Friday, August 10, 2018

Down with bogus WI 'environmental' awards; instead salute actual good works

While the WMC hands out environmental awards to polluters, and Team Walker demolishes the land and the public sphere, let's give some true stewards of Wisconsin's land, clean air and fresh water their due:

*  Props to City of Madison and Dane County leaders and activists for adding fourty precious acres to the Ice Age Trail.

*  As they had done also when expanding the Cherokee Marsh.

As I'd noted earlier, local governments can be strong partners with grassroots preservationists, and together become the perfect, restorative antidote to the toxic politics - - literally - - which Walker's regime has unleashed on environmental legacy left to us by giants like Aldo Leopold, John Muir and Gaylord Nelson.

*  And good on the Friends of the Monarch Trail for their continuing work to build and Monarch butterfly habitat and open space on what's left of the shrinking Milwaukee County Grounds. Note the August 26th Migration Celebration, a fund, free community event. Details, here.

*  Similarly, props to the Friends of the Black River Forest for its members' continuing effort to save more than 250 mostly-private acres of habitat-and-wetland-rich-and-rare-dune-forested land - - including some public acreage inside Kohler Andrae State Park - - from golf course complex construction along the Lake Michigan shoreline. 

Another fundraiser and educational event in this David vs. Goliath battle will be held September 26. Details, here.

This is just an off-the-top of my head reminder that not everyone in Wisconsin who sees wetlands (I'm looking at you, Foxconn), wildlife habitat, a nature preserve or rare timber stand says, 'I could tear that down.'
Photo of some of the very land within Kohler Andrae State Park to be transferred by the state for proposed Kohler Co. golf course vehicle storage, fertilizer mixing and other private purposes. Image courtesy of former park superintendent Jim Buchholz.



No comments: