Business Voices for Clean Water

Mar 20, 2019 | Citizen Advocacy, Clear Water Business Consortium, Local Groups, Mining, Newsletters, Recreation, Water Policy

The content below is a selected article from our winter 2019 WaterWays newsletter. Download a PDF of the full Newsletter.

By Falon French

Business owners have a powerful voice when it comes to water policy and advocacy. River Alliance’s Clear Water Business Consortium includes leaders from over 20 businesses all over the state, including breweries, outfitters and resorts.

Good Water = Good Business

Recently, Clear Water Business Consortium member, Holiday Acres, a year-round resort located near Rhinelander, WI stepped up to protect their local waters from a potential sulfide mine at the nearby Lynne Deposit. Holiday Acres is a family-owned business, celebrating their 70th anniversary this year. Kari Zambon and her husband Kim are the third generation to run Holiday Acres. The resort is located on Lake Thompson in Oneida County, which boasts the 5th largest concentration of freshwater lakes in the world.

A Local Leader

Holiday Acres relies on a beautiful and healthy environment. The Zambon family was distressed by the possibility of pollution from sulfide mining. “Everyone should be concerned about their water,” Kari shared. When learning that new rules could open up the region to mining, Kari Zambon and her son Peter attended a local meeting and worked closely with local watershed group, Protect the Willow. The efforts of many people working together on a grassroots campaign in the region concluded with 62% voting “no” on the referendum on metallic mining of the Lynne Deposit. Kari and her family are also active in their lake association, and work with volunteers to monitor for and remove invasive species. “We live in a particularly beautiful part of the state…and we are proud and pleased to share it,” Kari explained.

River Alliance of Wisconsin is proud to recognize the efforts of Holiday Acres and all of our Clear Water Business Consortium Members to protect and restore Wisconsin’s waters.