In 1967 dumping was rapidly filling a flooded cornfield near Picnic Point. The University planned to construct a deep lagoon, similar to Tenney Park, with formal landscaping surrounded by parking lots. A 1969 student team served as a catalyst to get the UW administration to change the plans and create the Class of 1918 Marsh. Over the thirty years of its existence, this reconstructed Marsh has harbored wildlife, educated students, and provided recreational opportunities.
A Brief History
In 1968 the area the Class of 1918 Marsh occupies was far from pristine. Once a sedge meadow separated from the lake by a sandbar, this area became a marsh connected to Lake Mendota when the Tenney Park Dam raised the lake level. In 1892 and 1893 the predecessor of the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association built Willow Drive by putting fill on the existing sandbar. In 1912, in order to drain the 84 acre Marsh for experimental agricultural fields, the School of Agriculture used Willow Drive as a dike. After initial draining methods failed, they tiled the field and used an electric pump to pump out the water. This innovative method was used to drain many marshes. By 1922 all 84 acres were under cultivation. Usually the fields grew corn for silage for the UW dairy herd. Cow manure was used as fertilizer and the undigested seed in the manure served as food for waterfowl and game birds. When pheasants and other birds ate the corn, Aldo Leopold was asked to solve these “pest” bird problems.
By the mid-1960s, the area was no longer farmed. The peat had oxidized and shrunk and the land compacted. As a result, during plowing the tiles were dug up or broken, preventing draining. The fields, now below the level of University Bay , flooded again. To fill the area, the University put in construction waste while others dumped trash into the fields. However, despite the disturbances by trucks, the flooded fields attracted hundreds of waterfowl and shorebirds.
The Original Plan
The original plan called for a very different landscape. As a fiftieth anniversary gift, the UW Class of 1918 gave $50,000 to construct a deep Japanese-style lagoon with an island and a bridge. The area was to have formal ornamental plantings. UW Parking Lot 60 would be divided into multiple smaller lots, making parking more convenient and increasing the number of parking spaces. The remainder of the land would become playing fields and other recreational areas.
Efforts to Save the Marsh
A team of 11 students in Clay Schoenfeld's fall 1969 Environmental Management 300 was instrumental in changing the plans for the Marsh. They concluded from their study of the Marsh that this area was more valuable as a natural wetland supporting wildlife and as a teaching and research site than as an ornamental pond for recreation. They lobbied the University to change its plans. The students organized a “camp-in” at the marsh to stop dumping. Attention from the local papers and the lack of a license for the dump soon ended all dumping. However, the fill reduced the Marsh from 30 acres to less than 15 acres. In March 1970 the students presented their alternative plan to the Campus Planning Committee. Despite a decrease in parking spaces, the Committee agreed to the Marsh plan. Faculty members presented the new plan to the Class of 1918 who agreed to reallocate their gift to restore the Marsh.
Restoration of the Marsh
Many people were involved in reclaiming this degraded area and restoring it to a Marsh. James Zimmerman and the UW Arboretum played a key role in designing the reconstruction. Some of the waste had to be removed and the edges graded into gradual sides. Zimmerman's students and other classes planted wetland plants in the marsh and prairie plants on the south and west edges. To encourage people to appreciate the Marsh, a trail with bridges was built, benches were placed, and 32 educational signs written by Zimmerman were placed around the marsh. This Marsh, dedicated to the Class of 1918 on May 19, 1972, was one of the earliest Marsh restorations. The Marsh became a prototype for other restorations.
Wildlife in the Marsh
The restored Class of 1918 Marsh has become a home for wildlife. Mink, muskrat, and raccoon occur regularly. At times the Marsh had so many muskrats that they ate all the cattails, eating themselves out of a home. Today geese nest on the muskrat lodges. Waterfowl, especially dabbling ducks, visit for extended periods in the fall. For several years Black Tern, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Moorhen nested. Sora, Virginia Rail, and Marsh Wren continue to nest.
For more information on the Class of 1918 Marsh including references, pictures and information on its current challenges, see the FCNA Web Site.
I would like to thank Thomas Brock and Ann Burgess for their extensive help.
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