A handful of non-profit, Wisconsin conservation organizations have been collaborating to develop methods of providing the citizens of the state with the tools and knowledge necessary to create and implement smart growth plans which effectively conserve the natural resources in their communities. Gathering Waters Conservancy, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, River Alliance of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Association of Lakes provide support, training and resources to local conservation groups to help build their capacity to effect significant on-the-ground conservation of land and water resources. One tool available to these local groups is working with their elected officials and planning staff to develop comprehensive plans which appropriately address natural resource conservation needs. Indeed, each of the partner groups had recognized the interest among their constituent organizations in learning more about the Smart Growth law and how it can assist in conservation efforts.

Last fall, these partner organizations, assisted by The Nature Conservancy, the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust and UW-Extension River Falls, staged a Comprehensive Planning for Natural Resource Protection workshop for their constituents. More than 40 individuals attended the day-long workshop, including interested citizens, elected officials, and members of conservation organizations from Polk, St. Croix, Dunn, Pierce, and Chippewa counties.

The goals of the workshop were threefold:

1. To encourage concerned citizens/community leaders/local activists to be at the table when comprehensive planning decisions are being made, and to provide them with the needed tools and data to help inform those decisions;

2. To advance natural resource protection through the participation of these community members in the planning process;

3. To learn from local leaders what information they need, that we can provide, that will help with these endeavors.

The workshop also provided participants with an opportunity to learn more about the services each of the coalition partner organizations provides and the possibilities and challenges facing natural resources protection today. This was a pilot project to determine the effectiveness of this kind of education effort in empowering local groups and individuals to get involved in comprehensive planning within their communities.

Through county-by-county roundtable discussions, case studies, and presentations from professional planners, participants in the workshop were provided the basics necessary to take steps to further smart growth planning in their communities. Participants were also provided a CD-ROM on comprehensive planning compiled by the hosts of the event. The CD includes information about the Smart Growth law, guides to planning for specific elements, information on natural resource data, guides for public participation as part of the planning process and contacts for more information. (The CD is available from Gathering Waters for $10 a copy. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please contact Sara Murphy at Gathering Waters: (608) 251-9131 or saramurphy@gatheringwaters.org.)

Participants in the workshop were nearly unanimous in their enthusiastic endorsement of this kind of educational program. As one individual noted, �I am just a beginner in smart growth planning, this gave me some background and provided ideas.� Another said �we�re already doing planning but this gave me more ideas how to approach it, particularly in getting citizens on our side.� Finally, several people were delighted to discover others concerned with similar issues, with whom they could collaborate on addressing those concerns.

Workshops and similar efforts are crucial for providing and spreading the necessary tools and information for the integration of natural resource protection and other land use concerns into comprehensive planning. The coalition partners are engaged in collaborations on future smart growth workshops and other outreach efforts around the state, building on this pilot and the feedback from the participants. In addition, the coalition is interested in establishing further partnerships with interested organizations for the promotion of smart growth education and outreach, including the work being done by the Center for Land Use Planning.

Based on the outcomes from the initial workshop, a similar training is being planned for the Ashland-Bayfield-Douglas-Iron county area, led by UW-Extension staff. Gathering Waters Conservancy has secured funding for two workshops in the Lake Michigan basin, through the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. 1000 Friends of Wisconsin and Gathering Waters worked with the WI-DNR�s Land Use program on a two-day workshop to present various land-use decision modeling tools, and evaluate their usefulness in local and regional planning work.