Our legal action against the county in the 1970s (settled out of court) provided that condominiums could not be built in agricultural zoning districts, an early and significant limitation to the proliferation of condos.

Our contact with the late Dr. James Zimmerman, Madison ecologist, led to the detailed mapping of all sensitive areas in Door County and the resultant Zimmerman Resource Maps, which are an effective tool in resource education and appreciation. See the Zimmerman Maps.

In 1987, DCEC founded the Door County Land Trust, Inc., now a separate organization working with private land owners to preserve land. DCLT is a fast-growing and powerful tool for critical land area protection and citizen support.

We successfully worked to secure federal listing of the Hines Emerald Dragonfly as an endangered species. DCEC was one of the petitioners for state and federal endangered species status for the Dwarf Lake Iris.

We co-researched and jointly published a Cost of Services Study with The Land Trust which documents the fact that developed land costs local communities more for services than does open land and farmlands. This is an important tool for responsible planning and sustainable land use practices.

DCEC contracted with Stephen John to complete a homeowner information manual describing the available alternatives for home wastewater treatment facilities. "Door County Citizens' Guide to Small Wastewater Systems" is available free to all homeowners. 

DCEC was the primary force in an unsuccessful effort to change the Highway 57 route in the town of Union which would have saved the Pineries from destruction and shortened the route by one mile. The impact on this small town is now being realized as the project continues through the finest pine woodlands in Southern Door County.

DCEC is continuing the battle to bring large developments back into the public hearing process. The Site Plan Review procedure, which has replaced public hearings in many cases, effectively denies affected citizens any meaningful voice in determining actual impact of planned developments. We continue to demand that public rights be re-instated with full hearings on the major developments planned for our county.

For more information on these and other matters, we invite you to Contact Us.