La Crosse Leopold Days 2025 Celebration

Leopold is celebrated by the state each year on the first weekend of March. Leopold wrote the first U.S.
Forest Service manual on erosion control 102 years ago. His work on the Coon Creek watershed in the
1930s was a landmark conservation event. His lessons on land and water ethics remain relevant today.

9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. – Family Activities  

Meet our live critters, do some nature-themed activities, and create a nature-focused craft.

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. – Speakers in the Marshview Room

• Welcome from Stephanie Hanna of The Nature Place
• Rick Kyte reading from Leopold’s Sand County Almanac 
• Gretchen Pfeiffer of Mississippi Valley Conservancy – Leopold land ethic and water issues and the Coon Creek project legacy
• Bob Micheel, Monroe County Land conservation director on the dam removal proposals for the Coon Creek and West Fork watersheds
• Jason Freund – TU Coulee Region president and UWL Biology professor on the effects of dam decommissioning for trout streams

10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Break 

10:45 a.m. – Speaker in the Marshview Room

Madeline Heim, the Journal Sentinel and Mississippi River basin Ag & Water Desk reporter on her coverage of Driftless Water issues and the work of the Mississippi River basin Ag and Water Desk to make reporting on these issues free and available to any media outlets.

Reading from Sand County Almanac. Followed by a reading from Sand County Almanac.

9:00 a.m.-Noon – Tables and Displays in the Atrium

Valley Stewardship Network
Learn how you can become a Water Action Volunteer (WAV) and monitor water quality in a stream near you. Ben Johnston will tell you all about WAV, the statewide citizen-science program of UW Extension and the Wisconsin DNR.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Alicia Carhart will bring a poster highlighting changes in wild rice distribution on the river and the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program, as well as some herbarium specimens of wild rice and some other aquatic plants

Mississippi Valley Conservancy
Learn how land conservation helps prevent flooding and erosion in this time of climate change in SW Wisconsin. Volunteers from the Conservancy will share ways for you to get outdoors and get involved.

Friends of the Marsh
Members will describe marsh restoration efforts and share information about the Friends group.

ORA Trails 
ORA Trails will represent stream restoration plans and dreams for the Community Trail Farm, highlight native plant revegetation opportunities, and share research findings from recent stream sampling conducted at the site.