Winter 1999

Lines From Louise The October issue of “ACTION” included a donation envelope and an appeal for your monetary support. Many of you returned those envelopes to us with generous donations. Thank you so much for your positive response to our appeal! Your support will allow us to continue to work together with the many volunteers and community groups who constitute the Adult Conservation Team. You truly are “Volunteers in Partnership with Dane County Parks.” Thank you.

ACTION is the quarterly newsletter of Dane County Parks' Adult Conservation Team (ACT). ACT is a volunteer organization working to enhance the Dane County Park System. Dane County Park Commission Barry Ashenfelter Kay Bongers Susan King Elizabeth Lewis Darold Lowe William Lunney James Mohrbacher Dane County Parks Dept. Director Ken LePine ACT Manager Louise Goldstein Volunteer ACTION Editor Donald E. Ushman Dane County Park 4318 Robertson Road Madison, WI 53714 608/246-3896 608/246-3898 (FAX) 608/242-4576 (INFORMATION LINE) E-MAIL: goldstein@co.dane.wi.us

The Madison Nordic Ski Patrol will be providing weekend ski patrol services at Indian Lake Park again this winter. From the last week of December through mid-February, patrollers will be on hand to help in emergencies and offer Nordic skiing tips. This year you may also see patrollers there on weekdays, or at Cam-Rock, Stewart, the Nine Springs E-Way, Lake Farm and Token Creek Parks. These patrols always depend on snow conditions and the availability of patrollers.

University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation employees, led by Kari Smith, participated in the United Way Day of Caring by collecting seeds in the Nine Springs E-Way.

READI members continued to remove burdock and do other field work at Token Creek Park. They also collected seeds in various locations. Thanks to Elaine, Mary, Ken and their fabulous, ever-ready crews. In November they prepared the “ACTION” and permit applications mailings. The permit application mailing turned out to be a much larger job than we had thought, but READI volunteers came back over a period of four days to finish the mailing. A special thank you to Mary & Howard Endres, Joan Smith, Angie & Merle Goth, Clarice McNitt, Erv & Florence Smith, Elaine Herritz, Peg Brown, Donna Dyer, Axle Anderson and Joan Olson. They put in over 130 hours to get over 7,000 applications ready for mailing.

The Nine Springs Network and the Friends of Pheasant Branch continued their field work and related projects. Both of these groups have made quite a difference in their project areas. Their consistency, reliability, enthusiasm and hard work are truly commendable. Watch for future work dates and think about joining these friendly volunteers.

The CB #1025 Reserve Unit also did field work in the E-Way during their annual picnic. Thanks to Dennis Simpson for coordinating.

The Maunesha River Trail work days, led by Steve Falter, are finished for the year. Quite a bit of headway was made, and there will be more opportunities next year to pitch in and help clear this lovely river. A public informational meeting was held in October, with Rep. Eugene and Mrs. Hahn in attendance. Steve has great plans for future projects and the participation of local paddlers in creating the water-based trails proposed in the Dane County Park & Open Space Plan. A non-profit organization is being created to further these goals. Thanks to Steve for spearheading it, and to Rutabaga for donating the funds to do the paperwork.

Sixteen volunteers collected seeds in the E-Way and Green Prairie in October, including six members of the WMMM-FM Green Team. Also participating were Kristin Teppo, Donna Watts, Erv & Florence Smith, John Herbst, Cindy Cary, Ruth Fahnestock, Janet Kane, and others.

Lorena Parkway neighbors of the Nine Springs E-Way have begun clearing honeysuckle behind their homes, which abut the E-Way. Joe Tiller is leading the way, with neighbor Mike Hannes treating stumps. They were very impressed with the size of some of the honeysuckle bushes.

Wisconsin Academy students and faculty.

Members of the Madison Nordic Ski Club cleared brush along trails and cleaned the warming cabin at Indian Lake Park in preparation for cross-country skiing. Hopefully by the time you read this, we will have snow.

The Lakeview Neighborhood Association, led by volunteer Natural Areas Manager Nelson Eisman, spent a morning rehabilitating oak saplings in Lakeview Woods Conservancy. They found 38 oak seedlings, many more than expected, and protected them with tree tubes. The Association has created a committee called the Friends of Lakeview Woods to focus on volunteer projects in the Conservancy. Thanks to Nelson, Elaine & Jerry Bayuk, Scott Bruning, Char & Dan Tortorice, Mark Hoffmann, Patricia Esch and Sue & Mick Evans. Thanks also to Ranger Jeff Gregersen for his assistance.

Foster-parent spouse Harry Fisker poses for his wife Donna.	Rep. Eugene Hahn congratulated Steve Falter for his work in the Maunesha River.

UW Law students participating in an annual community service day cleared honeysuckle and other invasive plants in the McCoy Rd section of the E-Way. Ken Siemers treated the stumps, as he has so ably at so many other projects.

The Bicentennial Oak Stewards have completed another season of monitoring these special trees. Thanks to Leo & Marcella Schwanz, Karen Steinle, Donna Fisker, Peggy Traver and Bob Salov.

The Prairie Foster Parents had a very successful first year, well beyond our expectations. Ken Siemers, Guerdon Coombs, Donna Fisker, Martha Kilgour, Kat Myhre, Marcia Wagner, Pat Hitchcock, John Herbst and Daniel Wood all worked very hard this summer, digging burdock, wild parsnip, sweet clover and other weeds. They’ll be meeting in January to trade stories and methods, ask questions and share what they’ve learned. There are plenty of sites waiting to be adopted next summer; call if you’re interested.

Lakeview Woods neighbors at the entrance to the conservancy.

Students and faculty from Wisconsin Academy in Colombus did field work along the lake shore trail at Lake Farm Park, in an area that is getting a lot of attention. The view of the lake from the path and the group camp site is being opened up, and the breeze should help keep mosquitoes at bay.