Here is an announcement and welcome from County Parks Director Darren Marsh to Lars Higdon, the new Dane County Parks Botanist/Naturalist (pictured above).

I am excited to announce the hiring of Lars Higdon as the new Dane County Parks Botanist/Naturalist.  As many of you are aware long time Park Naturalist Wayne Pauly will be retiring at the end of September 2016.  Wayne has worked for more than 42- plus years as our County Naturalist and Restoration Ecologist. Lars will have the unique opportunity to work with Wayne for a couple of months as part of a transition plan.  Lars will begin work on July 27, 2016.

Lars is returning to Wisconsin by way of Southern California, where he worked for the last five years as Project Manager for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy planning, overseeing, and implementing large-scale habitat restoration projects.  His work included coordinating, training, and supervising staff and volunteers and ensuring the successful completion of restoration work from start to finish.

Prior to working for the Conservancy, Lars was the Restoration Ecologist for Madison Audubon Society’s Faville Grove Sanctuary for three years where he helped guide restoration efforts across a landscape of wetland, prairie, and oak savanna habitats. While with Madison Audubon, Lars worked closely with teams of volunteers and interns to collect, process, and distribute large quantities of native seed; conduct prescribed burns; and remove invasive species from restorations and high quality remnant communities.

Lars holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from UW-Stevens Point and an M.S. in Landscape Architecture (Restoration Ecology) from UW-Madison. Lars feels a deep connection to the natural areas and landscapes of the upper Midwest, especially the prairies and oak savannas that bless Southern Wisconsin. He is thrilled to be coming home where he and his fiancé are excited to put down roots in the thick prairie sod and develop deep connections with the people, places, communities and natural treasures that make Dane County such as wonderful place to live!

Please help me in welcoming Lars Higdon to our program.

Darren