I have known Paul through his volunteer work in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest over the last five or so years, and in particular, his work on the State Natural Areas therein.  His commitment to this work far exceeds anyone else I personally know of, or have heard about, and the results of his effort reflect as much – the sites he has adopted look great, and more importantly, he has helped preserve and enhance some of the rare plant communities found in the area.   We have used his effort as “match” for grants that we have secured, essentially leveraging his work with more work funded by other organizations.   Furthermore, in so doing all of this, Paul brings others into the mix by either inviting them out to help, or simply inviting them to follow his blogs – helping build a community of like-minded people.   In the end, instead of asking myself “why would someone work this hard as a volunteer?”, I simply accept his generosity and thank him on behalf of the resources he has worked so hard to protect.

Matt Zine, WDNR Natural Areas Conservation Biologist