September 15, Explore the Wetlands of Kemp Natural Research Station
​Join Ron Eckstein and Tom Jerow on a field trip to learn about the wonders of our Northwoods Wetlands
Wisconsin’s Wetlands are nurseries for fish and wildlife, purifiers for lakes, rivers and groundwater, and storage for floodwaters. They’re also playgrounds for birders, hikers, hunters and paddlers, and a storehouse for carbon, one of the greenhouse gases fueling climate change. Please help protect and restore Wisconsin’s wetland wonders. 

​Ron Eckstein grew up in Wisconsin and received a bachelor's degree and master's degree in Wildlife Ecology from UW-Madison. Ron retired from WDNR after 36 years as Wildlife Biologist at Rhinelander.  He has worked on forest habitat issues including biodiversity, early successional forests, and old growth forests and specialized in eagle and osprey recovery as well as wild rice conservation.  
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​Tom retired from the Wisconsin DNR in 2013 after 34 years mostly in the water programs. He was the Northern Regional Water Leader when he retired.  Tom has a degree in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point and has done post graduate course work in hydrogeology. For much of his career he managed the Waterway and Wetland program for the Northern Region of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
The program will start with a discussion covering the basic functions and values of wetlands in the natural environment. We will also cover the regulatory frame work for protecting wetlands and some recent changes to wetland protection laws.
From there we’ll head out into Kemp station to explore and observe several examples of high quality wetlands. A pair of knee boots or old sneakers that can get wet are recommended. There will be some uneven terrain and we’ll be traveling through the woods without a trail.
Funding is provided by a grant from the Brittingham Fund to the University of Wisconsin-Madision.