TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 5:00 to 6:30 P.M. A WALK IN THE REFUGE at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge Visitor Center, N5727 County Rd Z, Onalaska. Join Sierra Club friends and Refuge Visitor Services Specialist Katie Julian on a guided walk through the Brice Prairie Visitors Center trails. The trails, paved and gravel, wind through a prairie filled with life and color between the Center and Lake Onalaska. For more information about the center, see tinyurl.com/BricePrairieCtr
Bring your camera and enter the annual Share the Experience amateur photo contest for photos taken on public lands, including those managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service! Learn more about the contest at www.sharetheexperience.org
To find the refuge, from highway 35 go west to Brice Prairie. The Center is on County Road Z just north of its intersection with County Road ZN.
NATIONAL DRIVE ELECTRIC WEEK National Drive Electric Week is September 22 through October 1. There will be at least two electric vehicle education and outreach events in the Coulee Region.
On Saturday, September 30, electric car owners will gather at the Prairie Cinema, 1205 Prairie Street, in Prairie du Chien between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to talk and learn about electric vehicles. Anybody and everybody who is curious about EVs is welcome to attend this free event. Electric Vehicle Association-Wisconsin Chapter will be there, too.
On Sunday, October 1, between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., electric car and ebike owners will gather in La Crosse to show off their vehicles, talk about EV ownership, and provide information about EV and charging incentives available.
The Sierra Club is one of the national sponsors of National Drive Electric Week. To learn more about these events, visit driveelectricweek.org
SUPPORT OUR TEAMS! There’s still time to support Wisconsin Sierra Club Teams, volunteers from around the state who work on issues important to us all. Donations help us promote events and actions, connect with allies, and communicate with decision-makers. Donate by Sept. 8 at https://teamsierrawi.rallybound.org/Static/Team-List
CLEAN TECH, NOT NTEC! We’re at a turning point when it comes to fossil fuels and climate change. The science is clear: we cannot keep funding dirty energy for the sake of our communities’ health, safety and planet. Excitingly, President Biden has committed to ending federal subsidies for fossil fuel energy resources, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering $9.7 billion to rural electric coops for their transition to clean energy.
This is great news, but at the same time, the USDA is still considering a subsidized loan worth hundreds of millions of dollars for Dairyland Power Co-op to build the proposed Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) fossil gas plant, which would be located in Superior, Wisconsin. This is a major contradiction in the face of crystal-clear science. Right now, the USDA is going through an environmental review process that will inform whether or not they approve Dairyland’s loan application, and you can weigh in!
Join us in sending a strong message to the USDA that uplifts our opposition to a new gas plant and its negative contributions to climate change, public health, and the local economy: https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/no-new-fracked-gas-plant-near-lake-superior/petition
BOARD ELECTIONS We are seeking candidates for the Coulee Region Sierra Club board. At least one seat is open for 2024. Elections will be in December. New terms begin in 2024. The board meets monthly and plans club activities and events.
If you are interested in serving your club, please email CRSierraClub@gmail.com OR call or text 608-315-2693 with your name and a statement about why you are interested in being on the board and your pertinent experience. We encourage club members living outside the La Crosse area to self-nominate, but everyone is welcome to run.
We will publish candidates’ statements in our November newsletter which will be mailed, along with information about voting by mail and online in December.
If you might like to run but need more information, please email, call or text us!
SHOW YOUR SOLAR! Every October, the American Solar Energy Society hosts the National Solar Tour. This is an opportunity for people to visit with those who have installed solar at their homes or businesses and get more information about installers, benefits, and incentives.
If you have solar, consider signing up to be a stop on a local tour, or, if there is no local tour, consider signing up to host one.
There will be a Solar La Crosse Tour for the first time on Saturday and Sunday, October 7 and 8, co-sponsored by the Coulee Region Sierra Club, the City of La Crosse, and the Climate Alliance for the Common Good. We are seeking tour stops; if you live in La Crosse and have a solar installation, please sign up at www.nationalsolartour.org/tourmap/solar-la-crosse-tour
There is also a solar tour in Trempealeau on Saturday, October 7 organized by the Trempealeau Renewable Energy Municipal Producers. Learn more at www.nationalsolartour.org/tourmap/tour-trempealeau-and-meet-the-tremps
2024 CALENDARS It’s time to order your Sierra Club calendars! Wall calendars are $19 each and engagement calendars are $20. Calendar sales help us fund our education grants and awards!
If you are interested, please text or call Maureen Kinney, 608-787-9442 or email Maureen@JohnsFlaherty.com
Other Sierra Club items including prints, note cards, books, clothing, gifts, and more may be found at store.sierraclub.org/storefront.aspx
WOLF HUNT HEARING The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is taking public comments on the draft rules around a wolf hunt if wolves were to be delisted from the Endangered Species Act. RSVP to attend the hearing and we'll send you talking points, tips and tricks for testifying, and more background on the rule. RSVP at tinyurl.com/wiscwolfhearing
MORE SEPTEMBER EVENTS
9/ 2-4: Ho-Chunk Nation Powwow, Andrew Blackhawk Memorial Pow-Wow Grounds, Black River Falls. www.blackrivercountry.net/event/ho-chunk-nation-pow-wow/
9/ 6: Ground-nesting bees with researcher Danielle Hudson, 7 p.m. The Nature Place, Myrick Park, La Crosse
https://natureplacelacrosse.org/calendar/enviro-wednesdays-2-2023-09-06/
9/ 6, 13, 20, 27: Hiking for Fitness, 5:15 p.m. Black River Falls. www.jacksoninaction.org/hikerfitness
9/ 9: Cassville Mushroom Foray 9:30 a.m. Registration required: mississippivalleyconservancy.org/events/cassville-mushroom-foray-0
9/ 9: Prairie Enthusiasts trip to Holland Sand Prairie 10 to noon, theprairieenthusiasts.org/events/
9/ 9: Friends of the Black River Paddle - Hatfield Whitewater Release. Noon. Please RSVP. www.blackrivercountry.net/event/friends-of-the-black-river-2023-paddle-events/2023-09-09/
9/16: 75th Birthday Party - Wildcat Mountain State Park 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Hikes, talks, contests, food, more. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/76146
9/16: Driftless Dialog - Not another DAM talk! 9:30 a.m. Kickapoo Valley Reserve. http://kvr.state.wi.us/Events/Calendar
9/17: Intro to Birding, 7 a.m. Kickapoo Valley Reserve. http://kvr.state.wi.us/Events/Calendar
9/19: Choose to Re-use: Making Sustainable Choices at Home with Natalie Heneghan, Habitat for Humanity. 2 p.m. Black River Falls Public Library, 222 Fillmore St. www.blackrivercountry.net/event/choose-to-reuse-making-sustainable-choices-at-home/
9/22-24: Jackson in Action Fall Hiking Series at Wazee Lake. More info/register: www.jacksoninaction.org/fallhike
9/23: Astronomy Day at Riverside Park in La Crosse (near the cannon) Solar observing - 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Night observing - 8 to 10 p.m. http://www.lcaas.org/
9/23: Become a BarBERRIAN - Invasive plant removal. 9 a.m. to noon. Wildcat Mountain State Park. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/71421
9/26: La Crosse Climate Action Plan ACTION Kick-Off, 10 to 11:30 a.m. La Crosse Center.
9/28: Gardening in a Changing Climate with Melinda Myers, 2:30 p.m. at Black River Falls Public Libary OR online: https://youtu.be/8URCF0C4bxc
BE A POLL WORKER The Wisconsin League of Women Voters is offering Poll Worker Training for people wishing to ensure safe, free, and fair elections in our state in 2024.
If you're looking for a way to make an impact in 2024, becoming a poll worker is one of the most vital roles you can play. A poll worker helps people vote safely and ensuries as many people as possible can cast their ballot. Poll workers are important because they:
- Create an accessible and inclusive environment where voters feel empowered and safe throughout the voting process.
- Serve their community. More poll workers mean more polling places. This keeps lines short and efficient for their neighbors.
- Play a vital role in upholding our democratic processes. And, they get hands-on insight into our safe, fair and free elections.
Visit powerthepolls.org/lwvwi and enter your information so your local clerk knows that you are interested in becoming a poll worker.
PROJECT 2025 Several news outlets, are reporting on the Heritage Foundation’s comprehensive plans for a Republican presidential win next year. The “battle plan” covers the first 180 days of the transition, with lists of pre-vetted individuals for administration positions and a “policy playbook” that includes every federal program and department.
The Guardian reports that the plan calls for
- Elimination of three Department of Energy agencies that are working on the energy transition;
- Blocking renewable energy from the grid
- Reducing the funding and scope of the Environmental Protection Agency;Vastly expanding gas infrastructure.
Inside Climate News quotes a former NOAA official and public policy expert who notes that, “Project 2025 marks a fundamental shift, where instead of federal agencies obliging their duty to public health and environmental protection, they instead work to help the industries they’ve been tasked with overseeing.”
Read more at tinyurl.com/ICN-Proj2025
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