Several hundred people filled the Capitol Rotunda in Madison Tuesday noon (May 16) to celebrate the completion of soil mapping in Wisconsin. In a ceremony filled with music, food, information booths, and presentations from various dignitaries, a proclamation was read by Rod Nilsestuen, Secretary of the WI Dept. of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection declaring 2006 as the “Year of Soil” in Wisconsin.
Ceremony events included third and fourth grade students from Antigo Elementary School singing a special musical tribute to the state soil – the Antigo Silt Loam; Bruce Knight, Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service presenting the 2006 Excellence in Conservation National Award to Paul Daigle, Marathon County; and Fred Halfen, President, WI Land Information Association paying tribute to the cooperative funding support over the past six years from several state agencies and the state’s Land Information Program. Pat Levenworth, State Conservationist (NRCS), hosted the event.
The purpose of the gathering was to recognize the completion of soil survey mapping in the state. Last year the state was completed with the mapping of ten northwestern counties. Now all counties have been digitized, certified and are available on-line through the NRCS Web Soil Survey.
More information: NRCS Web Soil Survey