Individuals, who were interested in maintaining and enhancing habit for wildlife and fisheries in Dane County, organized the Dane County Conservation League (DCCL) in 1933.

• The DCCL leased the first public hunting ground in Wisconsin, the Deansville Marsh, often thought to be the first in the nation.
• Purchased Castle Marsh (Warner Park Lagoons) for fish spawning grounds.
• Purchased 4300 acres in Central WI for development of Prairie Chicken habitat.
• Worked for development of the Cherokee Marsh Waterfowl Refuge and Spawning Grounds.
• Worked to improve the Maunesha River near Marshall and the Sugar River near Belleville.
• Worked for public access to Fish Lake.
• Contributed to assist in the rehabilitation project at Baskerville Harbor in Lake Monona.
• Owned parcels in Token Creek including trout ponds & springs. Operated the facilities as a trout hatchery.
• Negotiated with landowners 20-year leases for public access to numerous trout streams in Dane County.
• Planted 2,000,000 trees/shrubs over the past six decades.
• Initiated the Madison Schools Summer Youth Conservation Program.
• Charter member of Wisconsin’s Conservation Hall of Fame. Two members, Paul Olson & Gov. Knowles, are inductees.

  The DCCL continues to serve as one of Wisconsin’s oldest volunteer nonprofit organizations dedicated to the mission of conservation.

  If you’re interested in making some new friends, in helping Mother Nature and in enjoying the outdoors, the Dane County Conservation League is for you! Our motto dating back to the 1930s shows the League’s dedication to the future ---

With your membership to the DCCL, we offer an opportunity to receive League-raised pheasants free for volunteering a little of your time. Many of the activities mentioned earlier qualify. A minimum of 15 hours per membership year.

A family membership allows two or more people of that household to combine their volunteering hours.