Friends Groups

The Friends program was begun in 1989 by the late Dave Hammer to bring concerned community members together to enhance and preserve state parks through education and interpretive work, community events, fundraising and property maintenance.

As budgets continue to shrink, there are fewer resources available to manage our state parks and other DNR properties. Individuals can help by joining one of the sixty-five nonprofit Friends groups that operate around the state.

For information about how to become involved, see www.wistateparkfriends.org or contact the Friends Coordinator:

Camille Zanoni
State Friends Group Coordinator
101 S. Webster St.
Madison, WI 53707
Phone: (608) 266-7617
Fax: (608) 267-7474

Friends groups offer vital support in the following areas:

• Volunteers: Volunteers provide visitor services, such as interpretive guides for environmental education programs, maintenance crews for trails, concessions for campers and day visitors, and general assistance to DNR staff.



• Development: Friends groups raise private and public funds to construct or improve recreational facilities. They often match Stewardship grants with private dollars to develop visitor amenities that would not be possible otherwise, such as boardwalks, picnic shelters, fishing piers, accessibility projects, and camping facilities.



• Natural Resources: Parks and other state lands are only as healthy as the resources they protect. Friends groups help with restoration of native communities, such as prairies, and also provide "eyes and ears" for identifying and inventorying plant and animal species that depend on public lands for habitat.

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