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Friends of Hartmeyer public meeting sparks visions for wetland

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By Anita Weier
Friends of Hartmeyer Natural Area

An August community meeting led by the Friends of Hartmeyer Natural Area produced a variety of ideas for protecting the 29-acre parcel behind the Esquire Club from damage and development. The meeting at Lakeview Library was led by Virginia Scholtz and Paul Noeldner.

Jim Welsh, executive director of the Groundswell Conservancy, explained how that organization has helped the City of Madison add land to the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park. It is possible to use the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to acquire property when needed, he said, stressing that community voices are needed to succeed in such ventures.

Welsh suggested that the Friends of Hartmeyer consider promoting a vision of the property to the city. Members of the Friends of Hartmeyer are working to come up with a cohesive vision. 

Advantages of keeping the property in a natural state noted during the meeting included flood control, wildlife protection, frog ponds, a bike path, nature paths, preservation of wetlands and open space, property value increases, educational uses and walkability.

Lesleigh Luttrell, co-chair of the Sherman Neighborhood Association, said a company has indicated interest in locating a 120-unit building at 1212 Huxley Street, near the Madison Metro North Transfer Point that would include housing for those over 55 and affordable housing. The potential developers are MSP Real Estate Inc. of Minnesota.

Developers must sometimes provide park impact fees when building, and it was suggested that such fees could help fund acquisition of the Hartmeyer Natural Area. The partial wetland is currently owned by the Hartmeyer Family Trust.

One attendee at the meeting noted that the vacant property is now used “as a dump.”

Jon Becker stressed that the undeveloped property could be used for flood control.

Luttrell said more businesses will be locating on the Oscar Mayer site. Scholtz added that the natural area would provide a pleasant place for workers to see while walking around during breaks.

Scholtz said the Friends group will keep working on the issue and will notify the community of further activities and meetings. The group subsequently contacted District 12 Alder Syed Abbas to arrange a meeting about the Hartmeyer area. Abbas told Friends member Mary Johnston that he is completely on board with preservation and restoration of the Hartmeyer property. 

Northside nature tales and trails from Friends of Urban Nature

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By Paul Noeldner
Friends of Urban Nature

New Master Naturalists

The Madison Friends of Urban Nature (FUN) partnership, including Madison Parks, Wild Warner and Friends of Cherokee Marsh, co-sponsored the 4th Annual Summer Wisconsin Master Naturalist class at Warner Park and Maple Bluff. Please welcome our 13 new Master Naturalist volunteers and help them get involved in Northside nature groups and initiatives.

Hartmeyer Natural Area

A new Friends of Hartmeyer Natural Area group has scheduled meetings to help inform the public and get input for saving the 29-acre historic wetland and surrounding upland for nature, neighborhood enjoyment and future generations. See the Northside News Calendar of Events for monthly meeting times and locations. Also see the related article about a meeting with Groundswell Conservancy Director Jim Welch, and what the public would like to see. Please “like” the Friends of Hartmeyer Natural Area on Facebook to show your support. There are also opportunities to serve on the board. 

Nature recreation assets in parks

While there are strong protections for nature in our conservation parks, like Cherokee Marsh, there are hundreds of smaller natural areas throughout the city that help support native trees, plants, pollinators, birds and wildlife. These nature recreation assets have value to much of the public, just like ball diamonds and tennis courts.

They provide enjoyment to hundreds of park visitors year-round — nature education for school children, volunteers who do nature restoration activities, and residents who enjoy watching nature do its thing. Daily access to nearby nature offers well-documented natural health benefits and creates a sense of neighborhood and community as a shared resource that anyone can visit without spending money or having special equipment.

Nature recreation assets are also important when we consider proposals like allowing dogs in more city parks. Birds do not like to nest near paths that have dogs. Even occasional dog access on leash would displace native Wisconsin birds that people love to see when they walk in our city parks and natural areas. As native Wisconsin bird species populations are impacted by development, our parks provide safe havens for birds and nature. 

How can we help protect the nature recreation assets in our parks? Nature ethics means we make sure we are not displacing native birds and wildlife in natural areas while accommodating appropriate access for human activities. This could possibly include accommodations such as allowing dogs on leash in some developed mowed areas and paths, but not in natural areas and nature paths in our parks. Please keep nature ethics in mind when visiting our parks, and vote for leaders and proposals that support nature.

Warner Lagoon water quality meeting set for Oct. 29 at WPCRC

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By Sally Swenson
City of Madison

The City of Madison invites the community to attend and engage in a public meeting for the Warner Lagoon Water Quality Master Plan, Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 6:30 pm in the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. The City of Madison has been working on a planning effort to address the most significant water quality issues in Warner Lagoon. The planning process is nearing completion, and the city will host a public input meeting to discuss the potential improvement projects and determine what will be included in the water quality master plan.

This plan will be used as a roadmap for future investment in Warner Lagoon. The intent of this process and meeting is to address the lagoon specifically; planning efforts for Warner Park, as a whole, will not be discussed. 

Warner Lagoon, located on the western side of Warner Park, is a 28-acre, man-made lagoon that drains to Lake Mendota. The lagoon has a watershed of approximately 1,000 acres, which means it collects stormwater runoff from 1,000 acres of Madison’s northeast side. Users of the lagoon have reported deteriorated water quality in the lagoon over the course of its life, including sedimentation, algae blooms and fish kills. Because of this, it was requested the city take a more proactive approach in improving the lagoon as a resource. Over the past two years, the city has worked with lagoon stakeholders, the broader community, and a consulting team to develop plans that address the health of the lagoon while preserving its most valued uses, such as fishing, canoeing and kayaking and bird watching. On Tuesday, Oct. 29, these plans will be discussed in detail.

If you’d like more information about this project, visit the project website at cityofmadison.com/engineering/projects/warner-lagoon-water-quality-plan, or contact Sally Swenson at 608-266-4862 or sswenson@cityofmadison.com.

Relics from old water tower come home to Lake View Hill Park

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By Dan Tortorice
Friends of Lake View Hill Park

In just over 10 years from now, we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the creation of Lake View Sanatorium. So in a lot of ways, it’s easy to look at the park grounds as kind of an archaeological site.

When we visit the remains of the hog barn or walk down the embossed steps cut into the side of the hill leading down to Northport Drive, we are walking through the relics left by a very advanced civilization caring for its most vulnerable citizens to its greatest ability.

Dane County was the last county in Wisconsin to build a dedicated hospital for victims of tuberculosis. It made up for this by building a state-of-the-art facility that saved the lives of hundreds of people. The hospital was built on top of Lake View Hill in 1930.

In 1938, a tower was constructed on the grounds to supply water and fire protection to the growing facility. It served in this capacity for the entire life of the sanatorium and was taken over by the City of Madison in 1978. It was listed by the National Registry of Historic Places, along with other parts of the hill, in 1993. When the old tower was taken down, the State Historical Society asked the city to preserve some of its parts.

Madison has built a new reservoir on the same site, but we now have a few parts of the old tower on display near its base. There is a piece of leg structure that holds the mast that rode atop the tower for over 70 years. It has a retro-fitted light at its end.

Al Larson from the Madison Water Utility gave a small dedication ceremony for the new display on Sept. 10. He talked about the role these reservoirs play in supporting the life of the city. They function to provide drinking water, fire protection and 12 hours of emergency water in the event of a complete loss of electrical power. The utility recently lost power for two minutes in the MGE fire. In an emergency, the towers provide water by the power of gravity.

The new tower contains two tanks. A 300,000-gallon tank provides water to the hill area. A lower 1-million-gallon tank serves much of the east side. The water comes from city Well No. 13, located on Wheeler Road. In addition to building the tower, the city laid new pipes down to Northport Drive, improved the drainage area around the tower with rain gardens, and added 24 parking spaces in the visitor section of the lot.

The preservation and display of these tower relics fits in beautifully with our park’s mission to celebrate the history of Lake View Sanatorium.

Nine things to get your home ready for winter

By Madison Gas and Electric

Here’s a checklist of things to do to get your home ready for the change of season.

Inside

  1. Check the batteries in your programmable thermostat. Don’t come home to a cold house. 
  2. Check smoke detectors. Test smoke detectors to make sure they are working and change the battery if needed. 
  3. Install a carbon monoxide (CO) detector. CO is a silent killer. If you have a furnace, fireplace, water heater or other appliance that is fueled by fossil fuel, the chances of CO poisoning from malfunctioning appliances increases substantially as houses are closed up for the winter. Exhaust fumes from an attached garage can also leak into living areas. CO detectors are inexpensive. Just plug them in, and they could save your life.
  4. Change your furnace filter. Before the heating season starts, change your furnace filter. If you haven’t had your furnace serviced for more than two years, now’s a good time to do that also.
  5. Clean and inspect the fireplace. Wood-burning fireplaces can get a buildup of creosote in the chimney. Have the chimney checked and cleaned if necessary. Close the damper when not in use.

Outside

  1. Check the weatherstripping around doors and windows and replace as needed. Leaks around windows and doors not only create drafts but also waste heat.
  2. Check and clean gutters. Blocked gutters and downspouts can cause water backup. Clean your gutters of leaves and other tree debris. Check all connections.
  3. Check and clean the dryer venting system. Replace white plastic vent hose with a metallic vent pipe.
  4. Turn off outdoor faucets. Disconnect and drain hoses. Install freeze-proof faucet covers as needed.