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The Newsletter of

The Friends of Rowan Creek

Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for May 9, 7:00 at the Poynette Village Hall. Board elections will be held and an annual report provided. Following the business meeting we will hear an engaging talk on amphibians of Wisconsin, followed by a night-time excursion for those intrepid Creekers who wish to learn to identify these night calling creatures themselves.

Our application as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization was accepted by the IRS this fall! Now that we have our federal non-profit status we will have better access to various government and private grants and other programs. All purchased made by the group are exempt from sales tax, and additionally, your contributions to the Friends are fully tax-deductible!

Our cooperative project with the UW-Madison Water Resources Program began when the students from that program began meeting as a formal class in late January. So far they have begun to gather existing data about the watershed, have met with the Poynette planning commission, and will soon be sending a survey to watershed residents to assess concerns and areas of interest. Look for an update from the student group on the project in early fall.

For up-to-date information on these and other events, please consider joining the Friends of Rowan Creek email discussion list. Just send an email to <info@rowancreek.org> to be added to the list or for more information.

Note: Board and Members meetings are generally held at the Poynette Village Hall. If you are not on our email list, please call Nancy Braker to confirm the specific location.

The board has established committees and welcomes your assistance with their work. If any of the listed activities sound interesting, please contact the appropriate board member. Don't worry if you feel you have limited experience; everyone has useful skills and talents that we can put to work!

We want to hear from you! Get us your ideas about projects you would like to see taken up by the Friends of Rowan Creek. As a local organization, we need your help, ideas and resources to make our work successful. Contact any of our board members, send an email to us at info@rowancreek.org, or see our web page www.rowancreek.org for more information and useful links.

In February Neil Diboll of Prairie Nursery providing an engaging talk on the benefits of using native prairie landscaping in urban environments. The group was introduced to basic ecological principles of the prairie landscape, the steps involved in creating a native plant garden, and benefits to wildlife that native landscaping brings. Prairie Nursery is located in Westfield, Wisconsin, and has been a supporter of the Friends of Rowan Creek.

In collaboration with the Kumlien Bird Club the Friends sponsored a bluebird house building event in March. Participants were able to build and take home their own bird house, and Bird Club members were available to answer questions about house placement and bluebird habits. Thanks to the American Legion for use of their facility.

Members of the Poynette High School Conservation Club are working with the Friends to develop a prairie garden on school grounds. Partial funding was obtained from the C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant program of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.

If you know of a business that you think would be willing to support the Friends in this manner, please contact any board member for their assistance in making this membership request.

Contributions will be retroactively tax deductible once our application for non-profit status is approved.

Please make your check payable to:

Friends of Rowan Creek

P. O. Box 94

Poynette, Wisconsin 53955

For more information visit http://rowancreek.org,

email <info@rowancreek.org, or call 608-635-4040