Common Council Expected To Make Historic Land Purchase
Purchase To Preserve Cherokee Marsh
Posted: 7:36 pm CST January 12, 2007
MADISON, Wis. -- Madison's City Council is poised to sign off on a land purchase of historic proportions Tuesday night to protect 280 acres of Dane County's largest marsh.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportThe 1,200-acre Cherokee Conservation Park is expected to grow by 270 acres when the Common Council meets on Tuesday and approves $4.5 million for the effort."Cherokee Marsh is such an incredible resource. It's the largest wetland of any quality left in Dane County, and it's not just a wetland of county significance, it's a wetland of state significance," said Russ Hefty, conservation resource supervisor for Madison's Parks Department.The city, county and state will shell out up to $4.5 million in a deal with developer Dennis Tiziani. He had planned more than 200 new homes north of the Cherokee Country Club but scaled back the plan to about 60 homes so the marsh could be better protected."It's an historic purchase. This is the largest conservation purchase in the city of Madison in about 40 years," said Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.Experts said high water brought on by the Tenny locks and developments has been degrading the headwaters of Madison's chain of lakes for 150 years.Recently, conservation groups have teamed up with government leaders in efforts to restore the losses."It's extremely important because so much of water quality starts here, and to the extent that we can manage this property more ecologically, we're going to affect water quality in the entire chain of lakes," Cieslewicz said.The state stewardship fund and the Dane County Conservation Fund will be used for 75 percent of the purchase.The city's Parkland Acquisition Fund will make up the balance of the buy.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportThe 1,200-acre Cherokee Conservation Park is expected to grow by 270 acres when the Common Council meets on Tuesday and approves $4.5 million for the effort."Cherokee Marsh is such an incredible resource. It's the largest wetland of any quality left in Dane County, and it's not just a wetland of county significance, it's a wetland of state significance," said Russ Hefty, conservation resource supervisor for Madison's Parks Department.The city, county and state will shell out up to $4.5 million in a deal with developer Dennis Tiziani. He had planned more than 200 new homes north of the Cherokee Country Club but scaled back the plan to about 60 homes so the marsh could be better protected."It's an historic purchase. This is the largest conservation purchase in the city of Madison in about 40 years," said Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.Experts said high water brought on by the Tenny locks and developments has been degrading the headwaters of Madison's chain of lakes for 150 years.Recently, conservation groups have teamed up with government leaders in efforts to restore the losses."It's extremely important because so much of water quality starts here, and to the extent that we can manage this property more ecologically, we're going to affect water quality in the entire chain of lakes," Cieslewicz said.The state stewardship fund and the Dane County Conservation Fund will be used for 75 percent of the purchase.The city's Parkland Acquisition Fund will make up the balance of the buy. Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
