As 2025 draws to a close, I am reflecting on the uncertainty of our times, my optimism for 2026, and a bumpy ride in a pickup truck.
Everywhere I look right now, I see mixed signals about our shared future. Efforts to address housing affordability compete with neighborhood opposition to new housing construction. Progress in the control of phosphorus and chloride runoff to our lakes is offset by the continued spread of urban development. Fast-evolving AI tools are aiding our daily tasks and fueling a global push for giant data centers that demand our land and power.
My glass is half full on each of these issues, partly because of a late-season pickup truck tour of local farmland with Jeff Endres. Jeff chairs Yahara Pride Farms, a producer-led group promoting agricultural practices that retain nutrients in the soil and protect regional water quality.
I sought Jeff’s perspective on the topic of drainage districts, and we ended up bouncing through fields in his truck on a warm October day to see stormwater detention berms, drainage ditches, and harvestable buffers around those ditches. We didn’t solve the region’s water quality challenges in that tour, but I came away with a new perspective on agricultural water management and a renewed commitment to conversing.
CARPC exists to help communities work together on shared challenges, and even I need the occasional reminder about the value of conversation. We all benefit when we take the time to talk to one another, especially about the difficult issues. Listening to different perspectives and learning about others’ challenges is the core of our work at CARPC, and is why I remain optimistic that our region can tackle its challenges successfully by prioritizing genuine dialogue.
Noteworthy CARPC Conversations and Collaborations in 2025
New Folks
We welcomed Administrative Services Manager Matt “Koz” Kozlowski (yes, a third Matt!) and LTE Environmental Technicians Isaac Porter and Kai Farrey.
We’re “Out Standing” in Our Creeks
CARPC staff had many opportunities to dip our toes in Dane County creeks this year. We teamed up with Trout Unlimited to complete the first half of the Stream Crossing Inventory, evaluating culverts and bridges for flood resilience across Dane County, and we extended our chloride monitoring efforts in Starkweather Creek by joining forces with local civic groups and academic institutions to maintain our in-creek monitoring equipment.
An Amendment Process for the Amendment Process
During a quiet year for sewer service area amendments (just two applications!), we were able to spend time updating the amendment processes themselves, supported by conversations with local community and DNR partners. A revised set of Policies and Criteria for Sewer Service Area Amendments is headed to a public hearing on January 8, 2026.
Spreading More Wisdom (and Less Salt)
WI Salt Wise Program Manager Allison Madison is NOT, in fact, presenting “everything, everywhere, all at once”, but it sometimes feels that way. Her continued success connecting with winter maintenance crews and interested audiences all across the state was rewarded with another grant from the Fund for Lake Michigan that will help sustain the program through 2027, while we build other funding sources (and we’ve been doing that too – if you appreciate this program, please consider making a personal donation).
Kids Growing Oaks
Senior Environmental Planner Matt Noone has been on a quest to help elementary schools grow trees and tree-growing knowledge. One result of his many conversations? A CD Besadny Conservation Grant to support the Dane County School Tree Nursery Program and develop K-12 curriculum for growing trees.
Lending a Hand (and a Planner)
Our fee-for-service assistance program featured work both inside Dane County (comprehensive planning support for the Town of Rutland, the Town of Berry, and the Village of Maple Bluff) and outside it, too (the City of Evansville Human-Powered Transportation Plan and the Rock County Comprehensive Plan).
Resilience in the Face of Changing Conditions
CARPC proudly served as co-host for the Midwest Climate Collaborative’s 2025 Midwest Climate Summit at the UW-Madison Memorial Union. There were many conversations about the elevated importance of local leadership absent a federal strategy for climate resilience. Our leadership continues to be about green infrastructure, including urban forestry and vegetated stormwater management practices.
Regional Data, Local Impact
Collecting, evaluating, and sharing data in useful ways is a core function for CARPC. In 2025, we joined with other Dane County organizations as the Regional Data Group to prepare population projections for the County and all local governments. We also completed development of a database that tracks residential units throughout the county at the parcel level – watch for more on this in 2026 as we start rolling it out for use by others.
Developing an Economic Development Role
The Madison Regional Economic Partnership (MadREP) is winding down its operations at the end of 2025 due to funding and staffing challenges and returning many of its regional functions to the organization that originally gave it life – the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. CARPC has been working with both organizations to take on a piece of MadREP’s regional economic development role, helping to connect communities and rural businesses with the resources of the US Economic Development Administration and the US Department of Agriculture (and if you think the USDA is just about farming, we should talk!).
Looking Ahead
The challenges we face as a region are diverse and complex, and we are heartened by the many capable organizations with whom we get to collaborate. We deeply value our relationships with local government partners, public agencies, and non-profit groups, and look forward to continuing candid regional conversations with you all in 2026.
