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The purpose
of this small wet marsh--amid playing fields, parking lots, and
roads and buildings--is to foster an appreciation of marshes and to
demonstrate how wildlife and people can coexist. With proper
understanding and public cooperation, the similar needs
of man and of wildlife can be met side by side: living space, food,
protection from hazards and disturbance, and a clean environment.
The developments here, including earth-moving, the
nature trail,
interpretation signs, and plantings, were made possible by generous
donations from the UW Class
of 1918.
Thirty-two
signposts along the trail are indicated on the map. It should
take an hour or two to sample this circuit in a leisurely
stroll. With patience, you will see a variety of birds and
other wildlife. As plants develop and animals come and go, the
scene will change each week through. the season from ice
breakup at the end of March, until November freeze-up. Even in
winter, animal tracks, roosting rabbits and pheasants, small
finches and snow patterns will continue the drama.
This
marsh is noteworthy in five ways:
1) It
is a man-made restoration; successes and failures may be
studied here for future understandings of the ecosystem.
2) It
is an educational facility, bringing people and the natural
environment intimately together. Here man may also derived
recreational benefit,
while wildlife may eventually become more accustomed to man,
like the chimney nesting storks of Europe.
3) It
would be too small a marsh to hold much wildlife were it
not for its proximity to a complex of lakes in the Wisconsin
River flyway. Attracted to the waterway, and perhaps bound to
it by traditions handed down, large numbers of' water birds
expect to find and almost desperately seek marshes for
resting, food and nest sites. So few marshes are left that
every small one receives abnormally intense use.
4) It
is now in the early very weedy stages of development following
recent construction causing erosion and siltation. The upland
and lowland weeds are not being cut because: (a) they provide
important wildlife foods and immediate temporary cover; (b)
natural succession can be studied here. Stabilizing of the
vegetation and clearing of the water will come only with
cessation of construction and soil disturbance in the entire
watershed.
5) Its
existence is testimony to the sizeable body of people in city
and on campus who appreciate nature. We hope this project will
encourage marsh restoration and interpretation elsewhere. A
pamphlet reprinting these signs is available from The
University of Wisconsin Arboretum, 1207 Seminole Highway, @
$1.00
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