CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF THE DRIFTLESS REGION
We know that only if you can first love a place, will you work to support it, to protect it, to enhance it. We want to encourage that love, that magic if you will, of the region, and brand and share the Driftless Region to those near and far. We will engage young and old to see their surroundings in exciting new ways. Ways that encourage participation, hope, engagement, and pride. We believe this will foster our youth to return or to not leave, our long term residents and business owners to thrive, our visitors to be glad they made the trip.
The Driftless Region is an enchanted land that a mysterious force shielded for more than a million years from powerful, massive continental glaciers of the last Ice Age. The landscape is filled with rugged, stunning scenery, bizarre microclimates, and deep caves. The world’s oldest river meanders its way through the center, having carved beautiful cliffs lush with rare wildflowers. Native American effigy mounds and petroglyphs remain from a thousand years ago. The region also is known for eclectic and fun river communities, the birthplace of soil conservation and leadership in organic agriculture, world-class rugged terrain for silent sports, and appreciation for the arts. It is where waterskiing was invented, and where Aldo Leopold conceived his idea for a land ethic.
Sustainable Driftless, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring resource conservation, vibrant communities, and sustainable growth in the Driftless Region.
Our board of directors includes the following individuals:
Tim Jacobson (president), George Howe (vice president), Julia Henley (treasurer), Nancy Breed (secretary), Brian Murphy, and Prof. Thomas Johnson.
SDI partnered with Untamed Science, Inc., another nonprofit organization, to produce Decoding the Driftless, a feature-length documentary film about the the Driftless Region. In 2021, the film was honored with a regional Emmy Award from the Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Support our work, and you’ll help us help thousands more people experience and cherish the most precious, mysterious and beautiful places on the Driftless landscape!
Sustainable Driftless, Inc. | P.O. Box 1231 | La Crosse, WI 54602