On October 10, 1962, Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson issued a call for a “People's Lobby” to coordinate and unify the efforts of the state's many conservation groups. As a result of Nelson's remarks, leaders of several local clubs met and on February 2, 1963, organized the Wisconsin Council for Resource Development and Conservation. Their purpose, as expressed in their constitution, was to “promote sound planning and action in the development and use of the natural resources of Wisconsin by banding together those organizations which have an expressed interest in these resources.” In 1964 the group changed its name to the Wisconsin Resource Conservation Council.
From its inception, the council was a statewide organization, but its letterhead indicated that it had no central office. Martin Hansen of Mellen was elected its first president, with Paul Romig of Green Bay as vice-president and John Franson of Fond du Lac as secretary. In 1966 Hansen was replaced by Dr. C.R. Rumsey of Milwaukee.
At its height in 1966, WRCC represented more than fifty local organizations including such diverse environmental groups as hunters, bird watchers, club women, lake shore property owners, and paper mill executives. The membership consisted of a representative from each of the constituent organizations and an elected chairman from each of the state senate districts. WRCC's activities primarily consisted of lobbying and letter writing campaigns. They also sponsored meetings and conferences to study a wide range of environmental issues of concern to Wisconsin and the Upper Great Lakes region.
In 1968 Secretary John Franson resigned from his post and most of the organization's activity, which seems to have revolved around him, came to an end. Although WRCC is known to have been in existence at least until 1970, it apparently disbanded during the following decade, for it is not included in a list of environmental organizations in Wisconsin published by the State Extension Service in 1979.
