LA CROSSE EARTH FAIR, APRIL 24 The Coulee Region Sierra Club will table at the La Crosse Earth Fair, Sunday, April 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Myrick Park. If you are available to help, please email us at crsierraclub@gmail.com or call - 608-315-2693. We will supply all the materials, you let people know why you are a member of the club! Whether you can help for an hour or three hours or more or less, please volunteer to help out! Earth Fair: www.sustaininstitute.com/earthfairlacrosse
CONSERVATION CONGRESS, APRIL 11-14 The Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) is a board of elected delegates from each county that gives input to the Natural Resources Board (NRB) and DNR on what priorities they should focus on. The WCC spring hearings will be ONLINE again this year. The survey about Wisconsin natural resources will be open from April 11-14, with questions covering areas such as wildlife, water, land use, and
recreation. There may even be Sierra Club-authored citizen resolutions introduced in your county! If citizen resolutions pass in a county, they move on to the statewide survey the following year. This year's survey will include questions about PFAS and wolf management. RSVP at tinyurl.com/22WisCongress to learn more.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES! Drive Electric Earth Day (DEED) is a national campaign to share information about electric vehicles throughout the month of April. In addition to being better for the environment, electric vehicles are more fun to drive, more
convenient to fuel and less expensive to operate than gasoline vehicles. Drive Electric Earth Day is presented by Plug In America, the Electric Vehicle Association, the Sierra Club, and EVHybridNoire. There are at least two DEED events planned in the Coulee Region. On Saturday, April 16, learn more about EVs at the Viroqua Food Co-op, 609 North Main Street, between 8 a.m. and noon. See driveelectricearthday.org/event?eventid=3161 On Sunday,
April 24, visit the DEED event at the La Crosse Earth Fair from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Myrick Park! Learn more at driveelectricearthday.org/event?eventid=3050
MARCH 15 WATER PROGRAM We hope you enjoyed our March 15 online program about The Fight for Clean Water in Wisconsin. Thanks to our guests, Johnson Bridgwater of Wisconsin River Alliance and Jamie O’Neill of Viterbo University, we learned about the statewide Clean Water referendum movement and the March 25 Clean Water Symposium at Viterbo University.
There were several great questions from participants which prompted more details from our speakers on what actions state groups and individuals are taking to advocate for stronger water quality regulations and laws. If you missed the program, you can watch it online at our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CRSierraClub/videos/4938740156216465
APRIL 5 ELECTION DAY Election Day is Tuesday, April 5, but absentee ballots are being delivered now and absentee in person voting is underway. Learn what’s on your ballot and get more voting information at myvote.wi.gov or contact your municipal clerk for details. If you are voting an absentee ballot please make sure to sign and date the envelope and have a witness sign and fill in their address. You must return your own absentee ballot to your clerk’s office. Drop boxes are no longer an option. Do not mail your ballot after March 28.
LA CROSSE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN Work by more than 50 community volunteers continues as the City of La Crosse creates a climate action plan under the guidance of paleBLUEdot llc. On March 23, a special banner inviting public input was unveiled followed by the first public input session of the process. More public sessions are planned, and a “Meeting in a Box” resource is available for groups who want to learn more and have meaningful input.
You can learn more about the process, share your climate story, get a schedule of upcoming input opportunities, and more at www.lacrosseclimateactionplan.org
HIGH SCHOOL AWARD DEADLINE EXTENDED!
AWARD AMOUNT INCREASED! ELIGIBILITY EXPANDED!
UPDATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON EARTH DAY
WITH APPLICATIONS DUE THIS SUMMER!
MORE DETAILS IN OUR MAY NEWSLETTER!
DRIFTLESS AREA BIOBLITZ Nature Challenge April 24 through September 30, 2022 Strive2ThriveCR.org/dabb
EARTH DAY 2022 - WATER ON THE RISE Water and life are inextricably intertwined. Without access to adequate water, humanity suffers. Yet, water in extreme abundance can also become a destructive force. We invite you to join us as we explore these concepts and more during the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Earth Day 2022: Water on the Rise. This day-long community learning event, featuring both in-person and virtual experiences, will examine how communities across the globe are facing, responding to, and mitigating critical water issues. This event will be in partnership with Water@UW, which will continue the conversation on Friday, April 22, 2022, at the annual Water@UW Symposium. See speakers, sessions, and schedules at earthday.nelson.wisc.edu
MORE APRIL EVENTS
April 5: “Defending Water, Defending Life” with Dr. Al Gedicks 7 p.m. UWL Student Union Room 120 www.uwlax.edu/events/?e=26021
April 6: “Social Impacts of Environmental (In)Justice” 5:30 p.m. UWL Centennial Hall www.uwlax.edu/events/?e=25987
April 6: “Envisioning Intersectional Environmental Justice in Urban America” 7 p.m. UWL Student Union www.uwlax.edu/events/?e=26022
April 7: “Native Plants for Improving Stormwater” Register by 4/3 tinyurl.com/wild-stormwater
April 10: Cold whitewater paddling on the Black River from Hatfield to Halls Creek. 10 a.m. at Clayschool Rd. www.blackrivercountry.net/event/the-friends-of-the-black-river-paddling-event/2022-04-10/
April 12: Cultural Coffee Hour: Environment at 5 p.m. ONLINE. www.uwlax.edu/events/?e=25674
April 13: Wolf Advocacy by Diane Cain of Hixton at Friends of the Black River meeting. 6:30 p.m. at Lunda Community Center, BRF www.blackrivercountry.net/event/friends-of-the-black-river-april-meeting-the-hub-at-the-lunda-community-center/
April 14: “Native Plants for Outdoor Air Quality” Register by 4/11 tinyurl.com/wild-stormwater
April 14: What is clean water worth? 6 p.m. UWL Centennial Hall www.uwlax.edu/events/?e=26006
April 20: “Year of the Electric Vehicle” Noon to 1 p,m, and EV show 1 to 1:30 English Lutheran Church, La Crosse www.interfaithleaders.org/
April 20: “Two American Families” film screening 5:30 p.m. Online tinyurl.com/WISC-2Fams
April 20: “Climate Change and the Pursuit of Truth in a Post-Truth World” 6:30 p.m. Kickapoo Valley Reserve http://kvr.state.wi.us/Events/Calendar
April 21: “Native Plants for Outdoor Air Quality” Register by 4/11 tinyurl.com/wild-stormwater
April 22: Protect the Future rally and press conference at noon. Weigent Park, La Crosse secure.every action.com/X6sFYvSoIE2g55INxeAqTg2
April 22-30: International Dark-Sky Week idsw.darksky.org
April 23: Solar on La Crosse Schools bike ride. Start at Hamilton Elementary School, 1111 7th St. S. at noon. www.solaronlacrosseschools.org/solar-on-schools-bike-tour/
April 23: Clark County River Cleanup, Listeman Park, E. 15th St. Black River Falls from 8 to 11 a.m. www.blackrivercountry.net/event/friends-of-the-black-river-hiking-events/2022-04-23/
April 30: Jackson County Forest cleanup from 8 a.m. to noon at Castle Mound parking lot. www. blackrivercountry.net/event/friends-of-the-black-river-hiking-events/2022-04-23/
CRSC AT WATER SYMPOSIUM Viterbo University sponsored the timely Agnes W. H. Tan Science Symposium at Viterbo last Friday – What’s in Our Drinking Water? Erin Brockovich did a presentation on personal empowerment and standing up for clean water on Thursday night, followed by a Friday morning keynote presentation by Jeannie Purchase, a 26-year-old woman who earned a PhD in engineering after observing the water problems in Flint, Michigan and Denmark, South Carolina. She now works for the Washington, DC water district, working on providing water there, including getting lead pipes replaced.
The Coulee Region Sierra Club had a booth at the event and made contact with students, adults, and other groups concerned with our water quality crisis. There were breakout sessions by experts on PFAS, nitrates, bacteria, salt, endocrine disrupters, and all of the above, along with a presentation on the challenge of supplying safe fresh water to the low income people of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The River Alliance of Wisconsin was there supporting their Clean Water Now for Wisconsin initiative to get a clean water referendum passed in every county in Wisconsin. Some presentations are available online at tinyurl.com/ViterboWater
ADVISORY WATER REFERENDUM ON LA CROSSE BALLOTS Eau Claire and La Crosse County voters will find this advisory referendum question on their April 5 ballot:
Shall the State of Wisconsin establish a right to clean water to protect human health,
the environment, and the diverse cultural and natural heritage of Wisconsin?
LINE 5 COMMENTS Since mid-December, the Wisconsin Sierra Club has encouraged people to send comments to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regarding the expansion of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline. The DNR has received more than 10,000 comments and they’ve extended the comment period deadline to April 15.
To learn more about the issue, please visit www.sierraclub.org/wisconsin/line-5 and if you wish to comment, use this link: dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/EIA/Enbridge.html
GET INVOLVED! The Sierra Club is a grassroots movement. That means we rely on volunteers to make things happen. There are many ways Sierra Club members can get involved.
Help us produce the newsletter by reporting on events and issues in your community or volunteering to be the back up editor when needed.
Suggest ideas for programs, from speakers to places to visit. Attend our programs and events.
Attend a volunteer night. Volunteers help with graphics, writing articles, doing online work and more. The next Virtual Volunteer Night is online on April 13 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Register at tinyurl.com/WISC-04Vol
Help us table at the La Crosse Earth Fair on Sunday, April 24 at Myrick Park. It’s easy and fun.
Volunteer to join a Sierra Club team or be on a Sierra Club committee. Email us at CRSierraClub@gmail.com or call 608-315-2693 to learn more!
APRIL 23 HIGHWAY CLEANUP Our first highway cleanup of 2022 will be on Saturday, April 23 at 9 a.m. Meet at the pumping station near the intersection of River Valley Drive and Gillette. Gloves, bags, and vests provided.
