Our Mission
The Friends of the St. Croix Headwaters (FOTSCH) is a non-profit, non-partisan group of citizen-volunteers dedicated to the protection, preservation and celebration of the upper St. Croix River and its watershed.
FOTSCH is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization. All dues and donations are tax deductible.
Please join with us
We are an energetic, three-year old, citizen-based organization with a proven track record that focuses volunteer activities on water-quality monitoring, invasive-species control, outreach education, and advocacy for the upper St. Croix River and its tributaries in northwestern Wisconsin. Our monitoring efforts provide current information about the health of the Upper St. Croix - Eau Claire Rivers Watershed, “ankles in the water” participative experiences for adults and high school students, and encourage local stewardship of the rivers, streams, and lakes within our watershed.
Scott Peterson Executive Director
Brief History
In July 2008, FOTSCH became a staffed organization.
In June 2007 the WDNR approved a FOTSCH Lake Protection grant application to provide funding for surface and ground water information-gathering and analysis within the Upper St. Croix - Eau Claire Rivers Watershed, for the 2008-10 period. The grant-funded project is "Creating regional watershed based groundwater, hydraulic, and nutrient models for local-scale use in the Upper St Croix – Eau Claire Rivers Watershed."
In May 2007 FOTSCH was approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as an eligible Non-profit Conservation Organization (NCO) under the Lakes, Rivers, and Stewardship Programs.
In March 2007 FOTSCH was honored with the River Champion Award for excellence in river stewardship by the River Alliance of Wisconsin.
In May 2006 FOTSCH initiated the Upper St. Croix Watershed Alliance (www.uscwa.org), a voluntary alliance of river and lake associations within the Upper St. Croix - Eau Claire Rivers watershed.
In February 2005 FOTSCH was designated as a "Qualified River Management Organization" by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
