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View the Summit Agenda

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Thursday, March 13th, 2025
Veterans Terrace at Echo Park - Burlington, WI
doors open @ 7:15 for Registration and Coffee Tea Juice Danish Muffins Fruit
Summit Welcome and Introductions begin @ 8:00 

Keynote Presentation

Carpentersville Dam Removal

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​​The planning, sequence of removal, lessons learned,

and how has the river responded

Panel Presentation

Rob Linke, P.E., CFM

Sr. Water Resources Engineer & Wetland Specialist

Kane County Dept. of Environmental & Water Resources

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Derrick Martin, P.E., CFM

Natural Resources Group Manager

V3 Companies

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Derrick Martin, P.E., CFM, V3 Companies, is the Group Manager for V3’s Natural Resources Group. Mr. Martin is a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Floodplain Manager with over 25 years of professional experience.  He is involved in the preparation of hydrologic and hydraulic analyses associated with watershed studies, roadway drainage projects, site development floodplain analysis & stormwater management, and existing drainage assessments and remediation.  He has significant experience with natural area improvements, including dam removals and creek restoration. He has extensive experience with federal, state and local permitting relative to floodway/floodplain issues, stormwater management improvements, roadway projects and site design. He has a degree in Civil Engineering from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Jennifer Rooks-Lopez

Director of Planning and Land Protection

Forest Preserve District of Kane County

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Jennifer Rooks-Lopez is the Director of Planning and Land Protection for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.   In this role she serves a diverse county population of over 500,000.  As the Director of Planning she is responsible for planning, restoration and maintenance of almost 24,000 acres, including ten (10) Illinois State Nature Preserves, five (5) Historic sites as well as the acquisition, design and construction of existing and future preserves within the County.

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Before joining the Park and Recreation field in 2009 Jennifer worked for the Landscape Architecture and Planning firms, Wood and Partners, Inc of Hilton Head Island, SC and the Hitchcock Design Group, Ltd. in Naperville, IL, where she managed land planning, construction and landscape design projects throughout the south-east and mid-west.  Jennifer holds a Bachelor degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia and is a Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) and LEED AP.

Derek Brehm

Operations Manager

RES

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Followed by a photo presentation of the Post Dam Removal River Response by Art Malm from Friends of the Fox River

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Featured Speakers and presentations

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Cheryl Nenn

Milwaukee Riverkeeper

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Community Action for Clean Water: Milwaukee Riverkeeper's Role in Pollution Response & Restoration

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Milwaukee Riverkeeper is a non-profit, science-based advocacy organization working for clean, swimmable, fishable, and drinkable water. Their mission is to protect water quality and wildlife habitat, and advocate for sound land management in the Milwaukee River Basin. As a member of Waterkeeper Alliance, Milwaukee Riverkeeper identifies sources of pollution, responds to community concerns, and works with many stakeholders to find solutions to problems affecting local rivers. The organization provides support to dozens of individuals and communities advocating for clean water and healthy communities each year, and responds to between 50-100 pollution reports. Milwaukee Riverkeeper engages the community in baseline water quality monitoring, coordinating 85+ volunteers that monitor over 100 sites each year, who regularly report pollution to the organization so it can be reported and (hopefully) addressed. Community volunteers also monitor for road salt/chloride pollution, bacteria, phosphorus, emerging contaminants, mussels, and macroinvertebrates. Riverkeeper has organized local spring river cleanups since 1995, and hosts an Adopt-a-River program that engages over 140 businesses and community groups in additional cleanups and restoration activities each year. Riverkeeper also advocates for fish passage and dam removals, and is currently assisting two communities with dam removal and stream restoration projects.

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Cheryl Nenn has been the Riverkeeper for Milwaukee Riverkeeper for over 22 years, serving as an advocate, spokesperson, scientist, and project manager for Milwaukee’s rivers.  She directs the Community Based Water Quality Monitoring Program in the Milwaukee River Basin,  the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail Project, and several stream restoration projects in the Milwaukee River Basin. Cheryl has a BS in Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MS in Natural Resource Ecology and Management from the University of Michigan. She serves on multiple boards and advisory committees, and enjoys paddling, sailing, skiing, and ice skating on local waterways!   

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The State of the

Fox River 2025

Featuring Gary's

​FOX RIVER

TOP TEN List

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Sometimes very little changes from year to year. And sometimes, that is something to celebrate, which is often the case in the natural resource-protection community. Meaning things didn’t get worse. This year, things did happen – so we have many things to celebrate, and there was one very big one. Join us for a celebration.

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We will recognize some of the many ways that the watershed is being restored from individual efforts: by groups, agencies, and municipalities. Collectively and collaboratively, these initiatives are producing significant results. We hope that by becoming aware of these activities will foster hope and faith in our relationship with ALL residents of the watershed, whether they wear scales, shells, feathers, fur or leaves. We are becoming much more mindful of how our past practices and current activities negatively impact water quality and habitat.​

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​​Steve Vavrus

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Weathering the Changing Climate: What’s Happened and What’s Next?

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There is an increasing feeling that the climate isn’t as reliable as it used to be and that increasingly erratic weather patterns are becoming the norm. Scientific evidence bears that out and suggests that unfamiliar climate conditions will become increasingly common in the future. In this presentation, we will see how our temperatures and precipitation have been changing and what’s in store in the decades ahead. The goal is that “forewarned is forearmed” as we adapt to impacts in the Fox River Watershed.

 

Steve Vavrus is director of the Wisconsin State Climatology Office, which provides climate services to stakeholders across the state. He has investigated Wisconsin and Midwest climatology, extreme weather, global climate change, and Arctic climate. Steve also serves as co-director of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) and is a member of its Climate Working Group. He earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Purdue University.

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Tom Koepp

Lake Pewaukee Sanitary District​

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Wake Boats, Lake Users

and Lake Management Challenges

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Wake boating on Wisconsin Lakes has become a controversial issue. Tom will address the controversy, the differences of opinion, lake health and dealing with the lake users in a professional manner.

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Tom Koepp, P.E., LEED AP is the manager for the Lake Pewaukee Sanitary District. He is also a board member for Lake Country Clean Waters.

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Kristin Schultheis

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District

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Addressing climate resiliency in the agricultural community of the Milwaukee River Basin

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Learn how the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) works with regional partners and farmers to reduce flood risk, improve water quality and habitat, and preserve farmland as a means of preparing the region for climate change. MMSD has protected over 2,000 acres of farmland in watershed headwaters to reduce the future flooding risk, and partners have supported farmers in implementing over 5,000 acres of conservation practices. Land protection preserves the water holding capacity of hydric soil properties and preserves natural areas and farmland. Additional benefits include restoring habitat, reducing nutrient runoff from undeveloped land, increasing subsurface organic matter, improving environmental connectivity, and supporting the local farming economy. Key partners include USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, County Land & Water Departments, municipalities, producer-led watershed groups, land trusts, and the Fund for Lake Michigan. The watershed partnership come together to leverage local resources with USDA-NRCS through their Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

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Kristin Schultheis manages MMSD's Working Soils® and Greenseams® floodwater management programs and facilitates the Milwaukee River Basin Conservation Partnership in implementing a USDA-NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Kristin is a UW-Madison alum, has degrees in soil science and hydrogeology, has twenty years professional experience, serves on the board of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, and is a life-long paddler and hiker of Wisconsin’s waters and lands.

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Tony Peirick

Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil and Healthy Water

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How Wisconsin Farmer led Groups are leading the way in Soil health practices across the country​

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"I farm with my brother Ralph and our sons, Josh and Dan. Our farm is T& R Dairy Farm LLC. and is in Watertown Wis.  We operate 1100 acres of crop land and milk 200 dairy cows. We grow corn, beans, wheat and alfalfa. We have started no-tilling in the late 90's and started using covers over 20 years ago. Our farm won in 2019 the state of Wisconsin Conservation family Farm of the year. I started our farmer lead group the Dodge County Farmers Healthy Soil and Healthy Water group in 2017 and am President of. I am also President of The Fields of Sinsinawa another farmer lead group in southwestern Wisconsin." - Tony Peirick

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Gary Swick

Friends of the Fox River

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Where were you for It's Our Fox River Day 2024?

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To effectively protect and restore a watershed, we must act on a watershed scale. The Fox River Summit and Our Fox River Day (IOFRD) are two events that embrace that concept.

 

IOFRD is designed to be a unifying watershed-wide event to provide awareness and action in celebration of the Fox River. Born as a clean-up, it has morphed into a diverse celebration. Learn what happened, lessons learned, and get ready to celebrate IOFRD 2025.

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Gary Swick used his BS in Natural Resource Mgt. from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and a MSEd in Outdoor Teacher Education as the foundation for developing a field-based High School Environmental Science suite of eight courses. Under his direction, students planted thousands of trees, restored acres of natural areas, generated files of research, and accomplished many other acts of environmental stewardship that have become local history. Many of those students are now professionals in the environmental field.  In addition, he also invested 10 years at Northern Illinois University as an instructor, and 18 summers as a raft guide on the Snake River in Wyoming.

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Gary serves as the President of the Friends of the Fox River and is a board member on several other non-profit conservation groups. He is an avid outdoor recreationist.

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Karen Ann Miller

Kane County Development Department

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Annual Update on the Fabulous Fox! National Water Trail

 

As Illinois Co-Chair of the Fabulous Fox! National Water Trail (FF!WT), Karen will give an update on current projects including the anticipated installation of five universal design access sites along the Fox River in Kane County.  These improvements are being funded by the American Rescue Plan.  Karen will also discuss efforts to market the FF!WT in order to educate about the value of the Fox River and encourage tourists to check out historic, cultural and culinary destinations while paddling our beautiful Fox River. These efforts are being funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Kane County Government.

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Karen Ann Miller has been a Certified Planner with the Kane County Development Department in Geneva, Illinois for almost twenty-five years.  She has had a wide range of responsibilities from local and regional planning to organizing a variety of County functions.

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Lynda Fink

Waukesha County Department of Parks and Land Use

Fox River Park Improvements on the waterway

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This session highlights the work that the County completed to fortify the banks  of the Fox River and provide new accessible recreational opportunities to the water. The session will review phasing, project budget, challenges in design and construction, and public reaction to the improvements.

 

Lynda Fink is a senior landscape architect at Waukesha County and has 24 years of experience with public trails and open spaces in funding, planning, design, and construction oversight.

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Chris Anchor

Urban River Otter Research Project

Senior Wildlife Biologist

Forest Preserves of Cook County

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River Otters on the Fox River​

Learn about the status of otter in the Fox River and the Urban River otter research project

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Zach Kron

Senior Specialist - Biologist

SE Wisconsin Regional Natural Areas Plan

& Interactive Webtool 

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​Commission staff will discuss the 2025 update to the Regional Natural Areas and Critical Species Habitat Protection and Management Plan, which identifies a total of 478 natural areas & 412 critical species habitat sites. Significant revisions were made to the aquatic area assessment scheme, which identified 91 stream reaches and 53 lakes for a total of 144 aquatic areas.

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Accompanying the NA plan is the Regional Natural Areas Explorer Webtool. This interactive mapping site provides access to: 

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  • Natural areas sites, boundaries, and detailed site profiles

  • Critical Species Habitat sites

  • Aquatic Lake and Stream Rankings and locations

  • Archaeological Sites

  • Geological Sites

  • Aerial maps

  • Environmental Corridors

  • Invasive species management information and much more…

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Zach Kron joined the Commission in 2020. Zach earned a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2008. In 2011, he received a Master’s degree in Plant Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign.

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Ben Johnson joined the Commission in 2015. Ben earned a Master's degree in Environmental Management & Planning from the University of Illinois Springfield in 2015 and a Master's of Science in Cartography from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 2024.

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Ben Johnson

Surveying and GIS

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Tim Cambell

University of Wisconsin Sea Grant

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How Emotion and Language Impacts

Aquatic Plant Management

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A common aquatic plant management issue is a conflict between what lake community members want out of APM action and what natural resource managers might find appropriate for a given lake and situation. How we communicate about invasive species, and the emotions that come with those communications, could explain this disconnect. Using a review of aquatic plant management information sources online as well as a survey of waterfront property owners, researchers from the University of Wisconsin Madison learned that certain language categories are more likely to yield certain information sources and that negative emotions drive a preference for herbicide treatment on lakes. These findings can be used to better communicate with lake communities about APM and to help them make decisions that are in-line with their values.

 

Tim Campbell is a distinguished aquatic invasive species program manager for the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Program, where he has worked since 2011. He is also the National AIS Liaison for the NOAA Sea Grant Program. He supports all levels of AIS prevention outreach and communications, and works to apply university and Sea Grant resources to AIS problems.

© Southeast Fox River Partnership
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