What We Do

A colorful garden near a body of water with trees and a dock
The logo of WAMSO, the Waterways Association of Menominee & Shawano Counties, features large bold white text on a black background with stylized wave and water symbols.

Our Mission

WAMSCO's mission is water conservation for the entire watershed: lakes, rivers, creeks, and groundwater. WAMSCO promotes Best Management Practices “boots on the ground” projects and assists with implementation to protect our natural resources. This includes various education events for our youth and the community year-round. Whether you live on the water, recreate on it, eat the fish out of it, or drink water, this resource affects everyone!

Close-up of a purpleflower with yellow stamens amidst green leaves and grass.
A garden area with green plants and flowers, bordered by large rocks, next to a body of water with boats and greenery in the background.
A person with a dirty hand planting a small green seedling in the soil, with a background of wood chips and soil.

Shoreline Restoration

WAMSCO provides shoreline restoration expertise at a local and personal level. We seek to achieve greater biodiversity and reduced surface water runoff in Menominee and Shawano Counties through the implementation of these restoration projects. Whether you’re looking to stabilize your shoreline, install a native planting, or increase pollinator habitat on your property, we can provide you with cost-share options to reduce the overall cost of your project. In the past, WAMSCO has worked to install:

Contact us to schedule a free site-visit or click here for more information about your cost-share options.

  • Native Plantings

  • Pollinator Gardens

  • Rain Gardens

  • Riprap

  • Bio-Bags

  • Seawall Removals

A lakeside backyard with trees, houses, and a rocky shoreline. A person is standing near the trees, wearing glasses, a blue shirt, and dark pants, with tools and equipment on the ground nearby.
Close-up of green leaves with pink flower cluster and a yellow and black caterpillar on one of the leaves.
Two people standing outdoors near a wooded area with a small body of water in the foreground, and a makeshift sandbag barrier along the edge of the water.

Aquatic Invasive Species Management

WAMSCO works to manage many different aquatic invasive species in Shawano County. Every year, we host and participate in various biocontrol activities, including boat launch monitoring, exotic pet surrender events, Clean Boats, Clean Waters, and more. Purple Loosestrife biocontrol is one such activity that we work with Menominee County to manage through Galerucella Beetle rearing.

REMEMBER, prevention is the best way to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Red octagonal stop sign with a white rim and small circular white dots, with a white wedge-shaped object in the center.

  • INSPECT

  • REMOVE

  • DRAIN

  • DRY

Close-up of a person holding a discarded insect carcass, with a background of green foliage.
Three smiling people, two children and one adult, holding small painted fish figurines at an outdoor event. Tents and trees are visible in the background, with a colorful table in the foreground displaying paint supplies and a fish tank model.

Education

At WAMSCO, we emphasize the significance of water conservation to the youth and the community. Through both in-person and digital education, we aim to engage students, organizations, and individuals about the crucial role these water bodies play in our ecosystem and daily lives. By teaching about the importance of preserving and protecting our waterways, we instill a sense of responsibility and environmental stewardship in our community and future generations. We work with:

WAMSCO offers various educational programs on:

Contact us to schedule free educational programming for your school/organization.

Learn more about our education programs!

  • Citizens

  • Businesses

  • Students and Teachers

  • Property Owners

  • Lake Associations

  • Conservation Groups

  • Water Quality

  • Best Management Practices

  • Pollution Prevention

  • Wisconsin Fish and Aquatic Life

  • Aquatic Invasive Species

  • Groundwater and The Water Cycle

  • Environmental Careers

  • Tree Plantings

Two boys, one standing and one sitting, under a wooden shelter in a forest. The standing boy is wearing a black hoodie with an American flag wrestling logo, and the sitting boy is wearing a blue shirt and a grey cap and is holding a bottle and a test tube.
Three women by a pond, one holding a net and a container, the others observing, all engaged in catching or studying aquatic life.
Green grassy field with a dirt road on the left, trees in the background, cloudy sky, and a person standing on the right.

Agriculture Best Management Practices

Sustainable farming plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy watershed. That’s why WAMSCO collaborates with Shawano farmers and other organizations/individuals to employ Agriculture Best Management Practices (BMPs). Agriculture BMPs are designed to help farmers enhance productivity while minimizing negative environmental impacts. It’s not just about growing crops; it’s about managing soil health, reducing nutrient loss, and promoting biodiversity.

Join a Farmer-Led Watershed Council.

Through collaborative efforts, Farmer-Led Watershed Councils are empowering farmers with the knowledge and resources to implement these sustainable farming practices:

Reduced Tillage
Cover Crops
Low-Disturbance Manure Injection

These practices not only benefit the environment but can also improve crop yields and reduce imput costs, leading to a more economically sustainable farming system.

Contact us or the Shawano County Farm Bureau if you’d like to learn more.

Cornfield with manure distributor machine and cloudy sky in the background.
We teamed up with the @shawanopaddlers for what is quickly becoming an annual tradition—our Aquatic Plant Paddle! 🌿🚣 Even though the wind kept us from venturing too far out onto Loon Lake, we still had a great time practicing our native and
We had a great time attending the Shawano County Watershed Advisory Council's (SCWAC) first Forage Management Tour! 🌾🐄 It was fascinating to learn about the many different forage and cover crop options available to farmers. Some grasses provide hi
What an incredible 5th Annual Where's WAMSCO Scavenger Hunt! 🎉 A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated this year! We had 27 teams with 104 participants (plus one very enthusiastic four-legged teammate 🐶) exploring our waterways and having fu
The WAMSCO Restoration & Discovery Garden is coming together! 🌿💧 Today, we spent the morning filling and placing biobags around a portion of our newly filled pond to demonstrate what a natural, erosion-resistant shoreline can look like on your
⏰🔍 LAST CALL FOR WHERE'S WAMSCO SUBMISSIONS! 🌊🔍 The finish line is in sight! All team photos and scavenger hunt submissions are due by the end of the day Sunday, July 19th. Haven’t found all 4 WAMSCO treasure boxes yet? Don’t worry &
Looking for a fun way to spend time outdoors while making a lasting impact on your community? Come help us get some native plants in the ground at The WAMSCO Restoration & Discovery Center🌱 We are so excited to make this a great space for the co
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the WAMSCO booth at the Smalley Beach Bash this past Friday! Our Frog Flinger game was once again a hit, with kids taking a break from swimming, eating popsicles, and making crafts to see if they could launch a frog
Join WAMSCO and the @shawanopaddlers for a FREE evening kayak or canoe paddle on Loon Lake and learn to identify aquatic plants! Why is being able to identify them important? Because as a water lover, you are the first ones to know whether an invasi
WAMSCO had the pleasure of attending a field trip with the Natural Resources Foundation and Mussel Monitoring Program of Wisconsin and this past week! It was a great, hands-on educational event focusing on mussel biology and unique species within Wis
🚨🔍 The FINAL clues have arrived! 🔍🚨 This is it — your last set of hints to help you track down all 4 hidden WAMSCO treasure boxes scattered near waterways throughout Shawano County! 🌊🗺️ The countdown is on! The 5th Annual Where’s