GEM Land Use Planning Program
Prceedings of the GEM 2006 International Conference on Planning for Land Use and Healthy Watersheds
The GEM Land Use Planning Program is helping communities here in Wisconsin and around the world plan a better future
Changes in land use, including conversion of agricultural land to development, impact the natural 
resources of Wisconsin.
The 1999 Wisconsin “Smart Growth” planning law requires each of the 1,932 cities, villages, counties and towns in the state to have a comprehensive planning law in place by 2010. In consideration of this law, the Global Environmental Management Education Center at UWSP developed and proposed a project titled “A Collaborative Education Model for Natural and Agricultural Resource Planning and Management.” With funding from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, this project is helping communities gain the knowledge needed to effectively plan their future.
The GEM land use project focuses on creating programs that provide the institutional and human resource capital required to allow local and international partner communities to identify natural and agricultural resource issues.
GEM International Conference on Planning for Land Use and Healthy Watersheds
In September 2006, the GEM Land Use Program and the GEM Healthy Watersheds Program co-hosted the International Conference on Planning for Land Use and Healthy Watersheds at the Johnson Foundation’s Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, WI. The conference is co-sponsored by The Johnson Foundation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Watershed managers and land use planners from Wisconsin and around the world assessed regional capacity to plan for land use and healthy watersheds, and identified methods and outline approaches to success. View a brochure describing the conference and the GEM International Seminar on Watershed Management here.
