About Us

It is Easy to Fall in Love with a Lake...

As you walk towards one, your pace quickens.
   The soil is soft to your step, and you smell the richness of the shores.
      Your pulse slows... you feel the coolness, damp on your cheek.
         Your eyes note the duplication,
            a mirror of the sky and shores shielding the secrets of the life below the surface.

Lakes are places filled with dreams, moving to ancient rhythms. They are bursting with all manner of life. They are magical places woven with family histories and legends.

The University of Wisconsin Extension Lakes

We have fallen in love with our lakes, and we are here to support others that suffer from the same affliction. We are the University of Wisconsin - Extension Lakes, a team of education professionals dedicated to preserving our Wisconsin Legacy of lakes through education, communication and bringing people together. We work with the 766 lake organizations in Wisconsin and coordinate a number of programs and projects to assist those concerned with the future of our lakes. Citizens and professionals work to learn more about lake science through our 25 year old Citizen Lake Monitoring Network. Helping us share information on aquatic invasive species are the watercraft inspectors who are members of the Clean Boats Clean Waters effort. Citizens discover and hone their leadership skills at the Lake Leaders Institute.

If you need help with lake and water education, feel free to contact us. We are centrally located in the state, within the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.

The Wisconsin Lakes Partnership

We are also a member of the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership. Since its genesis in the early 1970s, the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership has been recognized as a national model of collaboration.

Three groups form the core of this team:

• Our team, University of Wisconsin - Extension Lakes (UWEX-Lakes), builds conections among stakeholders and provides supporting educational materials and programs
• The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) supplies the technical expertise and regulatory authority;
• Local lake people make up the third group, represented by the Wisconsin Association of Lakes (WAL). Citizen volunteers from around the state - lake organizations, property owners, and local governments - provide the political will and hard work to accomplish watershed restoration and lake protection goals.

We are all concerned with the future of our lakes and have joined together in active cooperation and conscientious planning for lake protection.

The Partnership belongs to everyone concerned with the future of our state’s waters. Individuals, business partners, small groups, and large organizations have all rolled up their sleeves to lend a hand.

The Wisconsin Lakes Partnership is a statewide, multi-faceted effort. Partnership activities include citizen volunteer monitoring, research, youth and adult training and education, aquatic plant protection, pollution prevention, invasive species education, water recreation planning, land and water regulation, and community assistance grants. If you need assistance with any lake-related question or project, the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership can help.