DNR touts WI area protected by local frac sand mining ban - - but for how long?

In our continuing look - - here, or here, or here, among many examples - - at the tone-deaf dissonance in the Wisconsin DNR's publicizing of places and procedures threatened by Walker's anti-environmental first term and new budget, we add another head-scratcher sent around today by agency email.

Clearly the right hand at the agency does not know what the right hands in the Governor's office are up to.

It's a public invitation to a scenic spot along The Mississippi River - - which is being kept unspoiled by local citizen action that has barred destructive frac sand mining that Walker and his de-regulation allies are pushing pell-mell across Western Wisconsin, in the Legislature and at his chamber-of-commerce-led DNR, too.

Without the local effort - - and note Walker's proposal to weaken the DNR's citizen oversight board which just ordered a statewide frac sand mining study which now may never happen - - this picture presented by the DNR could change:

Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program

Maiden Rock Bluff (No. 410)

Photo by Courtesy of Mississippi River Partners

• Overview
• Access
• Ownership
• Maps
• Recreation

Location

Pepin County. T23N-R16W, Sections 1, 2. 248 acres.

Description

Maiden Rock Bluff protects one of Wisconsin's premiere limestone cliff faces on a bluff high above the Mississippi River overlooking Lake Pepin. Extending for nearly a mile, the 400-foot high bluff is especially noteworthy for the presence of nesting peregrine falcons, a state-endangered species. The cliff is one of only six bluffs on the Mississippi River where peregrines are successfully nesting on natural substrate. Representative cliff species include red cedar aged at 250 years of age, hairbell, slender lip fern, smooth cliff brake, slender cliff brake, white-flowered leaf-cup, and plains muhly grass. The open cliff and adjacent narrow band of dry prairie provide habitat for several rare plant species including cliff goldenrod (Solidago sciaphila), dragon wormwood (Artemisia dranunculus), and prairie sagebrush (A. frigida). Many dry prairie species are also present including little bluestem, wild bergamot, columbine, leadplant, mountain mint, alumroot, pasqueflower and silky aster. Larger blocks of restorable oak savanna are found on the deep soils of the lower slopes and support such species as arrow-leaved aster, zigzag goldenrod, bare-stemmed tick-trefoil, round-leaved shinleaf, sweet cicely, and wild yam. The rocky bluff provides hunting perches and habitat for a variety of other raptors including gyrfalcon, golden eagle, bald eagle, and turkey vulture. Situated along the Mississippi River flyway, an important migration corridor for raptors and neotropical songbirds, protection of Maiden Rock Bluff will also provide important habitat for other migrating birds. The surrounding uplands including existing agricultural fields will be restored to prairie with skiing and hiking trails for the public. Maiden Rock Bluff is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2004.