Please join us!

You are invited to attend the KRLT’s Annual Meeting which includes the business meeting with annual reports, the election of new Board Members, and an interesting presentation on “Kinni Preservation History Journey” by KRLT Executive Director Dave Drewiske.

We’re also celebrating our 25th Anniversary—don’t miss out and RSVP today!

Refreshments will be available. Please click here to register so we can plan accordingly. Thank you!

St. Croix YMCA camp will be hosting a very fun Earth Day event on Sunday, April 22 that you do not want to miss! A sure crowd-pleaser will be watching The Munch Bunch from noon to 4:00 pm as they “mob graze” on buckthorn. The Munch Bunch is a group of goats-for-hire that can “eat your problems”. Staff from The Munch Bunch will be at the event monitoring the goats and answering questions. To find out more about The Munch Bunch, click here or watch the video below.

 

It is with heavy hearts that we report that Martha Hulings Kaemmer passed away in late March. Martha was a St. Paul businesswoman and philanthropist, married to Dr. Art Kaemmer, MD (the KRLT’s first-ever Vice President). The Kaemmers have supported the Kinni Land Trust from our founding— in fact, they were our ‘angel investors’: they backed us when we were only an idea, and not a lot more. Martha and Art’s financial support, through their HRK Foundation, and generous personal support have continued ever since. Many of our members will fondly remember Martha from events like our “Corks, Cuisine, and Conservation”.

To read Martha’s obituary, please click here.

Help us celebrate the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust! 

For 24 years, the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust (KRLT) has served this community by promoting best practices for land protection and stewardship throughout the Kinni and its watershed. Please consider giving a tax-deductible gift so we can continue to advance our mission with strength and confidence as we begin our 25th year together.

We are beginning a new organizational chapter, with a firm financial foundation and strong vision for the future. Thanks to leadership-level gifts from the Wilkening and Drewiske Families and other private donors, KRLT is now debt-free and moving forward to ensure our ‘special places’ can be protected and conserved responsibly now, and in generations to come.

Here are just a few of KRLT’s notable achievements for 2017:

¨ Successfully navigated a leadership change with fond thanks to Dave Fodroczi who retired as executive director in June;

¨ Effectively monitored KRLT’s 34 easements and three preserves with the help of 31 dedicated volunteers;

¨ Leveraged GIS technology to better understand our watershed area and enhance KRLT’s acquisition and conservation strategies;

¨ Participated in a review process with the City of River Falls to identify options for the future of hydroelectric dams along the Kinni and working with the City to preserve new land;

¨ Engaged river enthusiasts of all ages in Kinni conservation efforts through the R4F Fly Fishing Festival, KinniRiverCleanUp™, River Falls Days and expanded partnerships with River Falls’ schools and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

The KRLT also explored merger opportunities with other Wisconsin land trusts but concluded that we will stay independent and leverage our many partnerships with like-minded conservation organizations to continue our work on the Kinni. The conservation opportunities ahead are exciting for our milestone 25^th year and beyond!

We are committed to working for all of you who care about and value our unique and treasured Kinni watershed. With your help we will plan for and meet land, watershed and habitat challenges that will affect the Kinni long into the future. Please act today and give generously, to ensure the Kinni remains “cold, clean and free…forever.”