Organizations and Clubs
dedicated to protecting the groundwater
resource and/or environment
Organizations can keep you informed, motivated, and involved with other individuals who are working towards similar goals. Joining an organization can enable you to go beyond your individual reach allowing your message to have a greater impact on a larger audience.
The following list contains professional organizations, as well as other environmentally concerned organizations. A brief description describes the organization and its focus. For additional information, follow the link to each organization's web site.
| Education and Environmental Education |
| General Environmental |
| Geosciences (geology, hydrology, soil) |
| Groundwater |
| Land Conservation |
| Water |
***A new browser window will open for each of the following links. The Groundwater Web Site will remain open in a separate window.***
| Education and Environmental Education | |
| North American Association for Environmental
Education (NAAEE) http://www.naaee.org |
Founded in 1971, NAAEE is a network of professionals, students, and volunteers working in the field of environmental education throughout North America and in over 55 countries. It promotes a cooperative, scientifically-balanced approach to promoting education about environmental issues and supports the work of environmental educators. |
| Wisconsin Association for Environmental
Education (WAEE) http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/waee |
WAEE is a statewide non-profit organization composed of people interested in learning about and helping others learn about environmental issues. The goal is to promote responsible environmental action through education in the classroom and in the community. WAEE promotes EE in the state, provides resource information, and opportunities for professional growth, motivation, and recognition. |
| Wisconsin Elementary and Middle School
Science Teachers Association (WEST) http://www.westsci.org/ |
The mission of WEST is to support the professional development of educators, enhance the science education of preschool through middle-level children, and to promote public understanding and appreciation of science education in all Wisconsin schools. Members include elementary and middle level science educators. |
| Wisconsin Earth Science Teachers
Association (WESTA) http://www.elknet.net/pogg/ |
WESTA organized to enhance earth science education around the state and to promote public understanding of earth science in general. WESTA is a group of teachers at all levels of education who believe that Earth Sciences unique among the sciences and should be so treated. Activities include a bimonthly newsletter, a fall conference, and support for teachers. |
| Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (WSST) http://www.wsst.org |
Founded in 1958, WSST consists of 2,000 members who are interested in the advancement of science education. WSST's purpose is to promote, support and improve science education in the state of Wisconsin by providing leadership, advocacy, and programs to enhance the teaching and learning of science. |
| General Environmental | |
| Green Cross International (GCI) http://www.gci.ch |
Founded in 1993 by Mikhail Gorbachev, the mission of GCI is to help create the conditions for a sustainable future by cultivating a more harmonious relationship between humans and the environment. Founding principles include: a fundamental transformation of society's values with respect to the environment, a spirit of dialogue and mediation, and a meshing of the economy, ecology and society. |
| Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA) national: http://www.izaakwaltonleague.org Wisconsin: http://www.izaakwaltonleague.org/chapters/ UWSP Student Chapter: http://www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/izaakwalton/ |
Founded in 1921, IWLA has a mission to conserve, maintain, protect and restore the soil, forest, water and other natural resources of the United States and other lands; to promote means and opportunities for the education of the public with respect to such resources and their enjoyment and wholesome utilization. The site describes their organization, programs, and upcoming events. |
| National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ |
The Discovery site began in 1996 and has grown to over 10,000 screens with over a million visitors a month. This site contains a plethora of information including a section on education, kids, and maps. Currently, the site has 67 educational materials on water (5 books, l4 lessons, 32 videos, 8 kits/overheads, 1 software package, and 11 on-line adventures). |
| National Wildlife Federation (NWF) National: http://www.nwf.org Wisconsin: http://www.execpc.com/~wiwf/ |
Founded in 1936, the NWF is the nation's largest member-supported conservation group (over 4 million members), uniting individuals, organizations, businesses and government to protect wildlife, wild places, and the environment. The mission of the NWF is to educate, inspire and assist individuals and organizations of diverse cultures to conserve wildlife and other natural resources and to protect the Earth's environment in order to achieve a peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. Activities include conservation projects, communication and public outreach, and education. The site contains information on taking action, getting outdoors, education, kids zone, and shopping area. |
| Sierra Club Main page: http://www.sierraclub.org Wisconsin: http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/ |
Founded in 1892 by John Muir, the Sierra Club
over 600,000 members. Their mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the
wild places of the earth; practice and promote the responsible use of the
earth's ecosystems and resources; educate and enlist humanity to protect
and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and use all
lawful means to carry out these objectives.
This site contains information on issues, taking action, getting outdoors, as well as a bookstore. Their Water Policy is described at http://www.sierraclub.org/policy/conservation/water.asp |
| Wisconsin Stewardship Network http://www.wsn.org |
Wisconsin Stewardship Network is a bipartisan group of more than100 environmental, conservation and sporting groups from around the state working together to restore Wisconsin's conservation tradition. |
| Worldwatch Organization http://www.worldwatch.org |
Worldwatch is a nonprofit, public policy research organization dedicated to informing policymakers and the public about emerging global problems and trends and the complex links between the world economy and its environmental support systems. The Institute seeks to provide the information to bring about the changes needed to build an environmentally sustainable economy. |
| Geosciences (geology, hydrology, soil) | |
| American Geological Institute (AGI) http://www.agiweb.org |
Founded in 1948, AGI is a non-profit federation of geoscientific and professional organizations whose members include geologists, geophysicists, soil scientists, and other earth and environmental scientists. AGI helps facilitate intersocietal affairs, serves as a unified voice for shared concerns, provides leadership for improving earth science education, and increases public awareness and understanding of the role the geosciences in use of resources and the environment. |
| American Institute of Hydrology (AIH) http://www.aihydro.org/ |
Formed in 1981, the AIH is a non-profit scientific and educational organization. AIH is the only nationwide organization to offer certification to professionals in all fields of hydrology. The Institute adheres to the principles of responsible professional conduct and public service. The purpose of AIH is to enhance and strengthen the standing of hydrology as a science and a profession by establishing certification standards for hydrology, maintaining ethical standards, providing education and training, and providing advice and guidance to the general public and government. |
| Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) http://www.soils.org |
Founded in 1936, SSSA has more than 5,700 members. SSSA promotes basic and applied research in soils, fosters high standards in the teaching of soil science, provides information on soil science to the public, and promotes improvements in the filed of soil science. |
| USDA, Natural Resource Conservation Service
(NRCS) http://www.nssc.nrcs.usda.gov |
NRCS works with the general public to conserve natural resources like soil on private lands. NRCS helps land owners and communities with conservation planning and implementation, as well as increasing their understanding of how the resources relate to each other and humans. |
| Groundwater | |
| American Ground Water Trust http://www.agwt.org/ |
This non-profit organization promotes public awareness of environmental and economic importance of ground waster and provides accurate information to assist public participation in water resources decisions. Activities include forums, workshops, 1-800 line to answer consumer questions, pamphlets, videos, and kits. |
| Ground Water Protection Council
(GWPC) http://gwpc.site.net |
The GWPC is a nonprofit organization whose members consist of state and federal ground water agencies, industry representatives, environmentalists and concerned citizens, whom work toward the protection of the nation's ground water supplies. The purpose of the GWPC is to promote and ensure the use of best management practices and fair but effective laws regarding comprehensive ground water protection. Their mission is to promote the protection of water resources for all beneficial uses and to provide independent research and objective information related to potential ground water contamination and pollution prevention practices. |
| Groundwater Foundation http://www.groundwater.org Wisconsin Groundwater Guardians Portage County Groundwater Guardians: http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/gwguardian/wiggteams/pc.htm |
The Groundwater Foundation was founded by Susan Seacrest in 1985 in response to a personal crisis that revolved around groundwater contamination. This non-profit organization is dedicated to informing the public (adults & children) about groundwater through programs, hands-on activities, conferences, and publications. |
| National Ground Water Association
(NGWA) http://www.ngwa.org |
NGWA's mission is to provide professional and technical leadership in the advancement of the ground water industry and in the protection, the promotion, and the responsible development and use of ground water resources. NGWA serves as an international education and information resource; a communication link for their diverse membership to allow them to address their unique needs and the issues facing the ground water industry; and the people and the organizations who produce, study, utilize, remedied, market, protect, or manage groundwater or related products and services. Services include journals and books, proceedings; educational workshops and short courses, conferences, information retrieval services, legislative activities, networking, and member discounted services. |
| Wisconsin Ground Water Association (WGWA) http://www.wgwa.org/ |
WGWA is a 400+ member, non-profit volunteer organization whose purpose is to advance the understanding of ground water in Wisconsin. WGWA promotes an understanding of scientific, technical, legal and public policy aspects of ground water; provides a forum for exchange of information among groundwater professionals and other interested parties on all aspects of groundwater resources; disseminates information to governments, schools, and civic professional organizations, and educate the general public regarding groundwater resources; promotes professional awareness and technical skills among ground-water professionals. WGWA offers an annual meeting, spring field trip, and local meetings. In addition to conferences, WGWA purchases and donates groundwater flow models and geologic maps to various school science programs. |
| Land Conservation | |
| National Association of Conservation
Districts (NACD) http://www.nacdnet.org/ |
Founded in 1946, the NACD is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization representing nearly 3,000 conservation districts who educate and help local citizens conserve land, water, forests, wildlife and other natural resources. The association's philosophy is that conservation decisions should be made by local people with technical and funding assistance from federal, state and local governments and the private sector. The association's programs and activities aim to advance the resource conservation cause of local districts and the millions of cooperating landowners and land managers they serve. |
| The Nature Conservancy http://www.natureconservancy.org |
Founded in 1951, the Nature Conservancy is the world's largest private, international conservation group. The mission of the Conservancy is to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. They build partnerships with landowners, corporations, and governments to save "The Earth's Last Great Places" around the world for future generations. |
| Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation
Departments (WLWCA) http://www.execpc.com/~wlwca |
County Land and Water Conservation Departments were created to provide local leadership in carrying out programs that conserve Wisconsin's land and water resources. Their connection to county government gives them an understanding of local land and water resource problems and solutions. They provide educational, technical and conservation planning assistance to help communities control rural and urban soil erosion; protect lakes, streams and groundwater; and manage woodlots, forests and wildlife. |
| Water | |
| American Water Resources Association (AWRA) http://www.awra.org/ |
AWRA, founded in 1964 as a not-for-profit scientific organization, has over 2800 members. AWRA's vision is to be the pre-eminent multidisciplinary association for information exchange, professional development and education bout water resources and related issues. Their mission is to advance multidisciplinary water resources management and research. Activities include publishing a journal, offering conferences and educational courses, peer research, and networking opportunities. |
| American Water Resources Association (AWRA)-Student Chapter Main page: http://www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/awra Groundwater Model: http://www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/ awra/h2omodel.html |
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Student Chapter of AWRA is committed to the preservation and enhancement of our nation's water quality through education, responsible management, and the continued efforts of our members. The UWSP Student Chapter builds the Groundwater Flow Models that can be used to demonstrate many groundwater concepts. |
| American Water Works Association
(AWWA) National: http://www.awwa.org/ Wisconsin Water Association: http://www.wiawwa.org/ |
Founded in 1881, AWWA is an international nonprofit scientific and educational society that is dedicated to the improvement of drinking water quality and supply. AWWA is the largest organization of water supply professionals in the world with more than 50,000 members. It is dedicated to safe drinking water by advancing technology, science, management, and government policies relative to the stewardship of water. |
| Clean Water Network http://www.cwn.org |
The Clean Water Network is an alliance of over 1000 organizations that endorse a platform paper, the National Agenda for Clean Water. The Agenda outlines the need for strong clean water safeguards in order to protect public health and the environment. |
| National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) http://www.nsf.com/ |
Founded in 1944, NSF is a not for profit organization known for the development of standards, product testing and certification services in the areas of public health safety and protection of the environment. NSF professionals include engineers, chemists, toxicologists, sanitarians and computer scientists with extensive experience in public health, food safety, water quality and the environment. NSF certification programs are accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Dutch Council for Accreditation (RvA) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). The NSF Mark is placed on millions of consumer, commercial and industrial products annually. NSF offers a variety of certification programs for water products such as bottled water, packaged ice, and water treatment systems. |
| River Alliance of Wisconsin http://www.wisconsinrivers.org/ |
The River Alliance of Wisconsin is a non-profit, non-partisan group of over 1,500 citizens, organizations and businesses dedicated to advocating for the protection, enhancement and restoration of our rivers and watersheds. Their focus is to help local citizens restore free-flowing rivers, minimize environmental impacts of hydropower facilities and increase recreation, strengthen river and watershed protection efforts, and advocate for rivers through political involvement. |
| United Wisconsin Anglers http://clean-water.uwex.edu/fish/uwa.html |
Established in 1999, this group consists of various sporting groups from around the state who are dedicated to work on issues of common concern to ensure fishery resources in the state get the attention and resources they deserve. The group focuses on 5 common themes: habitat value and protection, access, angler participation, fishery resource education, and legal issues. The site contains information on hot topics, events, links, fisheries partnerships, and more. |
| Water Environment Federation (WEF) http://www.wef.org/ |
Founded in 1928, an international not-for-profit educational and technical organization with 40,000 members. WEF is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the global water environment by delivering high quality products and services to members and stakeholders, promoting and advancing the water quality industry, and benefiting society through protection and enhancement of the global water environment. The site contains coloring activities, hands-on activities from "The Water Sourcebook," technical discussion groups, conferences and workshops, and more. |
| Water Quality Association (WQA) http://www.wqa.org |
The Water Quality Association is a not-for-profit international trade association representing firms and individuals engaged in the design, manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of equipment, products, supplies, and services. The purpose of WQA is to promote the individual right of quality water, to educate water quality professionals, and to promote the growth of the water quality improvement industry. Activities include publishing newsletters and technical documents regarding water quality issues, supporting legislation that supports the water quality improvement industry, certifying individuals as water specialists, performing product testing and performance validation, and promoting an industry Code of Ethics. |
| Wisconsin Rural Water Association (WRWA) http://www.wrwa.org/ |
Established in 1991, WRWA offers a Ground Water Protection Program that assists small water systems and rural communities in designing and implementing individual ground water (wellhead) protection plans at the local level. WRWA also works with wastewater systems to improve and preserve the quality and quantity of water resources in the State of Wisconsin. |
| Wisconsin Wastewater Operators' Association
(WWOA) http://www.wwoa.org/ |
Since 1967, the WWOA has helped educate the state's treatment plant operators, preparing them to make decisions which will insure harm does not come to the quality of the state's water resources. The WWOA is comprised of about 1,700 wastewater treatment plant professionals serving municipalities and industries throughout the State. Members strive for efficient, non-polluting operation of the Wisconsin wastewater treatment facilities. |
| Wisconsin Water Well
Association (WWWA) http://www.wisconsinwaterwell.com
|
The WWWA represents over 300 registered well drillers and pump installers. Its purpose is to increase the industry's knowledge and understanding of proper drilling, pump installation, and well abandonment techniques; work with the appropriate state agencies in the protection of Wisconsin's ground water; and increase the public's awareness of the importance of and involvement in ground water efforts. |
| The World's Water http://www.worldwater.org |
World's Water is a site dedicated to providing up-to-date water information, data, and web connections to organizations, institutions, and individuals working on a wide range of global freshwater problems and solutions. |
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