Almost 90 years ago Coon Creek was the site of America’s first watershed level soil conservation project. Hundreds of farmers participated in novel practices such as contour stripping, alternate cropping, wildlife plantings, and runoff management, and helped establish new farming methods still in evidence today. Fast forward to today, and the Coon Valley watershed has been ground zero for some of the region’s most destructive flood events of the last decade.

The tour will explore the lands where Coon Valley made conservation history. We’ll tour farms and lands in Vernon and Monroe County where today’s land stewards are meeting new challenges caused by climate change. Our tour leaders Bob Micheel, Ben Wojahn, and Curt Meine bring together a unique wealth of conservation experience and conservation history. We’ll end the tour with shade and refreshments where we’ll continue the day-long discussion of what yesterday’s lessons and today’s challenges demand from all of us as conservationists.