Nancy North, FWCO Volunteer of the Year and the newest FWCO Master’s Club member, models her new Service volunteer jacket. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo by Sarah Bauer) - Photo Credit: n/a

Dave Vetrano discusses land use practices and impacts on trout inhabiting the Driftless Area. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo by Sarah Bauer) - Photo Credit: n/a

Ken and Terry Visger (left), Regina and Chuck Chihak (right), and members of their families are all La Crosse FWCO volunteers. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo by Sarah Bauer) - Photo Credit: n/a

Seven-year old Isaac Keuler, son of fishery biologist Heidi Keuler, was a very active FWCO volunteer in 2010. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo by Sarah Bauer) - Photo Credit: n/a

For a third consecutive year, the La Crosse Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO), the La Crosse Fish Health Center, and the Genoa National Fish Hatchery co-hosted an annual banquet dinner to publicly acknowledge many of their key volunteers, friends, and local program partners. Held March 25 at the Myrick Hixon EcoPark Visitor Center in La Crosse, with panoramic vistas overlooking the semi-frozen La Crosse River Marsh, surrounding bluffs, and migratory waterfowl that were all basked in a warm glow by the setting sun, little more could be done to improve the venue here for a relaxed evening among a group of eighty-one friends and colleagues. Contributions made by twenty-seven FWCO volunteers in 2010, totaling 630 hours of cumulative effort, were recognized that evening with gifts that encouraged recipients to continue Making Waves with this office Members of the Friends of the Upper Mississippi Fishery Services, a non-profit organization supporting work of the three fishery offices, as well as representatives from two FWCO partnership programs were also on-hand and acknowledged for their continuing cooperation. Named the 2010 FWCO Volunteer of the Year that evening was Nancy North. Among her gifts, Nancy appeared most honored to don the navy blue Service volunteer jacket. Similar to the green jacket awarded annually in golf to the Masters Tournament champion, North is now recognized as a Master among all FWCO volunteers for having given more than 100 hours of cumulative service to this office. She is also the first female to do so! The founder and owner of New Ground, Inc. (http://newground.biz/home.htm), North contributed 200 hours of volunteer service in the past year doing what she loves best: helping organizations focus, strategize, and communicate to achieve environmental sustainability goals. Specifically, Nancy interviewed agricultural producers and leaders to prepare a report for the Fishers and Farmers Partnership Program highlighting social forces that influence decisions about crop production and natural resource conservation in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Nancy’s work had a fortuitously close connection to information presented by the evening’s invited speaker, retired Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Supervisor Dave Vetrano. His “Back to the Future” presentation seamlessly wove together the interconnections of land use, stream habitats, trout populations, and rural economic vitality that have helped (and will continue to) shape the quality of life in the Midwest’s scenic Driftless Area. We hope the camaraderie and enthusiasm exhibited by our volunteers for the Service mission will inspire others in the La Crosse community to greater levels of self-sacrifice on behalf of fish and wildlife resources in the future.