Cheryl Nenn, Riverkeeper for Milwaukee Riverkeeper, will discuss the current state of Milwaukee's rivers, including the current status of water quality, habitat restoration, and fish passage efforts. She will also touch on a generational opportunity to clean up historic contaminants from the Milwaukee River Estuary Area of Concern, including over 20 planned habitat and beach restoration projects. The talk will also explore how many emerging contaminants threaten local water quality - including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, PFAS and road salt.
Photo credit: Alan Cressler via Flickr (Milwaukee River at Estabrook Falls)
Cheryl Nenn has been the Riverkeeper for Milwaukee Riverkeeper for over 20 years. She directs the Citizen-Based Water Quality Monitoring program in the Milwaukee River Basin, several advanced monitoring projects (identifying sources of human bacteria, phosphorus, chloride, and emerging contaminants), the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail Project, and several stream restoration projects in the Milwaukee River Basin. As the Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Cheryl patrols local waterways, identifies problems in the Milwaukee River Basin, responds to citizen concerns, reviews permits, and helps find collaborative solutions to problems affecting local rivers.
Cheryl is on the Board of Directors for the Waterkeeper Alliance, the Advisory Board for the Milwaukee River Greenway, the Advisory Board for MATC's Environmental Health and Quality program, and on the Advisory Board for UWM-School of Freshwater Science's Professional Science Master's Program. Cheryl has served on several Technical Advisory Committees for SEWRPC as well as serves on the WDNR's Fish and Wildlife Technical Team, Beaches Technical Advisory Team, and Sediment Team for the Milwaukee River Estuary Area of Concern. She also sits on the Community Advisory Committee for the Milwaukee River Estuary Area of Concern.
Cheryl has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.S. in Natural Resource Ecology and Management from the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment. Prior to working with Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Cheryl has worked with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Peace Corps and Crisis Corps, City of New York Natural Resources Group, Michigan Department of Natural Resources/Dept. of Agriculture, and an environmental consulting firm specializing on natural area management and water quality issues.
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One way to help keep our water sources clean is to properly dispose of unused medications. To find safe places to deposit these around the Milwaukee Area, check out Take Back My Meds.
