Emily is not a new face at the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance but she is a newer face to the Winnebago Waterways Program.

In 2021, the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance received a grant to kickstart the implementation of the Winnebago Waterways Lake Management Plan. You can read more about the grant here, after all, we are here to introduce Emily.

Emily has an extensive background in ecology, graduating from UW-Whitewater in 2010 with a B.S. in Biology with a focus on Field Ecology and a minor in Chemistry. During her time at Whitewater she assisted with work focusing on the evolution of male dominant trait showing up in female three-spine sticklebacks and a project that focused on heavy metal contamination in the Winnebago sturgeon.

From there she headed up to UW-Green Bay and received a M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy focused on Ecosystem Studies where her thesis focused on wandering spider assemblages at Cedarburg Bog and how they are being affected by climate change.

During this time, Emily started an internship at the lake management planning firm, Onterra, LLC. From 2011-2018, Emily worked on lakes around the state, assisting lake groups with the creation of their lake management plans and the field work needed to create those plans. During the summer time, the surveys consisted of aquatic invasive species early and late season surveys, comprehensive native aquatic plant surveys, water quality sampling, and shoreline surveys. During the months where the lakes are frozen, data management, report writing, and field work prep ruled supreme.

Emily took her knowledge acquired and joined the Fox-Wolf team in 2018 after the birth of her son. She joined the team as the regional watershed coordinator for Shawano and Menominee County which resulted in the creation of the Connecting Our Waters program. This program was a partnership of the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance and the Waterways Association of Menominee and Shawano Counties (WAMSCO). The goal of the program was to help WAMSCO and area lake groups build their capacity through the implementation of their lake management plans. This included selling native plant projects to shoreline property owners, working with partners to spread restorative agricultural practices, assist lake groups find the answers to their lake concerns, and gain volunteers to monitor the lakes and streams in Shawano and Menominee Counties.

Emily’s work in Shawano and Menominee County has made it easy to transition to the Winnebago Waterways program to help track and kickstart implementation projects in the Winnebago Pool Lakes.

In her free time, Emily is a Master Gardener Volunteer and oversees the Tank Garden at Heritage Hill. She also serves as the marketing board member for Fox Cities Roller Derby in addition to being a triple threat on the track. When she is not doing those things, Emily is on adventures around the state with her son and husband.

If you are interested in adding a native plant buffer to your shoreline or volunteering with Winnebago Waterways and the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, get in touch with Emily.