Conservation crew has successful burn season

Madison Parks crew member Richard Westbury stands watch during a prescribed burn at Cherokee Marsh. Photo by Paul Quinlan.

Did you notice the flames and smoke this spring in the conservation park? Madison Parks uses fire as a tool to maintain prairies, open woods, and even marshes.

Without periodic burns, aggressive plants such as honeysuckle and buckthorn crowd out the native grasses, wildflowers, and other plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife and add much beauty to our natural areas. Read more

County to Purchase Land at Token Creek

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi has announced the intent to purchase 54 acres of land in the Town of Burke including a 3/4 mile stretch of Token Creek and 20 acres of mixed hardwood and  pine/spruce forest. The property would be managed as part of the Token Creek Natural Resource Area and may also be classified as a wildlife area. Read more

2016 Financial Statement

financial statementLesleigh Luttrell gives the treasurer’s report.

Our 2016 financial report showed income of $9,130.24 and expenses of $7,081.40, which included $1,250 donated for environmental education and $3,325 donated to the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Fund. Read more

10th anniversary annual meeting to feature talk on cranes

We’re having a party! Mark your calendar for our annual member meeting and celebration of our 10th anniversary on Saturday, January 21, 10 am – 12 noon at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center.

We are excited to announce that our special presentation this year will be Cranes: Ambassadors for Conservation, with Richard Beilfuss, President and CEO of the International Crane Foundation.

Cranes are among the most endangered families of birds in the world with 11 of the 15 crane species threatened and many populations in peril. We’ll explore the role of cranes as sentinels and flagships for conservation worldwide including protecting critical habitat areas for endangered whooping cranes on their wintering grounds in Texas. We’ll also highlight the unique story of crane recovery here in Wisconsin and the role of cranes in conserving some of our most treasured landscapes.

At 10 am, before the presentation, we’ll hold a short business meeting to celebrate our anniversary and elect directors for 2017-2018.

This event is free and family friendly. Everyone, member and non-member, is welcome to attend. If you need further enticement, we’ll have refreshments and our popular door prizes donated by local businesses plus some special children’s prizes.

Annual member meeting

Saturday, January 21
10:00 – 10:30 am—member meeting: accomplishments
and future plans, elect directors
10:30 – 11:30 am—Cranes: Ambassadors for Conservation, with Richard Beilfuss from the International Crane Foundation
11:30 – 11:45 am—Door prizes and social hour
Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625
Northport Dr, Madison 53704

We celebrate ten years!

Jan Axelson

In 2017, the Friends of Cherokee Marsh will celebrate our tenth anniversary as a nonprofit group. From its beginnings as a loose group of advocates responding to a development proposal, the Friends has grown to an organization with 200 members.

The event that sparked the group’s formation was a public meeting in 2006 where City of Madison staff introduced a proposed plan for Cherokee Park, Inc., to develop 260 acres in six parcels adjacent to Cherokee Marsh. Following the meeting, Northsiders Ellen Barnard and Pat Woicek began a conversation about the best way for the public to respond to the plan to protect the marsh as much as possible. Read more

Order your 10th anniversary T-shirt!

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we decided to make a T-shirt! The design features our logo and the message Celebrating 10 years 2007 – 2017.

The shirts are white organic cotton with short sleeves and available in men’s and women’s sizes.

The shirts are available for a limited time only. We must receive your order by Dec 31, 2016. You can order by mail or online.

We expect to mail or deliver the shirts in late January/early February.

All profits from the shirts will go to support hands-on environmental education at Cherokee Marsh.

What we did in 2016

2016 was another busy year as we continued and expanded our activities to protect, preserve, and enjoy Cherokee Marsh. Here are some highlights.

We restored natural communities

Volunteers Tim Nelson and Jim Hughes take a break in the Cherokee Marsh State Natural Area.

In the Cherokee Marsh State Natural Area (SNA), in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), volunteers continued in our project to remove invasive giant reed grass (phragmites) from the high-quality wetlands. We also pulled garlic mustard in Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park with the Madison Area Weed Warriors and removed invasives and collected prairie seeds with County Park volunteers at Yahara Heights County Park.

Read more