Participants listen to a presentation at Wolf River Conservation Forum, March 24, in New London, Wisconsin. - FWS photo by Gary Van Vreede

Visitors watch sturgeon spawning on the Wolf River at a site restored through a partership effort with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. - FWS photo by Gary Van Vreede

The Lower Wolf River winds through a corridor of extensive and very high quality floodplain forests and open wetlands in east-central Wisconsin.  Heavy springtime flows flood many of the backwater sloughs, providing critical spawning habitat for many species of fish, particularly walleye and one of the world's largest remaining populations of lake sturgeon.  The rivers maze of backwaters, oxbows, and lakes are also heavily use by waterfowl and migratory songbirds, as well as a diverse collection of reptiles, amphibians, and insects. 

Several hundred individuals concerned about the future of this valuable river habitat, recently came together at the Mosquito Hill Nature Center in New London, Wisconsin for the First Annual Wolf River Conservation Forum.  The Forum was organized by the Wolf River Conservation Alliance (Alliance), a coalition of more than 20 organizations with interest in land and water conservation, habitat restoration, and environmental education related to protecting and improving the health of the Wolf River and its associated habitats.  "The Wolf River is a really important resource for a lot of groups, and we can do a lot more to protect it by working together," said Rick Herzfeldt of Shawano, co-chair of the Alliance. 

Gary Van Vreede of the Green Bay Ecological Services Field Office participated in the Forum, providing information on how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), through the Partners for Fish and Program, can assist Alliance partners with habitat improvement projects.  Sturgeon and walleye spawning habitat improvement projects were highlighted as examples of partnership projects previously completed by the Service on the Wolf River.  

Groups involved in the Alliance include Shadows on the Wolf, the Waupaca County Natural Resources Foundation, Walleyes for Tomorrow, Sturgeon for Tomorrow, Trout Unlimited, the Wolf River Sturgeon Trail, New London Fish and Game Club, Ducks Unlimited, Friends of Navarino Nature Center, Friends of Mosquito Hill, Wild Ones Natural Landscapes, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, Lake Poygan Sportsmen's Club, Mukwa Wildlife Area Advisory Committee, Pheasants Forever, Challenge the Outdoors, Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust, Outagamie Conservation Club, Winnebago Conservation Club, Wisconsin Trappers Association, Wisconsin Bowhunters Association, Citizen's Natural Resources Association of Wisconsin and Fox Cities Greenways.