Mar 2001 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society

8/9/2019 Mar 2001 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society

1/8

GiantCanada Geese,

the geese that

breed in

Wisconsin, rep -

resent a w ildlife

management

success story.

Once though t

extinct by some,

restoration

efforts by feder-

al, state, and

private agencies and individ-uals have resulted in a

thriving pop ulation. But,

this success story does have

some p roblems associated

with it. Giant Canad a

Geese in m any cases are

perfectly willing to

inhabit our u rban areas

and the resulting prob-

lems can pit neighbor vs.

neighbor . Lien w ill review

the biology of this bird, ou r

current management pro-grams and the players involved,

guidelines the DN R has developed to

help commu nities trying to figure ou t

wh at to do, and try to look into the future.

Ricky Lien is an Urban Wildlife Specialist with

the Wisconsin Department of N atural

Resources. He has a M .S. from theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Institute for Environ men tal Stud ies. He

began working w ith the DNR in as a

peregr ine falcon hack site attendant. He

has worked with trum peter swan s, wet-

land restoration an d protection, and

migratory bird m anagement. In July

1999 he became the states first, and

only, Urban Wildlife Specialist. This

position is responsible for developing

programs and policies related to all

aspects of urban w ildlife.

This program is co-sponsored by the University ofWisconsin-Mad ison Departm ent of Wildlife Ecology.

You are invited to meet with Madison Aud ubon board

members and friends at the pre-program d inner at

Paisans Restauran t beginn ing at 5:15 p.m. Please call

the office at 608/ 255-BIRD (255-2473) if you hav e qu es-

tions.

April meeting: David Paxson: How Much is Enough?

Infinite Grow th in a Finite World

MAS Election of Officers

Free Program

What: Ricky Lien on Urban Geese.When: Tuesday, March 20, 2001

7:00 p.m. - Refreshments

7:30 p.m. - Program

Where: Bolz Aud itorium, Meriter

Hospital, 124 S. Brooks St.

Madison

Parking:Meriter Hospital paid

parking ram p across the street, on

the street, or Lot 51 north of

Regent and Mills St.

The executive com mittee of the MAS Boad will

be elected at the general member ship m eeting in

March. These are two year term positions for MAS

President, Vice President, Treasur er and Secretary.

Terms begin July 1, 2001. A nom inating com mittee,

chaired by Rose Sime, has been app ointed to d eter-

mine a slate of officers for election. MAS members

attend ing the March m eeting will be able to elect

MAS officers at that time.

Migrate to one of these Spring

THE AUDUBON

NEWSLETTER

OF THE

MADISON

AUDUBONSOCIETY

222 S. Hamilt on St . / Madison, WI 53703 / 255-BIRD / ht tp://madisonaudubon.org MARCH 2001

Too M uch of a Good Thing?Giant Canada Geese in Wisconsin


2/8

Z027xCH

MADISON AUDUBON SOCIETYPresid ent: Joanne Her fel, 241-8009Vice-presid ent: Am y McDan iel, 238-0450

Goose Pond Resident Natu ralists:

Mark and Sue Martin, 635-4160

Editors : Pat & Deb Read y, 873-1703

pr eady@ku .com

Graph ic design: Pat Ready

Printed by Roemer Printing

The mission of the Madison Aud ubon

Society is to educate our m embers and the

public about the natural world an d the

threats that n atural systems are facing, to

engage in advocacy to preserve and p rotect

these systems, and to develop and maintain

sanctuaries to save and restore natural

habitat.

JOIN MADISON AUDUBONStudent/ Senior: $15

Introductory membership: $20

Basic: $35

Foreign: Add $10 in US fund s.

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE Z IP

____I do not w ish to receive AUDUBON maga-zine

____The National Audubon Society occasional-

ly makes its mem bership list available to care-

fully selected organizations w hose mailings

you might find of interest. To have your n ame

omitted from this list, please check here.

P lease en c lo se y o u r ch eck p ay ab le to

Nat io n a l Au d u b o n So c ie ty an d mai l to

Madison Audubon Society, 222 S. Hamilton St.

#1 , Madison , WI 53703. Memb ership s are

shared with National Audubon and all mem-

bers receive Audubon magazine.

field tripsSaturday, March 10: Early Spring

Migrants

Steve Thiesen w ill lead this early

morning field trip to Mud Lake in

McFarland. Mud Lake is usually the

first body of water to thaw in our

area, so it attracts good concentra-

tions of early spring m igrants, espe-

cially wa terfowl.

We will meet at 7 a.m. near

McDonalds at South Towne off the

South Beltline or m eet at 7:15 a.m. at

the south end of Lewis Lane in

McFarland. Wear w aterproof

footwear, dress warmly and bring a

scope if you h ave one. If you h ave

questions, call Steve at 873-3323.

Sunday, March 18: Ecology of

Lower Mud Lake

Libby Zimmerman, an experi-

enced w etland ecologist, will leadthis trip to view w aterfowl and other

spring migrants and learn about the

ecology of Lower Mud Lake. If con-

ditions per mit, there will be an

optional extension to other nearby

waterfowl spots ending at Swan

Pond.

We w ill meet at 7:15 a.m. in

McFarland at the south end of Lewis

Lane. Traveling south on H wy. 51,

go past the stop lights in McFarland

and cross the bridge. Take the first

left south of the bridge to east on

Exchan ge St. Continue N E to the top

of the hill, abou t 1/ 2 mile. Tur n

right on Lewis Lane. Wear water-

proof footwear, dress warm ly and

bring a scope if you can. The trip

will last three to four hour s. If you

have questions, call Libby at 423-4047 (local call from Madison).

Saturday, March 31: Spring Birds of

Columbia County

Tony Kalenic and Carol Anderson

will lead th is car birding trip

through northern Dane and south-

ern Colum bia counties to look for

early spring migrants and late win-

ter birds. We hope to see migrating

swans, geese and other w ater birds.

Meet to carp ool at 7:30 a.m. in th e

par king lot of Kohls supermar ket at

the intersection of Allen Blvd . and

Century A ve. in Middleton. Meet at

the east end of the lot near Century

Ave. or you can join the group at

8:30 a.m. at Goose Pond . Bring you r

binoculars, a scope if you have one,

and a snack, as the trip may last to

early afternoon.

Call Tony and Carol at 249-8836, if

you h ave questions.

Sunday, April 1: Birding Fish Lake

and Lodi

Join us for a mor ning of birding a t

two nearby areas, Fish Lake in

northw estern Dane County and Lodi

Marsh, a few miles away in southern

Columbia County. We hop e to see

migrating waterfowl, including pos-

sibly cormorants and an osprey at

Fish Lake. The Dane County N aturalHeritage Found ation has been w ork-

ing to p rotect Fish Lake. We may get

an explanation of the work th ey

have been d oing to preserve this lake

for birds and other wildlife.

Lodi Marsh Wildlife Area is a good

place to see and hear cranes and

other wetland bird s. We may hike

some o f the Ice Age Trail to search

for bluebirds and other spring

migrants.

Meet a t 7:30 a.m. at th e Kohls food

store parking lot in Midd leton at theintersection of Allen Blvd. and

Centu ry Ave. Bring binoculars, hik-

ing shoes, a scope if you h ave one,

and a snack. This trip may last to

abou t noon. Call trip leader Levi

Wood at 277-7959, if you have ques-

tions.

CAWS Newsletter Subscript ions AvailableI am not a m ember of National Audu bon, but am interested in receiving

The Aud ubon CAWS newsletter to stay informed of chap ter activities. Ive

enclosed $10.00 payable to Mad ison Aud ubon Society to cover printing and

mailing for one ann ual year.

Mail to: Mad ison Au du bon Soc., 222 S. Ham ilton St. Suite # 1, Madison,

WI 53703

THE AUDUBON CAWS is publishedSeptember through July by:

Madison Audubon Society,

222 S. Ha milton St.,

Mad ison, WI 53703,

(608) 255-BIRD (2473).

Bird ing hot line, 255-BIRM.

Madison Audu bon Web Page:

http:/ / madisonaudubon.org

E-mail: masoffice@mailbag .com

E-mail services donated by Berbee

Contribu tion dead line is March 12 for

the Ap ril issue, for which items may b e

sent to Pat Ready , 1210 Oakwood Ct.,

Stough ton, WI 53589. pr [email protected]


3/8

Sundays in April: 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29:

Scope Days at Goose Pond

Scope viewing days at Goose Pond

will be held du ring the peak of the

spring m igration season.

We sometimes have as many as 20

species of waterfowl on th e Seen

Today board. Tun dra Swans are

often amon g the ear liest visitors;

they rest up here on their long tripfrom Chesap eak Bay to the Arctic

Circle.

Spotting scopes will be set up

along the d rive for visitor use on

Sund ay afternoons from 2:00 to 5:00

p.m.. Members will be on hand to

help visitors locate and identify

waterfowl. If the weather is

inclemen t, the scopes will not be set

up . If you have qu estions or w ould

like to volunteer as a h ost, call

Dorothy H aines at 221-1948 or the

MAS office, 255-BIRD.

Saturday, April 7 and Friday, April

20: Beginning Birding

Each spring, MAS sponsors many

birding field trips and, thou gh the

leaders attemp t to help new birders,

it is not alw ays possible to answer all

the qu estions. Picnic Point w ill be the

site for beginner s to get their ques-

tions answ ered. This area, at the west

end of the UW camp us, offers a var-ied habitat and a good opportu nity to

observe a variety of waterfowl and

small birds.

We will meet in the par king lot by

the 1918 Marsh (across from the

entrance to Picnic Point) at 7:30 a.m.

on Ap ril 7 and at 6 p.m. on Ap ril 20.

Questions? Call Allen Holzhu eter

at 238-0546

Sunday, April 8: Glacial Flow ers of

the Ice Age Reserve

Dane Cou nty Ice Trail expert Gar y

Werner w ill lead this trip to the Cross

Plains Ice Age Reserve and Shovelers

Sink. He will show u s a variety of bio-

logical comm un ities from wetland

sinks, prairie poth oles, pr airies, oak

savannas and w oodlands. Gary will

show u s evidence of the dramatic

episode of glacial land forma tion that

is the basis for mu ch of the most

delightful biological commu nities

found right in western Dane County.

We might even experience a bit of

northern Wisconsin plant commu ni-ties just w est of Madison. This trip is

timed to see spring ephemeral wild-

flowers (such as pa sque flowers) and

migrating spring waterfowl, wood-

land and grassland birds.

Meet to carp ool at 8:30 a.m. in th e

parking lot on the north side of

Mineral Point Road just east of the

Beltline in fron t of Main App liance,

Rocky Rococco and Erewhon

Outfitters. Or m eet at 9:00 a.m. at the

corner of Mineral Point Road and

Timber Lane. Take Mineral PointRoad w est of the Beltline (Hw y.s 12

& 14) abou t 4 miles, tur n righ t (north)

on Timber lane. Bring binocu lars, hik-

ing shoes, water, rain gear and dress

app ropriately for the w eather. The

trip w ill last three to four hou rs and ,

if you w ish, you can bring lunch for

an op tional picnic at the end o f the

trip. The trip includes abou t three

miles of leisurely w alking. If you

have questions, call Gary at 249-7870.

Thursday, April 12: Frogs Ni ght Out

Joint trip with The N ature

Conservancy. Bring a sense of adven-

ture on this trip as you look at the

world from a different perspective -

throu gh sound s. Besides listening for

a var iety of frog calls, pa rticipan ts

will learn abou t frog lifestyles and

wetland s ecology. Bring a flashlight

and wear footgear that can get

mu dd y and w et (in cold water);

bring rain gear if appropriate. The

trip w ill be canceled if temper atur e isbelow 45 degrees Fahrenheit or in

case of very stron g w inds. Call trip

leader Bob Hay only if you h ave

questions; (608/ 267-0849; work) or

(608/ 829-3123; hom e).

Meet at the Mazoman ie Wildlife

Area at 6:45 p.m. Directions: From

Highw ay 14 in Mazom anie, drive

north on Cou nty Highw ay Y for

abou t 4 miles. Just before the h igh-

way bends to th e east (right), turn

left on Laws Drive. Travel on the

access road about 0.25 miles and tu rn

left onto a g ravel road . Follow th is

abou t 1.5 miles un til it dead -ends at

a par king lot. The trip leader will be

there to m eet you. The trip w ill last

until 9:00 p.m.

Friday, April 13: Evening at Mud

Lake Wildli fe Area

At sun set well watch and listen to

hun dred s of geese, ducks, cranes and

other bird s as they n oisily fly into

this Colum bia county birding hot

spot to roost for the night. We mayalso witness the courtsh ip flight of

wood cocks and snipes as well as

watch other sp ring migrants. All

these wond ers and m ore will be

explained by Mark and Sue Martin,

our Goose Pond resident n aturalists.

Meet at the n atur alists residence at

Goose Pond at 6:30 p.m. This trip

will last over two hou rs un til after

dark.

If you have qu estions call Mark at

635-4160.

Directions to Goose Pond: From the

east take Hwy. 51 north intoColumbia County, turn left (west) onCounty Hwy. K; after two miles turnright on (north) on Goose Pond Road,then turn left on Prairie Road, which is

the driveway into the Sanctuary. From

the west take County Hwy. Q northto Waunakee, then continue straightnorth to County Hwy. V; turn right(east) on V; after four miles go north

(left) on County Hwy. I for about four

miles and turn right (east) on CountyHwy. K. After one mile turn left (north)on Goose Pond Road.


4/8

ate our natural w orld. Consider

add ing an inexperienced birder to

your team.The total number of species seen last

year w as 164! Highlight birds

included : cattle egret, w illets,

phalaropes an d 17 other species of

shorebird s, 23 species of warbler

including the hooded warbler, tun-

dra swan, p eregrine falcon, wh ite

eyed vireo, sum mer tanager, vesper

and grasshopper sp arrows, dickcis-

sel, and bobolink.

Prizes will be given to the top

ranking teams. The ala carte cost is$15 per p erson OR $25 wh ich covers

Madison AudubonsBIG DAY BIRDING EVENTMay 12, 2001

Madison Aud ubon is holding the

2nd annua l Big Birding Day on

International Migratory Bird Day

May 12, 2001. Com e celebrate th e

spring migration w ith us.

The event w ill begin at 4a.m., yes

four, and run for 14 hours un til 6p.m.The goal is to find as man y bird

species as you can in Dane Cou nty in

those 14 hours and return to the fin-

ish line before 6p.m. The r eason? For

fun, the experience, the camarad erie

with other birders an d to raise a little

money for Madison Audu bon.

More than an ything this event is

for your enjoyment an d to create an

opp ortunity to see a large variety of

migratory species in one d ay.

Birding with a grou p or a friend is awond erful way to learn and app reci-

your p articipation, dinner, and the

award s banquet held at Imp erial

Gardens West where adventures of

the day will be told.

This is a rain or sh ine event. It is

anticipated th at each team w ill find

100-150 species in th e 14-hou r limit.

You d o not h ave to bird th e entire 14

hou rs but p lease come join us for the

banquet afterwards and tell us ofyour d ays adventu res.

So, pu t a team together of 2-4 peo-

ple, call Ken Barm ore a t 608-836-

6096 or email him at KCBOUT-

[email protected] , clean th ose

binoculars and get some sleep. Each

team needs to elect a captain w ho

will receive a list of official rules

adap ted from the World Series of

Birding. The registration d eadline is

Tuesday May 1, 2001.

Dont delay, call or email Ken

today to register or for more infor-mation.

Help!Money d oesnt grow on trillium.

No, its heron today and gone to

mallow. Money is not the root of all

weevil. Just th e opp osite. Your

Aud ubon society spends it on pre-

serving an d restoring n atural habi-

tat areas and on getting the word

out to the not-so-enlightened.

Thyme is money and were ask-

ing for some of you rs. The art fair on May 5 isour b iggest fun dr aiser. As Uncle Sam says, we

need ewe!

Many h amam elis make light work. Please plan

to spend just a little time helping on May 5, the

day of the fair.

Call Nancy Lud wig at 233-0407. Volunteer

today!

Updated Frog TapeInformation Available

The information w hich accomp anies theMad ison Audu bon Societys tape of frog calls has

been up dated . Line draw ings of the frogs and

new map s have been included . The background

information has been upd ated and resources of

books and w eb pages have been add ed. If you

would like to replace your old copy, the revised

booklet w ill be available for $2.00 from the MA S

Office or at the Mad ison Audu bon Societys gen-

eral meeting on March 20. The cost of both th e

frog calls cassette tape and the booklet is $5.00 if

pu rchased at the meeting or if picked up at the

M.A.S. office. It can also be sent by m ail for $7.00.


5/8

and children, and erod e the quali-

ty of life by redu cing access to

edu cation, nutrition, emp loyment,

and scarce resources, such as

potable water. Egypt no longer

has any thing like the resources it

needs to feed its growing p opu la-

tion, and today m ore than half of

the countr ys food needs to be

imported, paid for w ith valuableforeign currency.

The 1994 International

Conference on Popu lation an d

Developm ent, held in Cairo, pro-

duced an unprecedented global

consensus on international popu -

lation policy. More than 180

nations agreed on the need to sta-

bilize the wor lds pop ulation by

the mid dle of the 21st centu ry.

They also adop ted a 20-year

Program of Action w ith specific

funding goals to meet this ambi-tious objective. As a signatory to

the agreem ent, the U.S. comm itted

to annual popu lation funding

assistance to developing nations at

a level equal to 0.7% of our gross

national prod uct. The United

Population Fund (UNFPA), wh ich

has also been an important sup -

porter of the Egyptian p rogram,

recently faced sharp redu ctions in

supp ort from th e United States

and as a consequence is un likely

to mainta in its past levels of sup-port. President Mubarak contin-

ues to regard m oderating popu la-

tion growth as an imp ortant issue.

In 1999, he formed a m inisterial

committee on p opu lation to over-

see controlling p opu lation grow th.

Egypt must continu e to sup port a

strong family p lanning program

that can continue to p rovide high-

quality services and reach more

potential users.

POPULATIONAN D HABITATAre the Egyptiansin Denial?By Carla Corwi th

I recently traveled to Egyp t and

witnessed first hand some of the

pop ulation issues there. At pre-

sent Egypt has a pop ulation of

over 60 million and the nu mber isincreasing by 1.5 million annu ally.

Greater Cairo now contains 18

million p eople, a figure equ al to

the entire popu lation of the coun-

try in the 1950s. The highest pop u-

lation density is in Cairo, where it

reaches 12,780 persons p er squa re

kilometer against 1,709 person per

squa re kilometer of the inhabited

area of Egypt as a whole. United

Na tions projections indicate that

the pop ulation w ill grow from

62.3 million in 1995 to 95.6 millionby 2026 and w ill reach 114.8 mil-

lion before it stabilizes in th e year

2065, an increase of app roximately

84.4 percent over the cu rrent tota l.

This increase will hap pen becau se

fertility rates (there has been a

reduction in the total fertility rate

from 7.0 children p er wom an in

1965 to 3.4 in 1998) are st ill high in

many parts of Egypt. Momentum

will cause the pop ulation to con-

tinue to increase even after fertili-

ty rates reach rep lacemen t level.Fertility rates are esp ecially high

in the poor ru ral areas of Upper

Egypt (southern p art) which are

least able to supp ort rapid p opu la-

tion growth. A third of Egypts

popu lation and nearly half of the

Egyptian poor reside in Up per

Egypt.

High fertility rates will continu e

to hinder economic development,

increase health risks for women

Wetlands Bill PassesSenate 27-6!Focus Now On Assembly; Action

Needed!by Karen Etter Hale, Executive

Secretary

Thanks to all of you w ho called or

contacted you r state senators to protect

wetland s in Wisconsin! Because of allyour calls and the hard w ork of num er-

ous conservation an d environmental

organizations, a bi-partisan bill to

restore status quo p rotection for wet-

lands p assed the Senate 27-6 on

February 13. Please send a note of

thanks to those who votedforthe bill

(Senators Farrow, Fitzgerald, Huelsman ,

Lassee, Panzer, and Welch voted against

the bill).

This bill is necessary becau se of a U.S.

Sup reme Court decision in early

Janu ary that limited th e scope of the fed-eral Clean Water Act of 1972 to cover

only those w etlands d irectly associated

with navigable waterways - lakes,

streams and rivers. All isolatedwetlands:

bogs, prairie potholes, ephem eral (tem-

porar y) wetlands, and all others not con-

nected with navigable waters, are no

longer protectedund er either federal or

state law. This is because the states

jurisd iction over w etlands is tied to fed-

eral statutes.Immediate action is needed to

remedy this situation.

The bill now moves to the Assembly.Please call your assembly representa-

tive, to ll-FREE, at 1-800-362-9472

(266-9960 if you are calling locally), as

soon as possibl e, and ask him/her to

support SB 37. Please also write or tele-

phone Governor Scott McCallum . Your

message should note how important it is

that the bill be passed before the build-

ing season begins th is spring. Write to:

Your Representative (last name A-L,

P.O. Box 8952; last name M-Z, P.O. Box

8953), Madison, WI 53708; Gov. Scott

McCallum , P.O. Box 7863, Madison , WI

53707 (608/ 266-1212). Visits, calls, and

letters are still the best w ays to contact

your legislators, but you can also e-mail

them [email protected]

Remember to always include your full

name and mailing add ress when e-mail-

ing.

For more information, contact Karen

Etter Hale at the M AS office,

608/255-2473; [email protected]

Carla Corwith photos


6/8

grassland birds and d ucks

decreased. The p ines were fragment-

ing almost 40 acres of grassland

habitat. DN R Researchers David

Samp le and Mike Mossman recom-

mend that blocks of grassland habi-

tat shou ld be at least 40 acres in size

and for some grassland species it is

necessary to provide grassland habi-

tat over 300 feet from w oody edges.The edge area results in red uced

bird use, and an increase in preda-

tion rates and broad parasitism.

This winter, the red, w hite and

Jack pines were removed as part of

our ongoing grassland restoration

wor k. The grasses prov ide all the

cover that is need ed to keep th e soils

in place, and th e wind can again

blow freely across the land . We

expect the grassland birds and du cks

to increase their use of the area since

they w ill see the p iece as one largeblock of nesting hab itat rather than

two smaller blocks. Pine removal

will also increase ease of p rescribed

burning.

We hope you can visit this area

wh en bird w atching in the local

area.

POLLUTEDRUNOFFALERT -

Help Protect OurWaterwaysby Karen Etter Hale, Executive

Secretary

Please help protect our waterw ays

from polluted run off by attending a

hearing or sending comments on the

nonpoint pollution rules! Theseimportant rules were developed by

both DNR and DATCP (Department

of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer

Protection) and have been extensively

revised after initial hearings were

held last spring. Polluted runoff from

construction sites, streets, fields, and

feedlots continu es to be a serious

problem in Wisconsin, as does uncon-

trolled access of livestock to ou r

states lakes, streams, and wetlands.

There will be two hea rings held at

each location, one at 1 p.m. and one

at 6 p.m. The tentative date for the

Madison hearing will be Wedn esday,

March 14, with the exact location yet

to be determined. For up -to-date

information, see the DN Rs website:

Comments should be sent to Carol

Holden, DNR WT/2, P.O. Box 7921,

Madison, WI 53707-7921.

A more thorough action alert w ill be

available soon. Please contact Karen Etter

Hale at the Madison Audubon office,

608/255-2473 for more information.

Reminder to sign up foremail Action Alerts

If you h avent already don e so,

please sign up for our e-mail action

alert system. This is the qu ickest way

to let you know about breaking

issues. We promise not to inu nd ate

you with e-mail! There is also a

Wisconsin InterNetwork (WIN) email

alert system (please see the Februar y

Caws for details). You will receive nomor e than 1-2 alerts per mon th from

either system.

Please sign up and mail to MAS,

222 S. Ham ilton St., Suite 1, Mad ison,

WI 53703 or e-mail us. Includ e your

full name, add ress, phone nu mber

and e-mail and w hether you want to

be on both systems. You m ay also

sign up directly with WIN at Click on

Action Netw ork.

Change at Erstad PrairieBy Mark and Sue Martin

Thirty years ago, the Erstad and

Schoeneberg families planted a dou-

ble row of pines in w hat is now

known as Erstad Prairie. The row s

ran north and south and were plant-

ed to block the west wind and

redu ce soil erosion.

During the late 1970s and early1980s Mark w orked in the DNRs

Bur eau of Research and assisted

with stud ies of duck nesting in the

local area. One d ay, Mark assisted

with a w aterfowl nesting survey and

wa lked Dicks alfalfa field on both

sides of the pine rows and remem-

bers find ing abou t 15 duck nests,

mostly blue-winged teal. At that

time the pines w ere not very tall.

Later Dick and Alice Erstad

entered the land in th e Federal

Waterbank Program to redu ce soilerosion an d provide wildlife habitat.

The west side of the pines was p lant-

ed to p rairie grasses and th e east

part w as planted to brome grass. The

grassland habitat provided suitable

habitat for grassland birds an d nest-

ing w aterfowl.

As the years went by th e pines

increased in size and th e value to

Windbreaks like thesewere planted to prevent

erosion of farmland thatwas plowed from year toyear, leaving the bare soil

exposed.

The windbreak was removed to improve habitat for grassland speciesthat originally inhabited these fields.


7/8

YES, I want to make theGoose Pond vision a reali-ty. Here is my contributionto the Goose PondCampaign.

[ ] Acre Maker. $1,000 or more tobuy and restore another acre ofland at Goose Pond.

[ ] Half-Acre Maker. $500-$999 tobuy and restore another half-acre of land at Goose Pond.

[ ] Adopt An Acre. I pledge $100a year for three years ($300total) toward Goose Pondrestoration. Here is my firstinstallment.

[ ] Nest Egg. I pledge $50 a yearfor three years($150 total).Here is my first installment.

[ ] My Own Vision. $ tohelp as much as possible.

Name

Address

In Memory of

In Honor of

For Gifts Honoring Another: SendAcknowledgement to (name andaddress)

Contributions will be acknowledgednear the Goose Pond InformationBoard as follows: $1,000 or more-name to appear on a permanentplaque; $250-$999-name to appearon engraved paving brick.

Acknowledge in MadisonAudubon Society Newsletter

Do not acknowledge in MadisonAudubon Society Newsletter

Make checks payable to MadisonAudubon Society and mail to:Madison Audubon Society, 222 S.Hamilton Street, Suite #1, Madison,WI 53703

Tax deductible to the extentallowed by law.

Madison Audubon Societysfinancial statement is availableupon request.

Kestrel Boxes For SaleThanks to William Dam m for coordi-

nating the kestrel box p roject, 10 volun-

teers for building th e boxes, and Dean

Graber who cut out th e boxes and p ro-

vided w ork space at Graber Fine

Cabinetry and Wood working of Otsego.

Sixty boxes were constructed includ ing

a few screech ow l boxes that have an

inside por ch includ ed. We will be erect-

ing many of the boxes but have boxes forsale for $20 each. Contact the Martins if

you are interested in a box.

Arthur Bud ReadWe are sad to report that Bud Read

passed Janu ary 6th 2001. Bud lived

across from Erstad Prairie and lived an

interesting life. He w as a POW in World

War II and w as an excellent amateu r

archeologist. He liked to walk Dick

Erstads new ly plowed fields at Erstad

Prairie and found an impressive numberof Indian artifacts. Our sympathy to the

Read family.

MAS has an

account at the

Madison

Recycling Center

on Fish Hatchery

Rd. Remember

MAS next time

you recycle.

Sanctuaries Springahead with donationsACRE MAKER

Katherine Brock

ADOPT AN ACRE

Ellen & Arthur H awkinsEd & Lynn Schten

HALF-ACRE MAKER

NEST EGG

MY OWN VISION

In Memory of David Holm

Emily Holm

In Memory of Donald Worel

Julie & David Pesch

Kestrel Box Volunteers from left to rightJudy Larson-Clements, Sue Martin, Jeff

Bahls, William Damm, Jeff Wood, Jean

Damm, Tom Hawkos. Missing are

Katherine Brock, Sue Slapnick and DeanGraber.

Photo by Mark Martin

Volunteer Jeff Bahls helps cleanwood duck boxes at Otsego Marsh.


8/8

3/01

Madison Audubon Society, Inc.Joanne Herfel, President222 S. Hamilton St. Suite #1Madison, WI 53703

Non-profit organizationU.S. Postage PaidPermit No. 1831

Madison, Wisconsin

1321 E. Mifflin St.Madison, WI 53703(608) 256-1066

MAS Calendarat a Glance

(See pa ges 2 & 3 for details.)

Sat., Mar. 10: Spring Migrants

Sun., Mar. 18: Ecology o f

Lower Mu d Lake

Sat., Mar. 31: Spring Bird s of

Columbia Co.

Sun., Apr. 1: Birding Fish LakeSundays in April: Scope Days

at Goose Pond

Sat., Apr. 7 & Fri. Apr. 20:

Beginning Birding

Sun., Apr. 8: Glacial Flower s of

the Ice Age Reserve

Thur., Apr. 12: Frogs Night

Ou t

Fri., Apr 13: Evening at Mu d

Lake Wildlife Area

Interns NeededInterns will be hired this sum mer to

assist with r estoration activities at

Madison Audubons sanctuaries. If you

are a junior studying n atural resources

and are interested in w orking on prairie

and wetland restoration projects contact

Mark or Sue a t 608-635-4160;

[email protected].

Sanctuary VolunteerOpportunites

To volunteer call Mark and Sue at 608-

635-4160 or e-mail goosep @mid plain s.net

and they will get back to you w hen d ates

are set.

Trail Cleanup - Otsego Marsh

Help is needed this spring to clear the

hiking trail of bru sh and fallen trees at

Otsego Marsh. If a few hand s worked

half a day th e trail should be ready for

the public to use for hiking.

Prescribed Burning Goose Pond Areaand Faville Grove Sanctuary

Help is needed in April to condu ct pre-

scribed bu rns at Goose Pond , Erstad

Prairie, local pr airie remnan ts, and a t

Faville Grove Sanctuary. Prairie burn s are

weather dep endent and will be planned

with short n otice. If possible burn n otices

will be sent by e-mail.

Scope Days Goose Pond

If you wou ld like to help visitors find

birds and staff scope d ays in April at

Goose Pond give Doroth y Haines a call at

221-1948.

Promote SLOW-NO-WAKEon Madisons LakesHarry Read, Conservation Chair

Remember how quiet Madisons lakes

were last summ er, wh en high water

prom pted emergency restrictions on boat

speeds? The Dane County Lakes and

Watershed Comm ission has scheduled

three pu blic hearings on county boating

regu lations (the first will be over at pr ess

time). The current ordinance requires that

motor boats travel at "slow-no-wake"

speed within 200 feet of shore on Lakes

Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and

Kegonsa. Madison Audubons Board

supp orts extension of no-wake zones on

Mad isons Lakes in consideration of

wildlife and lake ecology. Whether or

not to propose further restrictions on

pow er boat speeds will be based on the

pu blics inpu t at the hearings. Let Coun ty

officials know how you feel about p owerboat speeds and wakes on Mad isons

lakes. Qu estions? Call Harry Read, 238-

7911. The 2nd an d 3rd hearing dates and

places are:

Wedn esday, March 14, 2001 at 7 p.m.

Courtroom 2E, CityCounty Building

210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.,

Madison, WI

Wedn esday , March 21, 2001, at 7 p.m.

Town of Dunn Town Hall

4156 CTH B, McFarland , WI

Big Geese Big Problem?

see page 1

Documents

Mar 2001 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society