WCHF Members

WCHF is pleased to report that we have recently received a $1200 contribution from the Citizens Natural Resources  Association of Wisconsin (CNRA). Their total donations of $2400 over two years are being used for our Nominee Digitizing Project. CNRA writes: “Citizens Natural Resources Association and the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame have long shared the goals of Wisconsin’s conservation ethic – CNRA by doing and WCHF by recognizing those who do. We are aware of at least 22 of the 101 inductees into the Hall of Fame who have come from the CNRA membership, and many have been Silver Acorn recipients.”

The Nominee Digitizing Project is an effort to organize and scan thousands of WCHF nominee and inductee documents including photos, publications and biographical …

Welcome to the new WCHF Governor Christine Thomas! Christine filled a vacancy created when Governor Jane Wiley moved out of state. The Board of Governors is independent from the WCHF Board of Directors. The Governors have the important role of reviewing WCHF nominations and making recommendations to the Board of Directors for induction.

Christine Thomas retired as Dean of the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2020. In addition to her role as a university educator, Thomas developed the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program, designed to teach women outdoor skills. In 2005, Thomas was appointed by the Secretary of Interior during the George W. Bush administration to serve on the Sporting Conservation Council. Currently, Thomas is Senior Vice President for …

Meet Patty Dreier

WCHF has a new President. Her name is Patty Dreier and she comes to us courtesy of the Ice Age Trail Alliance. Patty has dedicated her life to helping people become better stewards of our planet, so the role of leading the WCHF organization in honoring Wisconsin’s conservation heroes should come naturally to her. In fact, she was the person who delivered the speech when John Muir was inducted into the WCHF in 1985. (She was a UW-Stevens Point graduate student at the time.)

Patty has a BS in Biology with emphasis on Botany (1982) and a MS in Natural Resources with emphasis on Environmental Education (1988). As a grant writer, she has been successful in securing over $200 million in grant …