Agency Collaboration Profile: DATCP

by | Jul 23, 2025 | For communities, News, Policy Program Updates

A photo of WWA's Erin O'Brien and Tracy Hames with a group of other WWA staff and DATCP staff listening to someone point out features in the creek bed that they are looking at.

This is part of a larger series on Wisconsin’s Wetlands Association’s collaboration with state agencies. We recommend reading the first part of the series, “Building policy and program supports for wetlands conservation: The importance of state agencies,” before reading the following agency profile.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is the agency that oversees and supports Wisconsin’s Soil and Water Conservation Program. This program’s requirements reside in state statutes and administrative rules, which among other things:

  1. Define what types of conservation practices are eligible for state cost-share dollars, and for what purposes.
  2. Require DATCP’s Conservation Engineering Program to provide training to county Land Conservation Department staff.

DATCP staff sit at tables inside a large conference room watching a presentation given by WWA staff.

Over the past four years, WWA staff have collaborated with DATCP on trainings in person, online, and in the field to help build the agency staff’s understanding of hydrologic restoration.

The collaboration between DATCP and WWA launched in 2021 with a four-year, EPA-funded project focused on increasing adoption of wetland and stream restoration practices (e.g. hydrologic restoration) to help address water management issues in agricultural landscapes. The scope of work has included:

  1. Policy development to enable Land Conservation Department staff to provide state costshare dollars to landowners for voluntary hydrologic restoration projects.
  2. Development and delivery of trainings to improve knowledge of hydrology fundamentals among DATCP engineers and Land Conservation staff. These trainings also build capacity to assess where and how restoring degraded hydrology can help address erosion and water quality concerns.

Following a variety of virtual, classroom, and field-based trainings, the project will wrap up this summer with one last round of field-based trainings to help Land Conservation Department staff apply what they’ve learned, as well as an evaluation to measure learners’ progress and identify additional training needs.

We are also actively exploring funding to support the next phase of this work. Watch our blog for additional news on activities and outcomes from this expansive state agency collaboration.

Related content

Building policy and program supports for wetlands conservation: The importance of state agencies

As a statewide organization with a big vision, WWA leaders and staff spend a lot of time thinking about how to invest our resources to achieve the greatest positive impact on Wisconsin’s landscape. Read the first part of this series for an overview of why we work with state agencies.

Success! Revised rule breaks down barriers to hydrology-focused wetland and stream restoration practices

On June 1, 2024, we celebrated a major step forward when the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection’s (DATCP) Soil and Water Resource Management (SWRM) program updated ATCP 50 to enable the use of state funding for hydrologic restoration and stream restoration.

Focus group findings will help guide WWA actions

In 2021, WWA staff have collaborated with UW Extension Evaluation Specialists, WDNR, the WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), and others to look at the benefits, barriers, and opportunities associated with increasing state and local investments in watershed-scale wetland and floodplain restoration.