Built by Wisconsin communities
to strengthen local participation
Wisconsinites for Local Control (WLC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization built by the residents, landowners, and local governments navigating major infrastructure decisions across Wisconsin. We give Columbia County communities access to the kind of legal, regulatory, and technical expertise that's usually out of reach for residents and small local governments on their own.
We review the record, explain what's known, flag what's still unclear, track key deadlines, and represent community interests throughout the Public Service Commission process. The goal is simple: better information, stronger participation, and a credible voice for the people most affected.
Why this work matters
When large projects move quickly, residents and local officials are often asked to respond to complex proposals with limited time, limited information, and limited access to specialized expertise. By the time a project reaches formal approval, many of the assumptions that shape it are already locked in.
WLC exists to close that gap. Earlier information means a stronger voice – and communities deserve the chance to ask informed questions about land use, economic impact, infrastructure needs, transmission planning, and environmental impacts before decisions are made, not after.
Our principles
Transparency
Communities deserve clear, timely, and complete information about proposals that may affect them.
Representation
Residents, landowners, businesses, and local governments deserve a meaningful voice in decisions with long-term consequences.
Accountability
Major infrastructure decisions should be made through fair processes that weigh public needs alongside local impact and incorporate local control.
Member-led task forces
WLC builds its expertise through task forces made up of the people and professionals closest to the issue:
Environmental & Socioeconomic
Task Force
Regulatory experts, utility engineers, and residents evaluating impacts and long-term risks.
Legal Advocacy
Task Force
Lawyers and regulatory experts working alongside WLC counsel and the attorneys representing towns and villages, defining the key legal and regulatory issues in play.
Local Jurisdictions
Task Force
Representatives from Columbia County, towns, villages, and residents.
Who we serve, and how to join
WLC serves Wisconsin residents, landowners, businesses, local officials, and community stakeholders working to understand and participate in major infrastructure decisions, particularly those involving energy, data centers, transmission, and utility planning.
Local jurisdictions, landowners, and residents join WLC through a shared Memorandum of Understanding. Contact us to become a member.
We're a public-interest organization making sure development decisions are transparent, accountable, and shaped by the communities they affect – work that depends on people willing to help fund it.