MADISON, WISCONSIN—Gathering Waters: Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts will host the 2025 Wisconsin Land Trust Conference from March 12-14, 2025, at the Wisconsin Masonic Center in Madison.
Land trusts are community-based, nonprofit organizations dedicated to conserving land. Wisconsin has more than 40 land trusts that protect over 544,000 acres of land from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, from the Northwoods to the Southern Driftless area.
Gathering Waters supports the land trust community through training opportunities like the annual Wisconsin Land Trust Conference. This year, the event kicks off on March 12 with Knowles-Nelson Lobby Day to advocate for the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Wisconsin’s best source of state funding for land protection.
Immediately following Lobby Day, Wisconsin land trust staff and partners in conservation will gather for a two-day conference on March 13-14. Sessions will focus on land protection, conservation planning, and communications and fundraising. Networking opportunities are built into the conference schedule, including a field trip to conserved properties in the Black Earth Creek Valley.
“Land trusts shoulder the perpetual responsibility of protecting special places across Wisconsin,” said Mike Carlson, Executive Director of Gathering Waters. “The conference enables land trust professionals to make connections and gain new insights that help strengthen the network of experts working around the state.”
Read a preview of what to expect at this year’s conference. Registration is open through Sunday, March 2.
For more information, contact Mike Carlson at 608-251-9131 Ext. 12.
About Knowles-Nelson Lobby Day
Knowles-Nelson Lobby Day is an advocacy, networking, and educational event for all who value Wisconsin’s land, water, wildlife, and way of life.
About the Wisconsin Land Trust Conference
The Wisconsin Land Trust Conference is an educational and networking event for staff and volunteers at Wisconsin land trusts and partners in conservation.
About Gathering Waters: Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts
Gathering Waters helps land trusts, landowners, and communities protect the places that make Wisconsin special. As a statewide alliance, we work to strengthen the 40+ land trusts throughout the state that permanently protect Wisconsin’s land, water and wildlife. To ensure Wisconsin’s land trusts are strong, sustainable organizations, Gathering Waters advocates for public policies and funding, provides resources and educational opportunities, and increases awareness of land trusts and the benefits they bring to the communities they serve across the state.
