Dedicated July, 1990 to the children of tomorrow.
Transcription
Dedicated July, 1990 to the children of tomorrow.
ISSUE 7— Spring/Summer 2009 Dedicated July, 1990 to the children of tomorrow. WINTER SCENES IN KNC From the Chairman We continue to take on new projects in our attempt to restore Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy to the pristine wetland it must have been when the Pottawatomie inhabited the area. Our main project this past spring and summer was restoration of the Southwick Creek area. During the winter of 2007-2008 we cleared a large area of box elder and buckthorn and other invasive vegetation. This is being done to allow more sunlight to get in so we can stabilize the stream banks with forbs, sedges and native grasses. This in turn will help control erosion and improve the ecosystem in this area. This past summer hikers and people driving by were thrilled to see the beautiful foliage of over 3,000 forbs, sedges and native grass plugs that were planted along the banks. Keep an eye open this spring for the area of pasque flowers that we planted right on the point of land south of the wooded bridge. This was a favorite of Aldo Leopold. It is one of the first flowers to pop up in the spring. As fall arrived our workload actually increased. With volunteers, we put two coats of sealer on 1150’ of boardwalk, constructed 310’ of new boardwalk over a wet area of the lake trail. Next, with a grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service we scraped two pond areas. One is just east of the viewing tower and the other by the north sedge meadow where a berm was pushed in to fill a ditch that was constructed many years ago to drain the area. Our goal is to provide habitat for wood ducks, wading birds and a variety of amphibians. Global declines in the amphibian population is a major environmental problem and we at KNC want to do our part to reverse this process. Last but not least we are going to restore another ten acres of wet prairie just south of the thirty acre prairie we have been working on. Harold J. Friestad—Chairman KNC A Year and a Half at Kishwauketoe As the new year begins I can look back at my time working for Kishwauketoe as a wonderful opportunity. Developing relationships with interns and volunteers brought me much enjoyment and made the projects that we took on within KNC possible. When I began working with Kishwauketoe the space seemed to be a larger canvas than I could handle. However, as we all began working together to achieve small tasks, the canvas was beginning to get more manageable. The experience gave me a revived sense of pride for the wonderful resources that we have locally. I was able to develop my knowledge of the native habitats and become very intimately aware of the changes that take place daily in a natural landscape. Each habitat within KNC had something to teach me and as I began listening I learned the needs of the ecosystems. I am very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with Kishwauketoe. I would like to send a special thank you to Harold Friestad, Ed Rynko, all the members of the board, the interns, the friends of Kishwauketoe and everyone who took the time to volunteer. I truly enjoyed working with everyone and look forward to being a volunteer in the future. Chrissi Regester* *To see where Chrissi is these days, see page 6. 2 GETTING TO KNOW KISHWAUKETOE Being over twenty years old has a special advantage. Recognition! Support! 1. Natural Resources Foundation 2. C.O. Besadny Conservation Grant 3. Department of Natural Resources 4. United Way of Greater Milwaukee 10. Women’s' Community Club of Williams Bay 11. Lake Geneva Area Realty 12. The Allyn Foundation 13. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program 14. USDA Natural Resources tion Service Programs Conserva- 5. Southern Comfort Air-LLC 6. Geneva Lake Association 7. The Chicago Community Foundation 8. Lake Geneva Garden Club Foundation Inc. 9. Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin Inc. The Friends of Kishwauketoe LTD are very appreciative of the gifts for general and/or restricted use donated and dedicated to the work in the Conservancy. Alice J. Morava, President of the Friends Annual Kishwauketoe 5K Run Kishwauketoe’s second annual run will be held Sunday July 5th, 2009 at 8:30 am. The switch to Sunday from last year’s day of Saturday is due to the lack of availability of professional timing services on the 4th. The route will change this year, pending trail conditions, so runners will enjoy seeing other areas of the property. We are hoping for great weather and another great group of runners! Registration is available through the Williams Bay Park District at www.williamsbay.org/ rec.html or by calling the Park District at 2452720. Join us on the 5th for a great event! Kim Parker KNC Website Brings News to You Our Kishwauketoe web site continues to be a great source of up to date information on events and activities. With our site being online for only nine months, we have had over 1,200 visits from 16 different countries. Our website was created and is maintained by Sandra “Punky” Mattison and Cory Militzer. Their work is all done on a volunteer basis. The site was designed to be inter-active and we look forward to having you send in your digital photos of nature sightings to help keep everyone informed of the latest bird sighting, plant flowerings and reports of any rare plants you may come across. We also look forward to hearing from you with questions about Kishwauketoe and 2 how to get involved in what we do. We strive to not only make KNC an enjoyable place to walk through with your family and friends, but an educational outdoor experience for people of all ages. Our website offers you easy access to share your thoughts with us and learn about our current and future activities and goals. Check the site for our volunteer days and times as well. We will continue to print a newsletter two or three times per year, but we can put more money back into our projects if we save on printing costs. Our website allows us to do this! http://www.kishwauketoe.org/ 3 20 YEARS AND STILL GROWING STRONG It is hard to believe but it has been twenty years since the Williams Bay Village Board purchased the 230 acres that is now Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy. When as Village President I first asked Alice Morava, Tom Cashman and Karl Otzen to serve on the Friends of Kishwauketoe Board and Lois Morava to serve on the Kishwauketoe Board of Directors, I’m sure these individuals never thought they would still be serving the Village in 2009. Alice, Tom and Lois are the only original members of these two boards and we are very grateful for all the time and expertise they given to the community and KNC. Alice also served on our “Name the Park” committee that we organized so that people immediately would start thinking of this property as a Nature Conservancy and not just a piece of property that the village owned. The name Kishwauketoe was selected as a Potawatomi name loosely translated as Clear Water or Lake of the Sparkling Water. In purchasing this property with two streams entering Geneva Lake through the wetlands this was very important in helping to maintain the quality of water in Geneva Lake. Kishwauketoe was dedicated as Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy To The Children of Tomorrow in July 1990. We will be planning a celebration next year in July 2010. Mark your calendars for our festive event. The following is a short list of accomplishments: Three sections of Boardwalks – Another 600’ will be added this summer. Thirty acres of prairie have been restored with another seven scheduled to be restored this summer. 4 miles of trails have been cleared and maintained. An Arboretum planted on the Harris Road entrance to KNC. The woodlands on the northeast corner of KNC have been cleared of invasive trees and shrubs and trails added. A viewing tower has been constructed north of the prairie. A shelter at the entrance is the focal point for KNC events. Three years of clearing box alder and buckthorn is an ongoing project of restoring Southwick Creek. We have also planted over $6,000.00 of native trees, shrubs, sedges, forbs and grasses. It is our hope that trout will again swim upstream into this section of Southwick Creek after some modifications to the culvert area. We have annual burns to keep the invasive vegetation in check. We have just completed two pond scrapes to improve the sedge meadow area to the north of the property and established a wildlife pond. We have cleared a great deal of buckthorn and other invasive vegetation along Geneva Street and people driving by can now enjoy the beauty of the native flowers that bloom along the way. We have cleared both sides of Harris road with similar results of the return of native flowers. We have plans for continuing to improve these areas this summer in preparation of our 20 Year Anniversary. We have our own Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy Website. We have a four color trail map and publish several newsletters each year. Check out our website for the various educational programs and other activities that we host each summer. We are jointly hosting additional activities with the Williams Bay Park and Recreation Department as well as the UW Extension – Walworth County. Please keep in mind that all of these restoration projects have been accomplished with generous donations from area families, individuals, community groups, grants, memorials and other gifts. No public funds are used in KNC. All work is done through volunteer individuals and groups as well as assistance from interns that we hire every summer. Our Commission and Friends Board members are also very dedicated individuals and without them we would not be where we are today – Please consider being a volunteer or making a donation to the “Friends of Kishwauketoe” We have a great deal of work ahead in completing projects as well as maintaining what we have already accomplished. Please check our web site for more information –www.Kishwauketoe.org. Harold J. Friestad— Chairman - KNC 3 4 EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT UPDATE Rick Wolski, along with scout leaders and eight other scouts put in a total of 138 hours planning, raising funds, and building six benches, informational stands and scrapers for removing seeds from hikers shoes prior to entering Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy trails. These structures can now be used at all entrances to KNC and we are requesting that everyone use these prior to entering the trail system. constructing the benches and stands and kept the workers supplied with cookies and hot chocolate. The scout leaders and parents had to assist in picking up the lumber and driving the completed structures to the various entrances around the KNC 230 acre site. After installing the platforms and benches, the scouts landscaped the areas with wood chips and on completion did a very professional job. For several years now Rick has Rick did all the planning and design work on been a very dependable, hard working these structures, raised over three-hundred volunteer and we look forward to seeing him dollars for materials and enlisted the help of get his Eagle Scout award on May 30th. the other scouts, scout leaders and parents in Thank you for your hard work, Rick. We assembling everything as well as the final inappreciate all you have done and are proud of stallation. your accomplishments. Rick’s mom and dad were a big help in Harold Friestad providing their house as a workplace for MEET ERIC POGGENBURG Eric Poggenburg I am currently a Recreation Administration major attending George Williams College of Aurora University. I transferred in January from a community college back home in Wheaton, IL. This spring I am doing my practicum at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, where I have been actively involved in the Southwick Creek project. I have had the opportunity to work alongside both volunteers and staff on the various work days offered by KNC. In April I will be involved in organizing and participating in this year’s annual Arbor Day and Earth Day events. I have a passion for the outdoors and have enjoyed my time thus far at KNC. Eric Poggenburg SCOUTING IS REWARDING TO BOTH ADULTS AND KIDS “Leadership by Example” is a phrase aptly suited to Dianne Roth of Williams Bay, coleader with Ray Clark of Delavan Township, of Boy Scout Troop #237. Since 2004 the KNC has benefited from the troop’s community service volunteering by pulling garlic mustard, clearing brush and invasive species and removing debris from Southwick Creek. Dianne had an early start in scouting “helping” her father and uncle establish Camp Phillips for Scouts in Northern Wisconsin. Wanting her son to benefit from scouting, she became a troop leader eight years ago. “Scouting should be fun and the boys like to travel,” she says. The troop has weekend trips to Kalahari Water Park, Indianhead ski area, camping near the Dells, and Warren Dunes, Technology Camp with video games, and Boy Scout summer camps. All are chaperoned by leaders and adult volunteers including Dianne’s husband, Gordon. Merit badges are earned in areas of learning skills and service. The boys work for money for 4 their trips by selling firewood, Christmas wreaths and other fundraising. Troop #237 is one of the oldest charters in Wisconsin. Of the 15 members, six are expected to become Eagle Scouts this year. “BE PREPARED.” the Boy Scout motto means being dependable, responsible, self-reliant, generous in community service and learning to meet life’s challenges as an upstanding adult. Besides teaching Family and Consumer Education at Lake Geneva Middle School, Dianne attends periodic training and informational Scout sessions with Ray Clark. Her future scouting plans include “Venturing Crew” for boys and girls, ages 14 and up who will decide their own projects. Being part of scouting is as rewarding to adults as it is to the kids. Volunteer leaders and chaperones are always needed. Boys interested in Scouting need just apply. Call 262 -245-5167 for information. Lois Morava 5 The Job of Fire in Kishwauketoe It’s that time of year again! Time to get ready for our annual burning! Hopefully, we will burn a good portion of the woodlands, mainly on the western section since we had a good burn on the eastern edge last spring. This helps remove overgrown woody Actually, it’s not so much exciting as it is necesplants, such as Honeysuckle and Wild Raspsary--- and hard work. berry, along with invasive plants like Garlic Mustard, all of which overly shade the forest A lot of thought, planning and preparation go into our annual ―prescribed burns‖, as they are floor hindering the natural resurgence of native called. They are incredibly important in helping wildflowers, especially in the spring. We have had exciting success from past burns in the us restore and maintain various sections of woodlands with a proliferation of Jack-in-theKishwauketoe. Let me explain. Pulpit, Wild Geranium and May Apple. Again, Fire was a part of the natural process that burning goes a long way in helping us restore caused our native plants to evolve and adapt to and maintain beautiful Oak and Hickory this area. Just several hundred years ago, when woodlands. Native Americans lived here, and prior to European settlement, prairie, wetland and woodland fires were quite common. Lightning was a freReed Canary Grass is an aggressive, rhizome, quent cause, but native Americans also purwarm-season grass introduced from Europe posely set fires to create better grazing grounds several hundred years ago as a forage grass and to help them in their hunting. Conseplanted in wet areas. It spreads and chokes quently, the ecosystems and their plant commuout almost every other forb or grass, especially nities that existed here for thousands of years our native ones. We have a 10-acre site south were accustomed to, and thrived on, occasional of the newly planted south prairie, just south of fires. the connecting trail, that has considerable Reed A big part of our mission at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy is to restore and maintain the land. Fire is an efficient, natural and integral process that helps us accomplish this mission. For example, we will burn the wet sedge meadow on the south end of Kishwauketoe, the area that borders Geneva Street and has the boardwalk running through it, in order to destroy invasive woody plants, such as Buckthorn, and control the overgrowth of Dogwood. Burning in this area also encourages the regrowth of native sedges, rushes and forbs (many that have been lying dormant or floundering for years) by opening up the bare ground to spring sunshine which promotes their resurgence and rebirth. We’ve had exciting reemergence of Angelica, Skunk Cabbage and Tall Meadow Rue, to name just a few. Burning in this area also encourages the growth of our native Cattail, which the redwing blackbirds seem to love to call home! Canary Grass. Our plan is to restore this area with native plants and rid it of the Reed Canary Grass, first as a nice extension of our successful prairie restoration, and second, as a buffer to prevent the spread of the Reed Canary Grass into the south prairie. Burning, combined with aggressive tilling of the rhizomes, is planned to remove this invasive. Finally, we will burn a portion of the south prairie as part of healthy, ongoing prairie maintenance. Burning in the spring kills or sets-back the non-native cool-season plants because they have already started to grow. This encourages the native warm-season grasses and forbs, which are still dormant in the cold soil, to grow by allowing the spring sunshine to warm the soil once this other vegetation is burned-off. This is a very tried-and-true process, and has served us well. As you can see, prescribed burns, as they’re called, are very helpful in our restoration and We will also burn a small area we call the north maintenance work. If you would like to be sedge meadow for the same reasons--- to set helpful give me a call (245-6188) if you’re -back woody invasives and reinvigorate the na- interested in volunteering during one of the burns. tive grasses, sedges and wild flowers in this area. This meadow appears to be one of our most pristine areas as noted by a DNR staff member, so burning is very important in Donald Skalla maintaining it. 5 6 April 24th Arbor Day Celebration 12:30pm April 25th – Earth Day Volunteer Workday and cookout to honor Volunteers April 27th – KNC Board Meeting – 7:00 PM Lions Fieldhouse May 20th - Nature Exploration – All Ages May 25th - KNC Board Meeting – 7::00 PM Lions Fieldhouse May 30th – Special Volunteer Workday to plant 3,500 Forbs, Sedges, Grasses June 5th - Hike with an Intern – 9:00 am June 10th - Steppin’ Strong – Park District fitness program June 12th – Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am June 18th - Mon’s–Dad’s and Children’s workday 9:00 am June 19th - Hike with an Intern – 9:00am June 22nd – KNC Board Meeting – 7:00 pm Lions Fieldhouse June 24th - Nature Trekkers (ages 3-6) June 26th - Hike with an Intern – 9:00 am June 27th - Volunteer Workday – 8:30-noon July 3rd - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am July 5th - 2nd Annual 5-K Race July 10th - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am July 16th - Children’s Volunteer Workday – 9:00 am July 24th - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am July 25th - 3rd Annual Kishwauketoe Day – 9:00 am July 27th - KNC Board Meeting – 7:00 pm Lions Fieldhouse July 29th - The Little Gardener’s Patch – 9:30 am July 31st - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am Aug. 7th - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am Aug. 14th - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am Aug. 20th - Children’s Volunteer Workday – 9:00 am Aug. 21st - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am Aug 24th - KNC Board Meeting – 7:00 pm Lions Fieldhouse Aug. 28th - Hike with an Intern– 9:00 am Sept. 26th - Volunteer Workday 8:30 – noon Sept. 28th - KNC Board Meeting – 7:00 pm Lions Fieldhouse Oct. 9th - 16th Annual Harvest Moon Fest – 6:00 pm Oct. 24th - Volunteer Workday – 8:30 – noon Oct. 26th - KNC Board Meeting – 7:00 pm – Lions Fieldhouse All events unless otherwise noted originate at the main entrance on Hwy. 67. Additional items will be added and can be found on our website as well as Details to all the above events – www. Kishwauketoe.org. Where Is Chrissi Now? Chrissi Regester brought a great deal of knowledge, enthusiasm and dedication to her job as Field Manager of Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy. We hated to see her leave, but when her job at the UW Extension turned into a full time position as County Horticulturalist, it was an opportunity she could not pass up. 6 Chrissi continues to assist us in planning projects and will use Kishwauketoe as one of her outdoor education classrooms for students of all ages. We wish Chrissi the best in all her future endeavors. Harold Friestad 2008- 2009 Membership Listing—January 1st, 2008 through March 30, 2009 INDIVIDUAL—$25 NORMAN & VAL FEHRM MEMORIAL TOM JOHNSON MEMORIAL Kudrna Family 7 Trust Ed Rynko Mr. & Mrs. Dean Rockstad Norman & Valgerta Fehrm Estate Mr. & Mrs. Alan Grutti Mr. & Mrs. Harry Lingerman Mr. & Mrs. Jon Danforth Arlene Spotz Marianne Klemke Mr. & Mrs. David Swengel Mr. & Mrs. James Smith Sheri Glau Alice Morava Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Hourigan Marjorie Beukema Metcalf Lorraine Klemke Beatrice Nieubert Mr. & Mrs. Clarence Clemen Mr. & Mrs. John Prodoehl Mr. & Mrs. William Kenny Mary Immenhausen Mr. & Mrs. Robert Grant Southern Comfort Air-LLC Mr. & Mrs. Robert Pillion Dr. & Mrs. Rovert S. Smith Norma Miller Joyce Gloppe Mr. & Mrs. Harold Friestad Thomas Friedman Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Bolek Rev. & Mrs. Robt. Warskow Jane Havens Mr. & Mrs. Donald Petty Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Addrich Mr. & Mrs. William Sterrett Mr. & Mrs. S.L. Hollmeyer Mr. & Mrs. Peter Arcidiacono Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Chookaszian Dr. & Mrs Robt. London Trapper Enterprises, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Edward Haight, Jr. Kenneth J. Porrello Shery McFall Mr. & Mrs. Jonathon Ledden Mr. & Mrs. Michael Haverty Mr. & Mrs. Irwin David Mr. & Mrs. W.G. Scanlan Citadel Hannah Eldred Kay Cederburg Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Hourigan Mr. & Mrs. E.T. Dick Jennifer Burrowes McDonald's Home Office Corp. Glenview Community Church Women's Assoc. Chapter 7 & 8 Mr. & Mrs. Richard Bowman Mr. & Mrs. Robert Abrahams Mr. & Mrs. G.A. Vincent III Mr. & Mrs. M.B. Selgrad Lynn Coe Mary Coe Mr. & Mrs. Jack Witlin Mr. & Mrs. Donald Olson Mr. & Mrs. Ken McMahon Daniel R. Labar Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Balimt Sharon L. Koukol John N. Fox, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Carl Knauer Mr. & Mrs. Robert Rohleder Mr. & Mrs. John Demetra Mr. & Mrs. Robert Clarke Mr. & Mrs. Paul LaFort Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Moeller Elieen Scudder & Russ Zimmerman Ralph Hurwitz Thomas J. Jackson Dr. Elizabeth Landerholm Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Berkery Margolis Family Foundation Mr. & Mrs. David Winton Mr. & Mrs. Steven Railsback Dr. & Mrs. James Dove Mr. & Mrs. Ted Goldberg Mr. Tom Flanagan FAMILY—$35 Mr. & Mrs. Geo. Clellenberg Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Railsback D.E. Buckel & Family SPONSOR- $50-$99 Mr. & Mrs. Frank Drabek Mr. & Mrs. Clark Fischer Mr. & Mrs. Paul Hull Mr. & Mrs. David Conrad Mr. & Mrs. William Hume Petra Stoick John Prost Mr. & Mrs. Richard Bowman Mr. & Mrs. Walter Krey Mr. & Mrs. Richard Bowman Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Voss DONOR-$100-$499 Mr. & Mrs. John Sandner Joyce Hardwick Andrew Campbell Carol Eisholz Mr. & Mrs. James Killian Larry Crown Earl H. Swanson Carl A. Grunschel Thomas Flanagan Calvin D. Kuder Sandra Mattison Sigi Heidenreich Dr. Michael Busch Austin Pier Service Jerry's Pier Service Lakeway Pier Pier Doctors Reeds Construction PATRON $500-$999 United Way of Milwaukee Mr. Don Skalla Mr. & Mrs. Donald Parker Mr. & Mrs. Harold Friestad FRIEND OF KNC - OVER $1000 Dean & Lois Griffith Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Frank Bonifacic Otzen Family Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Charles Colman Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Koranda Anderson Family Foundation Mary Burns Gage Greenfield Family Fund The Allyn Foundation Kay L. Griffing United Way of New York Kevin McCarter Alice J. Morava Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Andrew Hayes Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Cashman Jennifer Goss Paden Hanson Charitable Trust GEORGEANNE ―CHE CHE‖PALLETTIERI MEMORIAL Noah Swanson & Nancy Pallettieri Mary Pallettieri Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Kozarits Mr. & Mrs. Michael Toye Michael Del Genio Michelle Pellettieri-Ecker Scott E. Aspinall Trust CLETA MORAVA MANOS MEMORIAL Mr. & Mrs. Geo. Morava ANNE FLOHR MEMORIAL Mr. & Mrs. Geo. Morava MEMORIAL—GRUNSCHEL Gladys Grunschel Mr. Robert Lear Sherry Lindquist Wendy Swanson ELIZABETH MULLER MEMORIAL Dennis Muller GIFTS FROM MARY KUDRNA Keith Moeller Frances Donnelly Toby Spotz BOARDWALK FUND Ken Koranda Memorial Foundation Otzen Family Foundation Geo. & Lois Morava Susan Origer Lake Geneva Area Realty Sal Dimiceli, Sr. GRANTS Natural Resources Foundation Dept. of Natural Resources Geneva Lake Association U.S Fish & Wildlife Lake Geneva Garden Club Foundation Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin Grunow Family Fund Women's Community Club of Williams Bay FRIENDS 8 To become a FRIENDS supporter, complete this form and return to: Of Kishwauketoe, Inc. KNC—PO BOX 580, Williams Bay, WI 53191 Name: _____________________________ Please make all checks payable to: FRIENDS OF KISHWAUKETOE, LTD. Address: ____________________________ All contributions are tax deductible. City: _______________________________ Family Membership—$35/year State/Zip: ___________________________ Individual Membership—$25/year Sponsor—$50-$99 Phone: ______________________________ Donor—$100-$499 Patron—$500-$999 Benefactor—Over $1000 I wish to volunteer at Kishwauketoe Conservancy Kishwauketoe is a not for profit organization with a 501 (c)(3) status. PO Box 580 Williams Bay, WI 53191 Spring/Summer Newsletter