March News & Updates

DALC's Winter-Spring Newsletter Has Arrived!

In this 25th anniversary edition, explore a quarter-century of accomplishments - all made possible by your amazing support! Plus, check out the inspiring history of our latest nature preserve, opportunities to grow prescribed burning in our region, a reflection on our community conservation work, and more! Hard copies will be arriving in mailboxes soon, but in the meantime, you can read the digital version on our website here. If you don't currently receive a print copy but would like to, please contact Angie.

Farm & Food Tour

Don't miss Savor the River Valley’s 3rd annual Earth Day Farm & Food Tour on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This free, self-guided tour extends from Plain to Ridgeway with stops at 12 small farms, food processors and local food businesses. For a tour map and more information, go to the Savor website.

You're Invited to DALC's 25th Anniversary Spring Social!

For 25 years, your support has helped DALC grow and thrive. Now, it’s time to celebrate! We're thrilled to invite you to Wintergreen, a stunning high-priority conservation opportunity along the Lower Wisconsin River. Together, we’ll reflect on the impact you’ve made, celebrate our shared successes, and look ahead to the future of land conservation. Space is limited, so register today!

Volunteer Opportunities

Head outside and make a difference! Join our outdoor workdays:

• Weekends at Wild Oaks: 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. Upcoming dates: 4/5, 4/19

• Sundays at Sardeson: 3rd Sundays of the month. Upcoming dates: 4/20

• Wednesdays at the Wetland: 1st Wednesdays of the month. Upcoming dates: 4/2

• Driftless Trail Trimmers: 1st Sundays of the month. Upcoming dates: 4/6

• Driftless Trail Diggers: 3rd Fridays of the month. Upcoming dates: 4/18

Find more details and let us know you're coming at our Volunteer page.

Notes From the Field

with Jen Filipiak

“How are you doing…  with all this… you know…  everything, government, stuff like that?” This is a question I get a lot these days - my friends and colleagues are checking in with me, and with DALC.  

Since he took office just two months ago, President Trump has issued an unprecedented number of executive orders and administrative actions that touch on almost every part of the federal government. And those actions trickle down to all of us, creating real and potentially long-lasting uncertainty and challenges for land trusts.

DALC does have federal funding, and it’s been frozen and unfrozen. We have no idea what will happen to the farm bill, which provides a lot of dollars for land protection and conservation practices. DALC collaborates with many agencies and organizations where workforce reductions have been devastating. Individually, we all have friends and colleagues who have lost their jobs in the last two months.

In a word, it’s brutal. So what do we do? Well, there is only so much we have control over.  

We’re building financial resilience by diversifying our funding streams. We rely on annual fundraising from individuals (thank you!); foundation grants; federal, state, and local grants and programs; and we have a healthy operating reserve. We’ve used generous bequests to establish sustaining reserve funds for land management, the Driftless Trail, and land protection. 

We are advocating for nonprofits and the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Nonprofits can and do lobby our legislators (though there are strict limits on how much of that we can do). I’m working to get to know our legislators, make sure they know how chaos in the federal government affects local livelihoods, and make sure they know how important state funds for conservation are in Wisconsin. You can help too – visit knowlesnelson.org and let your representatives know how you’ve benefited from this program!

We are staying educated – the Land Trust Alliance has been a great resource in keeping us up to date on what’s happening in the federal landscape and how it affects us. We talk to our peers at other land trusts to learn how they are handling this new landscape. And we talk to you through personal calls, events, and field trips, to understand how our community is impacted.

Finally, we’re just trying to stay calm and focus on the long game. DALC is in the business of forever. We will make it through this crisis and others to come. We will lean into our communities, and we will adapt and stay flexible. This could be painful, and it’s already stressful. But here’s what else we’ll be doing: watching families enjoy the Driftless Trail, gathering with neighbors at sunset to learn about the night sky, watching hoary puccoon flowers and bird’s foot violets carpet a freshly burned prairie, and getting a hug from a landowner that just completed a conservation easement. I love our work, even during the hard times, and I know you do too!

- Jen Filipiak, Executive Director