We are excited to announce that our member meeting on January 11 will feature the Wisconsin Dells Singers and Dance Troupe performing traditional songs, stories, and dances of the Ho-Chunk people. Troupe leader Elliott Funmaker Sr. of the Ho-Chunk and Meskwaki Nations will share history that has been passed on through the generations.



Before the performance, we'll hold a short meeting to review the past year, look forward to the year ahead, and elect directors for 2020-2021. If you need further incentive to attend, we'll have free refreshments and a selection of door prizes. All are welcome to attend this free, family-friendly event.

The event is Saturday, January 11, 10 am – 12 noon at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Dr.
 

 

The end of the year is approaching, and that means it's time to renew your membership. Your member dues help fund our activities to protect, preserve, and restore Cherokee Marsh, Dane County’s largest wetland. Renewing now saves us the time and postage to mail a renewal letter.

 

 

All memberships expire on December 31. If you joined the Friends after June 30, 2019, your membership is paid through December 31, 2020. For everyone else, it’s time to renew. If you’re not sure when you joined, contact us at janaxelson@gmail.com or (608) 215-0426.

 

As a member, you’ll receive our newsletter six times a year, and you’ll know that you’re helping to protect and preserve a healthy Cherokee Marsh.

 

 

Visit our website to download a member form to mail or to pay online. With either method, you can join or renew your membership and make additional contributions.

 

 

When you renew, please also consider including a donation to the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Fund. The fund pays a yearly dividend to support conservation at Cherokee Marsh. The dividends grow as the fund grows, providing a permanent source of funding for the marsh. Learn more about the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Fund.

 

 

We also ask you to consider donating to bring local schoolchildren to Cherokee Marsh for hands-on environmental education. The learning experiences are led by trained naturalist guides provided by the Madison Metropolitan Area School District in cooperation with Madison School and Community Recreation (MSCR). The classes are responsible for transportation to the marsh, and many classes struggle to find funds to charter a bus. A donation of $45 buys transportation for 20 kids. Learn more about hands-on environmental education at Cherokee Marsh.

 

 

If you know someone who loves Cherokee Marsh, consider giving them a gift membership to the Friends this holiday season or as a birthday gift.
 

  
The Cherokee Marsh Conservation Fund, established in 2013 by the Friends of Cherokee Marsh, provides grants to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) crew to maintain the high quality, diverse wetlands in the Cherokee Marsh State Natural Area (SNA). 
 

This year, the crew reports they used the funding to treat invasive cattail, reed canary grass, and phragmites in the wetlands. Using funding from other sources, the crew also cleared brush from 4 acres of high quality sedge meadow. With the funds remaining from the grant, the crew plans to do more brush work this winter and spend extra time controlling wetland invasive plants in the summer of 2020.

The crew reported that it was gratifying to remove large specimens of buckthorn because birds and other animals eat the berries and spread them throughout a site. Cutting off the seed sources lessens the chance of new populations of buckthorn getting established. Adjacent land provides brush for bird and animal species who prefer more cover. 
 

We were delighted to read this comment in the report:
 

It’s impossible to overstate how incredible this site is. To have a wet-prairie complex of this size and diversity right on the edge of a densely populated area is truly remarkable. It’s a dream for botanists and anyone who loves the variety of smells and colors of wildflowers that only the highest quality remnants can offer. All of us on the SNA crew are always all smiles whenever we get the privilege of working at Cherokee Marsh.

Learn more about the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Fund.

Learn more about the Cherokee Marsh State Natural Area.

Jan Axelson

As we’ve reported, Dane County’s Land & Water Resources Department recently invited the public to share ideas on how to enhance water quality, the fishery, wildlife populations, and recreation on the upper Yahara River at Cherokee Marsh. County staff called the meetings in response to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) planning and analysis grants awarded to the county. The area under consideration extends from just downstream of State Highway 113 to about three miles upstream, where the river narrows.

At the meetings, representatives from the county, the City of Madison, and the DNR were on hand to share information and answer questions. Friends of Cherokee Marsh directors attended the meetings along with other Friends members and local residents.

John Reimer from Dane County Land & Water Resources and Professor Chin Wu from the University of Wisconsin’s Civil & Environmental Engineering Department presented a concept to construct a series of peninsulas along the shorelines near Cherokee Lake. The peninsulas would capture sediments and channel the river’s flow.

In our comments to the steering committee, we stated we would welcome projects that help stem continued loss of shoreline wetlands at Cherokee Marsh and provide other benefits. However we strongly recommend that any proposal put forth by the steering committee include analysis from wetland ecologists that have experience with the upper Yahara or similar peat wetland ecosystems. 

We stated our support for continued carp harvests as needed and for planned bathymetric surveys and base maps displaying river bottom, shoreline conditions, and vegetation.

We also requested to be included in future meetings and activities of the steering committee as the grants specify. 

The County has promised that additional information from the meetings will eventually be available online. When available, we’ll post links at Cherokeemarsh.org/news.

View the grants and read our full comments.

As we get ready to begin our 13th year of stewardship at Cherokee Marsh, here are some highlights from what we did in 2019.

Volunteers look for aquatic invasive species on Snapshot Day.

Volunteering as land stewards and citizen scientists

We held 11 volunteer workdays to remove invasive species and promoted and participated in additional workdays with Dane County Parks and Groundswell Conservancy. 

We performed plant surveys in seven locations in Cherokee Marsh’s North and South Units, monitored frog and toad populations, and sampled aquatic invasive species at several Northside locations.
   

Beds of American Lotus have become established in the upper Yahara River at Cherokee Marsh.

Advocating

We submitted comments on issues including a long-term plan for the upper Yahara River at Cherokee Marsh, the Yahara lake levels task force recommendations, dogs in Madison parks, and the proposed addition of F-35 jets at Truax Field.

We stated our support for land acquisition at Token Creek.

We talked to folks and shared stories at the Northside Farmers Market and in our newsletter, Facebook page, website, emails, Northside News stories, and at the Wisconsin Wetland Association's annual conference.

Our monthly bird and nature outings are popular with folks of all ages.

Exploring and having fun

We held a bird and nature outing on the first Sunday of every month of the year.

We sponsored or promoted 13 additional events featuring butterflies, chimney swifts, moths, tree ID, and more.

We held fundraiser events at Benvenuto's Italian Grill and Ale Asylum, earning over $400 to support Cherokee Marsh.

You make it possible

It’s only with the support and participation of you, our members, that we can continue and expand our activities to promote land and water protection, restoration, education, and enjoyment of Cherokee Marsh. If you have ideas for activities or would like to help, we want to hear from you. Attend our annual meeting or a board meeting, call (608) 215-0426, or write (janaxelson@gmail.com).

Our Board of Directors is responsible for planning, coordinating, communicating, and managing the activities of our organization. At our annual member meeting, members elect directors for the coming two years.

We want to thank directors Jim Krause and Anita Weier, who are retiring from the board. Anita served with us in 2010-2011 and again after four years on Madison's Common Council, from 2016-2019. Jim served two terms beginning in 2016. Their energy and contributions to our group's activities will be missed.

We also report with sadness the recent passing of Dick Walker, who served on our board from 2009-2016. Dick was especially helpful with anything that involved art or boats!

Directors Timothy Baker, Janet Battista , Russ Hefty, Lesleigh Luttrell, and Mary Manering are in the middle of their 2-year terms thus aren't up for re-election.

Our candidate slate for terms that begin at the 2020 annual meeting consists of current directors Jan Axelson, Mary Binkley, and Sheila Leary, and Paul Noeldner and new candidate Jim Mand.

 

Our board usually meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 5:30 pm at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Dr. All meetings are open to members and the public. To confirm the time (occasionally we reschedule) or request an agenda, or if you’re interested in joining the board or helping out on a committee, contact Jan at (608) 215-0426 or janaxelson@gmail.com or any of our other directors.

 

Here are statements from the slate of five continuing candidates for five positions with terms that will end at our member meeting in January, 2022:

Jan Axelson

As the Friends enter our 13th year, I would like to help continue working to increase awareness of the beauty and importance of the marsh, to preserve and restore our public lands in and around the marsh, and to protect the watershed in the face of development.

Since moving to Madison’s Northside almost 20 years ago, I’ve spent many hours exploring the marsh on foot, skis, snowshoes, and by canoe and kayak. I enjoy using my skills as a writer and helping out in the field to benefit the marsh.

Mary Binkley
Sheila Leary

I have just completed one year on the Friends Board. I am a Wisconsin Master Naturalist volunteer and retired from a career in academic publishing and marketing. For the Friends, I have focused my contributions primarily on communications, public outreach, and events, but have also led nature walks and participated in outdoor stewardship work, such as collecting seeds, pulling garlic mustard, and sampling for aquatic invasive species.

I’ve lived in the Cherokee Park neighborhood for 20 years and enjoy volunteering to protect and promote the extraordinary environmental treasures of the Upper Yahara region.

James Mand
 

 

Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park, North Unit, 6098 N. Sherman Ave. (map)

Tour the marsh by candlelight, then warm up with free hot cocoa by the fire. Three lighted loops, arrive anytime, walk at your own pace. Bring your own snowshoes or wear appropriate winter footwear. This event will take place with or without snow cover but may be canceled if conditions are icy or otherwise unsafe. Check our website calendar for cancellation updates.