Getting Started with Stewardship
Getting Started with Stewardship
Getting Started with Stewardship helps you connect with conservation professionals and practical resources to identify and achieve your land stewardship goals.
Are you new to landownership in Wisconsin, or have you owned land for a while but are just starting to navigate the different options for stewarding it? Getting Started with Stewardship connects landowners with conservation professionals and practical resources to help you understand your land and achieve your property goals. The sessions feature guest speakers from organizations working across Wisconsin and highlight programs, tools, and people who can support your land stewardship journey.
What you can gain:
- Connections with trusted conservation, agriculture, and natural resource professionals from across Wisconsin
- An overview of programs and assistance available to Wisconsin landowners
- Ideas for managing different ecosystems to meet ecological, economic, and personal goals
- Options and ideas to help you take action on your land.
Who should attend:
- New and prospective landowners in Wisconsin
- Families planning for future land ownership or transitions
- Anyone interested in conservation, stewardship, and sustainable land use.
Along with collaborators from Extension’s Agriculture Institute and UW–Madison’s Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, we also developed a website for getting started with land stewardship, which includes resources on water, wildlife, woods, farming, grasslands, gardens & pollinators, people, building & roads, and legal aspects of land stewardship.
Upcoming Events
We are planning more Getting Started with Stewardship events—stay tuned!
Past Events
Sauk County Farm Field Day (July 2025)
We partnered with Sauk County to host a field day at the Sauk County Farm for new landowners and anyone getting started with land stewardship in Wisconsin. Landowners connected with peers and conservation professionals to look at conservation in action and discuss ways to achieve their goals for their land.
Getting Started with Stewardship Webinars (April 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
This three-part webinar series connected Wisconsin landowners with conservation professionals and practical resources to help them achieve their property goals. Across the sessions, participants learned about managing wildlife habitat and grasslands, balancing conservation and economic opportunities, and navigating the social and infrastructure aspects of land ownership such as easements, buildings, and working with family and community. You can watch the most recent webinar recordings below.
Wildlife and Woodlands
Learn how to manage grasslands, prairies, and savannas to support pollinators and wildlife on your property. This session introduces landowners to experts and programs focused on habitat management and restoration, and connects participants with resources to help them take the next steps.
Working Lands and Water
Explore conservation and economic opportunities for properties that include water, woods, and farmland. Agriculture and natural resources professionals provide an overview of government programs designed to help Wisconsin landowners meet both environmental and financial goals on working lands.
People and Infrastructure
Landownership involves more than natural resources. This session focuses on the social and built aspects of owning land, including easements, buildings, and roads, as well as working with family members, neighbors, and the broader community to achieve your long-term vision.
Getting Started with Stewardship is funded in part by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and previous funding came from the USDA. For more information about this programs, contact:
Olivia Kovacs
Natural Resources Educator
olivia.kovacs@wisc.edu
608-509-3012
Page last updated May 2026.