Friends groups for 2013 are announced!  Friends of Wisconsin State Parks is a non-profit organization that is made up  80+ local Friends groups, and a general membership from all across Wisconsin. These groups and individuals work together to preserve, protect, and enhance the state parks, trails, recreation areas and forests around Wisconsin by providing on-the-ground work, monetary support, and advocacy for these valuable areas.
The Friends of Wisconsin State Park Board has two main goals:

• support the local Friends groups 
• and strengthen and maintain its relationship with the DNR. 

Each year, local Friends groups can apply for money for development projects through the Stewardship Grant Program and nature programs funded by the Affinity Card Grant Program.
The Friends of Wisconsin State Parks funded all of the applications that were submitted and decided to exceed what was budgeted to make sure that these projects around the state could go forward and to serve thousands of park, trail and nature center visitors over the summer and fall season. This is a high priority for the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks.
These applicants have submitted proposals for Naturalist activities, programs, education or materials that they need to support these activities in Wisconsin state park, forests, trails and nature centers around the state.
Here is the list of Friends Groups who have gotten Affinity Grant Awards for 2013 as voted on by the FWSP Board of Directors on April 27, 2013:

Lake Wissota State Park	Kettle Moraine Natural History Assn.
The Bird Santuary	Lakeshore State Park
Newport Wilderness Society	Harrington Beach State Park
Kohler Andrae State Park	New Glarus Woods State Park
Perrot State Park	Lapham Peak State Forest
Big Foot Beach State Park	Hartman Creek State Park
Council Grounds State Park	Gov. Dodge State Park
Horicon Marsh International Education Center	Pike Lake State Forest
Navarino Nature Center	Potawatomi State Park
Rib Mountain State Park	Wyalusing State Park
Buckhorn State Park	Roche-A-Cri State Park

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STATE TRAIL TRIATHLON - June 8, 2013

STATE TRAIL TRIATHLON - Saturday - June 8, 2013      

FRIENDS of the STOWER SEVEN LAKES STATE TRAIL will host their 3rd annual Triathlon. 
This great event is fun for everyone!  Enter as an Individual or as a Relay team! 

Bike - 16 miles - Amery road course 
Kayak/Canoe - 1 mile on South Twin Lake 
Run/Walk - 3.1 miles on the Stower Trail  

Triathlon 2013 - Info

http://fwspstowerlaks.blogspot.com/

Triathalon Regsitration form
Friends of Stower Seven Lakes State Trail sponsor form
Basic Information
Bike portion of the event will start at the Pavilion and make a loop of approximately 16 miles. It will end at

the Amery beach where the attendees will continue on the canoe/kayak event.

Canoe/Kayak around South Twin Lake.

The event will end with the run on the trail which will start at the beach and end at the Pavilion. Running portion is approximately 3.1 miles and held on the Stower Seven Lakes State Trail.

Teams will consist of 1 or 2 people. Timing by Performance Timing, LLC.

Awards
Plaque to overall top male & female individual and top team

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Jan Primus–Backyard Hero

Community Shares of Wisconsin Backyard Hero Award winner!         

Jan Primus has been a very dedicated officer and board member of Friends of Wisconsin State Parks.  She has also been a long term President of Friends of Mirror Lake State Park, and she was instrumental in the Friends of Mirror Lake’s recent project - new natural stone seating and upgraded lighting.  Jan is an inspiration and a role model in how she gives her time and talents to support many community organizations.
Each month, Community Shares of Wisconsin and  sponsors, Budget Signs and Specialties, Isthmus, and 105.5 Triple M Radio, recognize two outstanding member agency volunteers who have given their time to our member groups and to our community. These volunteers are seldom in the news but are always on the front lines of critical issues that make our community a better place to live. Community Shares of Wisconsin is a member of Community Shares USA.
Community Shares USA and Its Mission
Community Shares USA (CS USA) is a collaboration of organizations committed to achieving fairness and opportunity for all. We work with employers to offer workplace-based giving campaigns that enable employees to support their communities through volunteering and charitable contributions.
CS USA member groups from all over the country support a variety of community-based organizations and causes. These members, or federations, play a vital role in advancing social, economic and environmental issues in their own communities.

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Aztalan State Park

by Jonathon Ringdahl*
Aztalan State Park, located on the east side of Jefferson County Highway Q, just south of County Highway B is unique to Wisconsin.  It is a National Historic Landmark and contains one of Wisconsin's most important  archaeological sites. It showcases an ancient Middle-Mississippian village that thrived between A.D. 1000 and 1300. The people who settled Aztalan built large, flat-topped pyramidal mounds and a stockade around their village. Portions of the stockade and two mounds have been reconstructed in the park.
Watching the sun rise in the east, high atop the mound, I imagined seeing people working their farm fields and elders holding religious ceremonies on the high ground.
Following  the path along the the Catfish River one can view remnants of old fishing dams. The river afforded me the opportunity to watch an Eagle glide along over the water perhaps in search of a meal.
I could not stop myself from feeling the reverence the people who occupied this site so long ago.
My memories of Aztalan are fond and vivid. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this site and exploring the nuances of the reconstructed walls. I especially liked at how well disguised the reconstructed entrance is to the eye. Aztalan is a park that should be on your list as a must visit.
** Jonathon Ringdahl visited all of Wisconsin’s 64 State Parks, State Forests, and recreational areas in 2012. This is another in a series of articles he is writing for the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks. Opinions expressed in this blog are the author’s.

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Great Wisconsin Birdathon

The Great Wisconsin Birdathon has over 100 participants from across the state and has raised over $18,000! The pilot year of the Great Wisconsin Birdathon was a resounding success and we anticipate this year will be even better.
Consider participating in the 2013 Great Wisconsin Birdathon! It’s an easy and exciting way to raise money for your organization as well as highlight the pressing conservation needs of Wisconsin’s birds.
Wibirdathon.org makes participating easy in 3 simple steps:
1. Start a birdathon team on wibirdathon.org. (Be sure to put your organizations name in the team name) Post unique content and pictures on your team page promoting your organization and cause.
2. Direct donors to your team’s page on wibirdathon.org. Here they can donate or pledge directly to your team. wibirdathon.org will bill your donors’ credit cards automatically!
3. Do your birdathon! Find as many bird species as you can in your state park or natural area in a 24 hour window, and post your results at wibirdathon.org. All pledge totals will automatically be calculated using your final species tally from the day!
If your organization is a member of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative (WBCI) they will receive 50% of all the proceeds that your team raises.
Becoming a WBCI member costs nothing and is a great way to network with other like-minded conservation organizations! The other 50% will go directly to the Bird Protection Fund that supports statewide bird conservation initiatives such as Kirtland’s Warbler Monitoring and Management, the Wisconsin Stopover Initiative and Citizen Science for Birds.
Here in Wisconsin, 30% of our 284 native bird species are identified as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Wisconsin Wildlife Action Plan.
If your organization would like to participate in this event visit wibirdathon.org and contact Andy Paulios at andy.paulios@wisconsin.gov.

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