Three new members have joined the 23-member board of directors for the Mississippi Valley Conservancy, a local nonprofit land trust. Barbara Hammes, Dale Hein and Charles Lee will each serve three-year terms.

Hammes grew up in La Crosse and loves boating on the Mississippi River and hiking on MVC-protected property. Recently retired from Gundersen Lutheran’s palliative care program, Barb was one of the first certified nurse midwifes in the Midwest and helped deliver thousands of babies. As an MVC volunteer, Hammes is working to create trail guides for the MVC’s most popular properties.

Hein, a resident of Prairie du Chien, grew up on a farm about 30 miles north of La Crosse and has a passion for protecting the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. He enjoys the “silent sports” of canoeing, cross-country skiing, running and biking with his wife and two young daughters.

Lee, was a founding board member of MVC and returns after almost four years’ absence. Chuck serves as chair of the Department of History at UW-La Crosse, is executive director of the UW-L Oral History Program and is a specialist in American social and environmental history.

Lee has been a leader in regional conservation through his involvement with the Coulee Region Sierra Club, National Audubon Society and the La Crosse River Marsh Coalition.

“Barb, Dale and Chuck provide Mississippi Valley Conservancy with important energy and leadership as MVC begins its second decade of protecting land,” said Ralph Heath, MVC’s board president. “We welcome their diverse backgrounds in healthcare, manufacturing and academia as well as their geographic spread in our seven-county service area. Together they help to make MVC even stronger with their new ideas and unique experiences.”

The MVC has permanently protected more than 6,900 acres of scenic lands in southwestern Wisconsin by working with private landowners, businesses and local communities on voluntary conservation projects.

For information on tax incentives, how to permanently conserve your land or to become a contributing MVC member, log onto www.MississippiValleyConservancy.org; write to 201 Main St., Suite 1001, La Crosse, WI 54601; or e-mail mrich@MississippiValleyConservancy.org.