by Luke DeBiasio, Conservation Biologist/Wildlife Technician, State Natural Areas Crew, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The Friends of Cherokee Marsh established the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Endowment Fund to provide a permanent and sustainable source of funding for conservation at Cherokee Marsh. Managed by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin (NRF), the fund supports the management, protection, conservation, restoration, and appreciation of Cherokee Marsh and its watershed.
In 2024, the Friends granted funds (via the NRF) to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for restoration work at the Cherokee Marsh State Natural Area. $1,623 was used for LTE labor and $376 was used for supplies such as herbicide and torch fuel. Rolled-over funding from previous years of this re-occurring gift were also used to help fund the prescribed burn.
The DNR's South-Central State Natural Areas crew continued longstanding efforts to restore and maintain nearly 400 acres of calcareous fen at Cherokee Marsh State Natural Area. The site hosts numerous rare plants and acts as a crucial hydrological feature for the city of Madison, but it has been put at risk by the proliferation of brush and invasive herbaceous species.
One of the most valuable tools in restoring Wisconsin’s native communities is prescribed fire, and this is especially true in a wetland, where flame can reach areas that would be otherwise inaccessible by humans. This year fire was returned to the site for the first time in ten years, thanks in large part to this gift from Friends of Cherokee Marsh. The first day funded by the grant allowed for a full day of establishing fire breaks and setting up multiple hose lays. This was followed by the actual prescribed burn the next day.
The 388-acre burn, a collaboration between multiple bureaus of the DNR and the City of Madison, went above and beyond expectations. Burn conditions were excellent, and the dry fall and winter allowed parts of the unit that usually struggled to burn to carry fire. Following the successful burn, there was enough funding remaining to allow two members of the SNA crew to return to the site and combat the spread of cattails. The crew homed in on high quality, open areas of remnant fen and carefully treated cattails that had begun to pop up amongst the openings, as well as treat cattails on the edges to build up a buffer zone.
Returning fire to this state natural area has been a top priority for the past few years, since the site had not been burned since 2015. Unfortunately, pulling off a burn on this site presents many difficulties. The site is across the road from the Madison airport, hosts multiple sensitive herptiles, and can become almost completely inaccessible following large rain events. This means that wind, time of year, and water-level restrictions all come into play when trying to find a suitable day to conduct a prescribed burn at Cherokee Marsh. Fortunately, this year the perfect day finally emerged, and the benefits were immediately visible to those who walked around the unit to mop up the burn.
Burning is one of the best tools to combat cattails, and they carried intense fire throughout the burn. While native cattails have long been a part of Wisconsin’s wetlands, invasive and hybridized species have spread rapidly and completely taken over many areas of historical fen. Therefore, the ability to return in the summer and treat new cattails that had popped up in remnant fen was crucial ensuring the site’s rare plants do not disappear. The high intensity fire carried by the cattails also top-killed a vast quantity of brush. While some degree of native brush is a natural part of wetland ecosystems, the absence of fire had allowed many areas to become completely covered with tall brush that was blocking out sunlight and discouraging native vegetation. Even in areas where brush will resprout, it will now be at a greatly reduced size, allowing native plants the opportunity to spread and recolonize areas they had disappeared from.
The fire also presented a valuable follow-up to buckthorn removal done by the SNA crew the previous two winters. While the crew brush-cut the species and treated the stumps with herbicide, some resprouting inevitably still occurs. Intense fire hitting resprouts of such a young age will be a great step towards removing the species from the site entirely. Between knocking back the brush and the cattails, the work completed through this grant went a long way towards the goals of restoring and maintaining Cherokee Marsh’s unique features.
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