[wisb] Re: Off-topic: Milw. County audit of parks
- From: "Tom Schultz" <trschultz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "WISBIRDN" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <dkkearns@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 23:00:08 -0600
Kevin,
Congrats on your hard work at controlling invasive plants. It is indeed
very difficult and time-consuming work, and it requires a lot of personal
dedication. I have been attempting to do the same thing in my area for a
number of years, including working with a small volunteer crew on
controlling invasives on some of our Green Lake area conservancies. I have
also done some presentations on this subject, including for our local Arbor
Day program a couple of years ago. Slowly we have been able to create some
awareness of this growing problem, and a number of people in the area are
starting to do some of this work on their own -- but it is very difficult to
generate sufficient awareness and concern within the general public.
Unfortunately, some of these plants do provide birds with a fall/winter food
supply, and of course means that our feathered friends are contributing
greatly to the spread of the seeds (through their droppings). Many of these
noxious plants were introduced intentionally by us (humans) as ornamentals
for landscaping, and without any natural controls (such as diseases, insect
pests, or predators) they have spread very easily into our native
landscapes -- and they out-compete most of our native plants.
Unfortunately, many property owners will fail to recognize this problem
until it is too late, and that will eventually mean that most of their oaks
and other mature trees will be gone -- unable to regenerate their seedlings
beneath the dense shade of the buckthorns and other alien plants...
Best of luck to you in your continuing efforts to control the spread of
these invaders, and I hope that everyone interested in the diversity of our
natural plant communities (and their dependent nesting birds) will do their
part to recognize and get rid of these noxious plants!
Tom Schultz
Green Lake Co.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin" <dkkearns@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 8:46 PM
Subject: [wisb] Re: Off-topic: Milw. County audit of parks
> While I am not from Milwaukee and travel there infrequently so have no
> true
> idea of the parks conditions, I am familiar with the parks in Neenah,
> Watertown, Madison, and Green Bay. All of the parks in these cities, which
> include playgrounds, public swimming pools, soccer/baseball/football
> fields
> in addition to the parks that have returned to or remained "in a natural
> state", are in a sorry state indeed. I had to laugh at the irony of county
> parks director Sue Black saying they might let them return to a natural
> state as this will eventually mean infestation by Buckthorn, honeysuckle,
> Garlic Mustard, Teasel, phragmites, reed canary, vetch and on and on and
> on
> to include about 500 different invasives that will overwhelm the neglected
> parks. These parks will then become breeding grounds for increased
> infestations of invasives and will only serve to limit any form of control
> that might be underway.
>
> When I moved to Neenah almost seven years ago, I began clearing a 35 acre
> park (Wilderness park) of Buckthorn, Honeysuckle, GM, and about 15 other
> invasives that accounted for about 95% of the vegetation in the park. This
> park is not an anomaly, but is rather a normal state for most of the "wild
> or natural" parks found in any city in Wisconsin. Too avoid jumping up and
> down on a soapbox, I will only say it is due exclusively to two factors -
> 1)
> whining about high cost of taxes, but 2) not doing anything to help your
> community. As the volunteer coordinator of Neenah, I can attest first hand
> to lack of altruism present today and will be the first to say that nobody
> cares enough anymore to actually help if it is too difficult. Now I know
> that on WisBird there are several hard working volunteers, Betsy Abert
> being
> one of them. But this group is the exception.
>
> I guess what I am trying to say is that unless the people of Milwaukee
> care
> enough to volunteer their time to improve their park system, it might be
> better to allow the county to make a short term fix by selling off some
> prime real estate. All of the playgrounds and buildings need maintenance,
> the lawns for frisbee or sports need weekly mowing, trees need pruning to
> remove deadfall, and a hundred other projects require money to accomplish
> what needs to be done. For some perspective, I was talking with our city
> forester/parks manager this summer and I asked him why he doesn't make
> more
> use of volunteers to save on costs especially with budget shortfalls. He
> told me that he can't count on volunteers anymore to show up when they say
> they will, or to even volunteer in the first place. So he has to pay
> several
> crews for the summer projects which ultimately uses money that could be
> used
> for actual park improvements instead of just maintaining a certain level.
>
> Respectfully, and with no fingers being pointed,
> Kevin Kearns
> Neenah
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of betsyacorn@xxxxxxx
> Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 3:17 PM
> To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [wisb] Off-topic: Milw. County audit of parks
>
>
>
>
> I don't intend this to be a firebrand politicized argument, but I thought
> this would be very important reading for those of us in the birding
> community here and around the state who recognize the value that
> dedicated
> open
> space plays in maintaining the habitat in what remains of the Milwaukee
> area
> flyways. I am particularly worried when I read the recommendation that
> parkland be let go of here. An article from today's Journal Sentinel is
> below.
>
> http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/80633172.html
>
>
> As I spend a solid amount of time birding the local parkland along the
> Lake Michigan shoreline, and see that a healthy and well-wooded lakefront
> it
> is critical particularly on fallout days, I am moved to act.
> I won't drag this out for the list, but if anyone would like to know what
> actions are being taken to protect county parklands here, please
> backchannel me and I will be happy to explain.
>
> Betsy Abert, So. Milwaukee, SE Milw. Co.
>
> ####################
> You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin
> Birding
> Network (Wisbirdn).
> To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
> //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
> To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
> //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
> Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn.
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 9.0.725 / Virus Database: 270.14.124/2596 - Release Date:
> 01/01/10
> 03:20:00
>
> ####################
> You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin
> Birding Network (Wisbirdn).
> To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
> //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
> To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
> //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
> Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn.
>
>
>
####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn.
Other related posts:
