Conserving Wisconsin’s Natural Resources

Since 1986, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin has sought to protect Wisconsin’s natural heritage through conservation, private-sector engagement and outreach programs, and regularly funds projects that have a beneficial influence on the environment. It currently offers grant monies to organizations that protect state lands, waters, and wildlife, and that educate the public about environmental issues. For example, in October 2022 the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin received approximately $7,500 to increase access to natural areas and make birding more inclusive for people of color. (https://www.wpr.org/birding-traditionally-white-dominated-space-one-wisconsin-group-trying-change) The foundation’s strategic plans for the future include several different initiatives to support ongoing conservation, so many grant opportunities exist for interested parties. (https://www.wisconservation.org/)

Your challenge is to identify a significant problem related to a natural resource in Wisconsin and write a grant proposal to address it. To secure the grant, you must conduct intensive research on the problem, analyze its various components, and propose innovative solutions to improve them. To make your proposal realistic enough to actually be approved, you must contact some stakeholders and incorporate their insights into your project. Prepare your proposal as if you actually will present it to the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.

Reference resources provide a starting point for your research projects.

Credo Reference

Credo Reference provides hundreds of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and more in one place. Below is a sample of keyword searches in Credo Reference related to this topic.

• Wisconsin Natural Resources
• Conservation
• Natural Resource Conservation
• Natural Resources Midwest Region

Call Numbers and Subject Headings

You can use the list of call numbers and subject headings below as keyword searches in our catalog and databases, or you can go to these sections of the library to find books on these topics.

• NAT.9/2:N 36/ – Wisconsin Documents – Conservation
• HC 59 – 108 – Natural Resources Conservation

Books from Lane Library

All books in this list are located either in the Franzen Center on Floor 3A or are e-books.

• The TallGrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest / S621.5.G73 T35 2010
• The Civilian Conservation Corps in Wisconsin : nature’s army at work / S932.W6 A67 2019
• Wild Wisconsin / QH105.W6 H34 1991
• Waters of Wisconsin / QH541.5.W3 W57 2003
• Wisconsin Agriculture : A History / e-book
• The Science of Open Spaces : Theory and Practice for Conserving Large, Complex Systems / e-book
• Gardening with Native Plants in the Upper Midwest : Bringing the Tallgrass Prairie Home / e-book
• Natural Resources: Management, Economic Development and Protection / e-book
• Wisconsin land & water conservation directory / e-book

Discovery Search: Search Lane Library’s books, ebooks, and articles in one place.

Databases

The following databases are useful places to search for articles. Contact a librarian if you would like more information on how to search for articles on your specific topic.

• Academic Search Complete: Wide range of academic disciplines, including for scholarly and popular journals.
• JSTOR– Full-text archive of scholarly journals in the arts and sciences. Issues from the past three to five years may not be available.
• New York Times: Access to news and archival content from NY Times. If you run into a paywall, here is more information on how to sign up.
• ProQuest Research Library: Includes both popular and scholarly periodicals covering a variety of subjects, with over 3300 titles available in full text.

Get articles from other libraries

If you cannot find a full-text version of the article you need, request it through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan is a free service that allows you to borrow books and articles from other libraries. Find answers to frequently asked questions about ILL here.

Government sources

• USA.gov: Access to information from federal agencies.
• U.S. Department of Education Data & Statistics
• Wisconsin.gov: State of Wisconsin government and demographic information.
• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction: state agency that advances public education and libraries in Wisconsin.

Statistics

• CIA World Factbook : Background information on each country in the world.
• National Center for Education Statistics: primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.
• ProQuest Statistical Abstracts: Over 1400 indexed tables of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
• US Census Bureau: Access to data from federal surveys and censuses.
• World Almanac: Annual book with political, economic, scientific, and educational statistics. / Lane Library AY67 .N5 W7.
• The World Bank EdStats: Comprehensive data and analysis source for global education information.