What We Do

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!

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

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.

  • INSPECT

  • REMOVE

  • DRAIN

  • DRY

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

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.

🌸Spring is here and it's time for an ‼Aquatic Invasive Species feature‼ With warmer weather heading our way, we'd like to focus on Eurasian Watermilfoil. Eurasian Watermilfoil is a restricted species in Wisconsin, meaning it's already here, but it
✨The Lakes and Rivers Convention✨ hosted by the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership is coming up fast! WAMSCO is so excited 🤩 to present on our education program that has grown so successful in the past few years! We will be presenting alongside
It's #nationalinvasivespeciesawarenessweek! In honor of this, we'd like to present 🪱Earthworms🪱 as our next ‼Aquatic Invasive Species Feature‼ ✨Did you know? ✨ Earthworms are actually not native to Wisconsin! Our native earthworms were destroyed d
We're not too late for our ‼Aquatic Invasive Species feature‼ are we? This week, we'd like to present you with Exotic Pets.🐢🐠🦄 What do exotic pets have to do with AIS? If they're kept safe at your home, nothing much. But what if they were release
Last week, WAMSCO had the privilege of presenting to Lakeland Industries about Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in the winter ❄️ and how to be safe out there on the ice! We are always excited to bring more awareness to the spread of AIS and what to do
We got some great drone photography of some ice fishers on Long Lake. So excited to begin compiling footage of our local waterways! 📸 #drone #dronephotography #dronepilot #dronephoto #wamsco #shawanowisconsin #shawanocountry #lakeview #icefishing #I
It's about time for another ‼Aquatic Invasive Species Feature‼ Today, we'd like to talk about microscopic AIS. 🔎 Certain kinds of AIS cannot easily be seen with the naked eye. They swim or float around in the water and can be scooped up by buckets
What a great turnout for Shawano's Pet Surrender event on Saturday! We had multiple people come to surrender their exotic pets, and even some who wanted to check out potential adoptable pets. This year, we had surrendered a Ball Python snake 🐍 and
Surprise! It's the first ‼Aquatic Invasive Species Feature‼ of 2025! With the freezing temperatures and thick ice,❄️ we thought it would be a perfect time to talk about ice fishing and AIS. 🎣 While many of us would rather be cozied up in our ice sh
It's less than two weeks away! Come to the Shawano High School on Saturday, January 11th between 12-3pm for an ✨ Exotic Pet Surrender Event!✨ @jr_aquatic_animal_rescue and WAMSCO are teaming up to hold this event for anyone who can no longer take ca