By Jan Axelson
Friends of Cherokee Marsh

At two November meetings, the Dane County Land & Water Resources Department 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 a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) planning grant 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.

Representatives from the county, the City of Madison, and the DNR were on hand to share information and answer questions. Participants were encouraged to submit comments with ideas and recommendations. Do we want to encourage canoeing and kayaking? How important is the fishery? Do we value the river as habitat for birds and other wildlife?

John Reimer from Land & Water Resources and Professor Chin Wu from the UW Civil & Environmental Engineering Department presented a concept for an area of the river west of Cherokee Lake, which lies along Burning Wood Way in the Cherokee Park neighborhood. 

To improve water quality and reduce shoreline wetland loss, the concept envisions a series of constructed rock peninsulas along the river’s west shoreline. The peninsulas would capture sediments and channel the river’s flow. Two additional peninsulas would re-establish the spits of land that were left when Cherokee Lake was dug in the early 1960s but have eroded away. 

Before refining the plan and seeking funding, county staff wants to know if there is public support for the concept. Information from the meetings will eventually be available online. Check cherokeemarsh.org for new information on the grant and public input.