| Recently the Adult Conservation Team received a one-year, $2,000 grant through the Wisconsin DNR’s Upper Sugar River Initiative, sponsored by the US EPA. Adult Conservation Team volunteers have been very busy in the area that comprises the Upper Sugar River Watershed in southwest Dane County. Dane County Parks properties in this watershed include the Ice Age Trail Junction Area, Prairie Moraine Parkway, Goose Lake, Badger Prairie and Donald Parks. The purpose of this grant is to increase public awareness of the watershed as a distinct and important natural resource, and to provide support for our volunteer projects there.
This year a dedicated page in “ACTION” will regularly feature our volunteer projects and other activities in the Upper Sugar River Watershed. The Upper Sugar River Initiative Coordinating Committee will provide additional information about the watershed through these pages. We are grateful to the DNR and the EPA for supporting “ACTION” and the Adult Conservation Team with this grant.
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This cascade aerator ensures a sufficient level of oxygen in the water restored to Badger Mill Creek.
Grant Money Available for Community Projects in the Upper Sugar River Watershed
There is a long and successful history of public and private involvement in the Upper Sugar River Watershed. The area includes the rapidly developing area between Madison and Verona, along Badger Mill Creek, the headwaters of Mt. Vernon Creek and the West Branch near Mt. Horeb, and all the agricultural lands in the towns in between. All these creeks and lands drain to Lake Belle View in Belleville. If you think there might be reasons for concern, you are right.The Upper Sug
Grant money is available this year for community-based groups to organize and conduct projects along sections of the Sugar River or within the watershed area. Streambank clearing and restoration, prairie planting and water quality monitoring are just a few of the many activities eligible for funding. Community support is a critical part of the effort to protect and restore the watershed, so the Coordinating Committee encourages interested groups to apply for funds now.
Upper Sugar River Information and Education Coordinator Marcia Hartwig can be reached at the Dane County Land Conservation Department, 224-3746, to share your ideas on projects. You may also contact DNR project manager Steve Fix at 275-3280. Mike Kakuska, Dane County Regional Planning Commission, contributed to this article. |
