Friends of the Mukwonago River, Inc.

04/09/2026

Explore how native plants can bring your backyard to life!

Please click the link to complete this form.

04/03/2026

After 26 years of caring for the Mukwonago River, we have some exciting news to share...

The Friends of the Mukwonago River is merging with the Waukesha County Land Conservancy!

This next step means that our organization will be officially welcomed into and absorbed by the Waukesha County Land Conservancy. While our name may be changing, our mission is not. Our projects, our passion, and our deep commitment to the Mukwonago River will continue to flow forward through their work.

By bringing our efforts together, we are strengthening our ability to expand protection and restoration work along this watershed, and connect more people to this ecologically rich river. Together, we can deepen our impact across the watershed and ensure that the Mukwonago River continues to thrive for generations to come.

We are incredibly proud of what this community has built over the past 26 years, and are deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of this journey. Your support and love for this river made all of this possible.

As we enter this new chapter, we invite you to stay connected and follow the current as it carries this work forward. By subscribing to the Waukesha County Land Conservancy’s social media and e-newsletter, you can continue to receive updates about exciting upcoming events and educational programs, opportunities to get involved, and stories from along the Mukwonago River and beyond.

This may be a new chapter, but the river keeps flowing. And so do we.

01/11/2026

The Mukwonago River’s wooded edges support a wonderful mix of woodpeckers that help keep these forests healthy. Common species include Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, along with Northern Flickers in nearby openings. From time to time, Pileated Woodpeckers can be found in larger, mature trees, and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers pass through during migration. Together, these birds are a simple reminder of how important intact woods and river corridors are for wildlife. What woodpeckers have you seen along the river's edges?

10/06/2025

05/13/2025

Did you know that bluegill, pumpkinseed, black crappie and yellow perch comprised 75% of the fish harvested from Wisconsin lakes in the past decade?

To better manage these species, scientists at the Wisconsin DNR's Office of Applied Science are studying how panfish respond to a host of variables, including things like regulation changes, predator-prey relationships, angler catch and harvest rates, and environmental factors such as lake temperature and water clarity.

Learn more about this ongoing research: https://widnr.widen.net/s/lg5z8dlbsc/panfish_trends_and_responses

04/28/2025

What a wonderful event, watershed experience.

03/25/2025

Renewal can come in many forms, and our chapters have launched into bringing fire back to the land to help restore prairies.

When we talk about "fire-dependent ecosystems," we are referring to ecosystems that evolved and are maintained by the repeated presence of fire, one of the major practices our chapters use when restoring prairies. There are a variety of fire-dependent ecosystems, including: prairies, savannas, barrens, pine and oak forests, and some types of wetlands (e.g., fens and sedge meadows). Fire is a natural process that shapes habitat structure and species composition. In fact, without fire, grasslands and savannas in much of North America, including the Midwest, would have been restricted to serpentine soils, alvars, river scours, and dune environments.

This season, we celebrate the volunteers hard at work on burn crews on various sites and look forward to seeing the land come to life in the coming months!

Photo by Scott Fulton

03/07/2025

02/19/2025

Congratulations to Sarah Bull for her winning haiku, just in time for burn season!

Photo by Rob Baller, one of our Burn School instructors

02/19/2025