To celebrate the 60th year of the water resources management program, we’re collecting memories from program alumni. We’d love to hear from all graduating classes — add your memory!
What are your favorite memories of the WRM program?
“Meeting my future husband!”
– Alix (Jacobson) Burke
“Collecting water quality samples in a kayak on a very cold windy day in the middle of Stricker’s Pond. Presenting results to the City of Middleton, and being asked about the muskrat problem by an enthusiastic citizen (we never saw any). Learning new techniques from a talented cohort of lovely peers.”
– Eric Scott Mortensen
“Summer field session trips to stumble through the coastal wetlands of Manitowoc County.”
– Chad Cook
“Snake Lake and a dead small northern pike … it’s a longer story.”
– Jon Grand
“Doing hydrology homework in the study lounge.”
– Hiroko Yoshida
“We had a wonderfully failed attempt at installing a crest stage gage in someone’s front yard. First off, it was difficult to find a vendor for crushed cork. We considered obtaining our own corks via more traditional methods (drinking wine) but eventually found an online supplier. Over the course of the project we had a few precip events that should have given us some data; either the cork pieces were too big or the flow in the ditch never amounted to much. Either way, the results were fleeting but the memory will last a lifetime.”
– Steve Neary
“Long nights in the Park Street office. Pizza on State Street.”
– Tom Osborne
“Having our ‘Delavan or BUST’ slogan painted on the wall of the old WRM House by the Delavan Lake Practicum Crew at the start of our Summer Practicum.”
– Ray Tierney
“I really enjoyed taking a wide range of courses in law, limnology, soils, geology, and engineering. Through those courses and the WRM program I learned how to ‘talk’ to professionals in other disciplines.”
– Mark Stewart
“All the wonderful grad student friendships made and professors who were not only tremendous instructors but also great mentors. And more specifically, the old house on Park Street used by a number of us water and land resource students as study space. Barely habitable, but a lot of memories including our (1987?) WRM practicum team meetings!”
– Peter Thum
“I remember that my cohort consulted with various WDNR program staff on our project who I would later work with in my professional career at WDNR, many of which were also ‘Worm’ alumni. It never gets old meeting a fellow ‘Worm’ and feeling forever grateful for the vast impact this program has had on water, not only here in Wisconsin but around the globe.”
– Amanda Smith
“Field trip to Door County for EIS class.”
– Wally Gauthier
“My first experience leading a public engagement event was in WRM to generate discussion on existing issues, evaluate solutions, and create visions for the future of the Koshkonong Creek. That experience solidified my desire to do water resources and environmental planning for my career.”
– Heidi Putnam
“WRM house, environmental law class.”
– Jerry Skalak
“I appreciated the hands on practicum that was required to graduate. We worked on a basin plan for a rural area of SW WI and that included interacting with the public in the area.”
– Dan Homblette
“Lack of sleep trying to finish the practicum final report with so any authors.”
– Marshall Deters
“A six-hour final exam at Jim Zim’s Cedar Lake property. One of the best instructors ever! I am so proud to have taken his wetlands class!”
– Gail Epping (Overholt)
“WRM was growing! Fellow WRM students had offices in the Red Gym, University Club, and Science Hall. What a fabulous opportunity. Just as the country discovered the need for environmental management, UW delivered a dream program. We were alumni before the passage of major new laws on environmental impact, air quality, water quality, drinking water, spills, toxics, and cleanups, to list only some. USEPA support made it easier to pursue; diverse backgrounds and interesting personalities made it professionally expanding. It was a solid foundation!”
– Lyman Wible
“I enjoyed my WRM courses and the excellent WRM professors and program leaders. The class of 1982 worked on a management plan for the lower Sugar River and the Decatur Dam. Leading the summer workshop, working with outstanding classmates and and attending the public meeting reviewing our data and recommendations all stand out to me these many years later.”
– Terry Evanson