University Bay on UW's West Campus Sure Looks Pretty Trashed

I had a close look the last couple of days at what is left of University Bay's marshlands at the west end of the University of Wisconsin campus on Lake Mendota, and it's a trashed construction zone - - along with a great deal of already-filled property holding UW structures and parking lots.

How did the UW get permission (or did it?) to fill that land?

The same way it ran the Charter St. coal-fired plant for years - - administratively making up its own rules until last week's courthouse butt-kicking in a federal Clean Air suit brought by the Sierra Club?

After the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources had taken the unusual and embarrassing step of filing an enforcement action against the UW - - a sister state agency - - over the way the power plant was being operated?

I know there has been some successful preservationist activity in the area, but wetlands fillings were supposed to be hard to do in Wisconsin - - except, apparently, on the UW-Madison campus.