What River Revitalization Foundation does

River Revitalization Foundation is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit land trust founded in 1994, focused on protecting land and water resources in southeastern Wisconsin. In 2023-2024, it completed a two-year strategic merger with Ozaukee Washington Land Trust to form Restoring Lands, expanding its workforce and programming capacity to cover the full Milwaukee River Basin. The organization manages a portfolio of publicly accessible preserves, including the Milwaukee River Greenway (800+ acres), South Oak Preserve (112 acres), Zinn Preserve (187 acres), Wendt Preserve (45 acres), and Turtle Park (4 acres), offering free access for hiking, bird watching, fishing, cross-country skiing, paddling, snowshoeing, hunting, and other recreational activities.

Restoring Lands generates revenue exclusively through donations, with public giving tiers of $25, $50, $100, and $250 processed via its website. Its go-to-market approach is community-led and event-driven, relying on volunteer programs, community science initiatives (amphibian monitoring, frog and salamander identification, the Return the Sturgeon project), nature hikes, watershed conversations, and birding walks to drive engagement. Marketing channels are predominantly organic, including a website, blog, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, email newsletter, and on-the-ground events. The organization does not operate a technology platform and has no disclosed AI/ML capabilities.

The organization holds conservation easements in perpetuity and operates partnerships with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (Reforestation and Wetland Restoration Program), Mequon Nature Preserve, Riveredge Nature Center, and Urban Ecology Center. Headcount is in the 1-10 range across offices in Milwaukee (within Turtle Park) and West Bend, Wisconsin, and financial revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

River Revitalization Foundation

Legal name

River Revitalization Foundation

Website

https://riverrevitalizationfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

River Revitalization Foundation is a Wisconsin nonprofit land trust, now operating as Restoring Lands, that protects and provides free public access to over 800 acres of preserves across the Milwaukee River Basin, serving local residents through outdoor recreation, volunteer programs, and conservation easement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Land Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH), Ecosystem Restoration & Rewilding Services (AFAMAMAE), Conservation, Restoration & Biodiversity Services (Habitat, Wetlands, Riparian) (IMAMAJAH)

Keywords

• Land conservation
• Conservation easements
• Land trust services
• Habitat restoration
• Watershed protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The organization accepts monetary donations at various levels ($25, $50, $100, $250). Donations are processed through the website and represent a primary funding mechanism for land conservation activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Restoring Lands (formerly River Revitalization Foundation) is a Wisconsin land trust that protects, connects, and restores southeast Wisconsin's lands and waters. It stewards multiple public preserves totaling 800+ acres along the Milwaukee River, provides conservation easement and land protection services to landowners, and runs community science and volunteer programs (amphibian monitoring, tree planting, stewardship). Access to preserves is free for hiking, bird watching, fishing, skiing, and other outdoor recreation, with revenue generated primarily through charitable donations.

Product overview

Restoring Lands (formerly River Revitalization Foundation) is a Wisconsin land trust offering a portfolio of protected natural preserves across southeastern Wisconsin, with properties including South Oak Preserve (112 acres), Westabrook Trail (1.3 miles), Zinn Preserve (187 acres), Milwaukee River Greenway (800+ acres), Wendt Preserve (45 acres), and Turtle Park (4 acres). The organization provides outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, bird watching, fishing, cross-country skiing, running, snowshoeing, hunting, and paddling across its preserves. Beyond land stewardship, it operates community science programs (amphibian monitoring, Return the Sturgeon project), volunteer opportunities, land protection/conservation easement services, and publishes a newsletter. The 2025 video documents the organization's history and merger between Ozaukee Washington Land Trust and River Revitalization Foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• South Oak Preserve

Quantifiable outcome

• 22,000+ trees planted in spring 2026
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership on the 'Reforestation and Wetland Restoration Program' enabling Restoring Lands' spring 2026 achievement of planting over 22,000 trees. This represents a significant environmental restoration collaboration supporting watershed health in the Milwaukee area.
• Mequon Nature PreserveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Joint Nature's Treasures Week event partnership. Collaboration on nature hike event at Mequon Nature Preserve (510 acres of restored land) as part of regional conservation celebration.
• Riveredge Nature CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Joint 'One Watershed: Community Conversation' event focusing on watershed health, infrastructure and habitat reintroduction, and the Return the Sturgeon project. Partnership under Nature's Treasures Week.
• Urban Ecology CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Joint morning birding event partnership at Urban Ecology Center Washington Park. Collaboration as part of Nature's Treasures Week programming.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Trust for Public Land: Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit that creates parks and protects land for public use across the United States. Broad incumbent: similar conservation easement and public-access mission but at national scale, competing for foundation grants and serving as a reference business model for community land trusts.
• The Nature Conservancy (Wisconsin): The Nature Conservancy is a global nonprofit operating one of the largest land conservation portfolios, with active work across Wisconsin. Broad incumbent: far larger scale and broader geographic mandate, but uses the same land trust / conservation easement model and competes for the same donor and grant funding pools.

Regional players

• Mississippi Valley Conservancy: Mississippi Valley Conservancy is a regional land trust serving western Wisconsin and neighboring states. Regional peer: same nonprofit land trust structure, easement-driven protection model, and similar scale of protected acreage and small professional staff.
• Natural Land Institute: Natural Land Institute is an Illinois-based regional land trust protecting natural areas in the Upper Midwest. Regional peer: comparable nonprofit land trust model, easement-based conservation approach, and overlapping donor and grant networks in the Great Lakes region.
• Ice Age Trail Alliance: Ice Age Trail Alliance is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that creates and maintains the 1,000-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Regional peer: shares the Wisconsin conservation footprint, relies on volunteer-driven trail stewardship, and operates a similar donation-and-membership revenue model.

Direct peers

• Mequon Nature Preserve: Mequon Nature Preserve is a 510-acre land trust in southeastern Wisconsin offering public access for hiking, birding, and educational programs. Direct peer: similar nonprofit land trust model, same service region, and an established Nature's Treasures Week programming partner of Restoring Lands.
• Urban Ecology Center: Urban Ecology Center operates urban nature preserves and environmental education programs in Milwaukee. Direct peer: serves the same Milwaukee-area community, operates publicly accessible preserves with free access, and collaborates with Restoring Lands on joint birding and nature programming.
• Riveredge Nature Center: Riveredge Nature Center is a Wisconsin nonprofit nature center focused on conservation, education, and watershed health along the Milwaukee River. Direct peer: same geographic focus, similar nonprofit nature-preservation model, and an active event partner on the One Watershed community conversation and Return the Sturgeon project.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rrfmke
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/river-revitalizational-foundation-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/restoringlandswi
• Xx.com/urbanlandtrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about River Revitalization Foundation