Formation of the Wisconsin Council on Natural Beauty was authorized under Chapter 575, Laws of 1965, effective July 1, 1966. With members drawn from the Legislature, state agencies, and the citizenry, the Council was attached to the Department of Resource Development for administrative purposes and was directly responsible to the Governor. As a result of government reorganization in 1967, the Council's name was changed to the Wisconsin Natural Beauty Council and it was shifted administratively to the Division of Tourism and Information within the Department of Natural Resources (Wis. Stats. 15.347(1) and 144.76). The name was changed once more, to the Wisconsin Citizens Environmental Council (Chapter 224, Laws of 1975). And in 1977, the Council was moved to the Department of Administration, its membership altered to consist of just seven citizen members, and its role changed to a more advisory and less action oriented program.
The Council's early programs stressed public education and motivation in beautifying the state, and information sharing. Activities such as advertising campaigns, a newsletter, slide and film productions, and awards to elementary school action projects and to environmental writers were undertaken to achieve these goals. The statutes called for organization of county councils and the state council encouraged their formation and activities. The Council devoted efforts to the areas of billboard control and disposal of solid wastes such as beverage containers, litter, and junk cars. One Council sub-committee was the Keep Wisconsin Clean Committee headed by T. E. Branagan. Formed originally in 1956 as the Governor's Committee for Elimination of Litter Along Wisconsin's Highways, this sub-committee maintained its program under Council auspices.
Later programs reflected a broader environmental perspective. The Council involved itself in energy issues, preservation of unique natural areas, natural roadsides promotion, preservation of small communities as individual cultural environments, and promotion of natural landscaping.
The Council was chaired successively by Molly Sulewsky (1966-1969), Charles F. Smith, Jr. (1970-1972), A. W. Jorgensen (1972), Elizabeth Bardwell (1973-1974), and Ellen Folsom (1975-1977).
