Free to PLATO members and guests
Registration Required
Registration Opens on May 12
Join Pheasant Branch Conservancy President Hans Hilbert as we explore some of the most unique land features in the Conservancy. We’ll discuss human history, ecology, watershed dynamics, and the impacts that development around Pheasant Branch continue to have on the Conservancy. We will also highlight the Friend’s successes in prairie establishment and habitat improvement. Our walk will include a visit to the Springs and an overview from Pheasant Branch Hill.
The Walk
This 2 1/2 hour walk and presentation will cover about a 2 1/2 mile stretch of the Conservatory including views of natural springs, contouring newly added farmland to better hold the water and clarifying it prior to it flowing into Lake Mendota. The walk is on mostly flat or slightly rolling trails. We may climb a hill to better view the newly added and modified farm land.
Land Use History and Hydrology
The Pheasant Branch Watershed covers a 24-square-mile area within the northwest portion of the Yahara River Watershed. It includes parts of the towns of Springfield and Middleton and the cities of Middleton and Madison. Land use is roughly 50/50 urban and rural. The North and South forks of Pheasant Branch Creek meet just west of USH 12 in Middleton and the flow about 2 ½ miles to Lake Mendota. The North Fork in the Town of Springfield is mostly rural and the South Fork in the Town of Middleton and the cities of Middleton and Madison is mostly urban.
Prior to settlement, much of the rainfall in the watershed drained into a large wetland in the area of current day Middleton Airport (Morey Field). Early settlers drained the wetland and channelized Pheasant Branch Creek (creating the North Fork) in the 1850s in order to harvest peat and farm the old glacial lake bed. These changes and subsequent development greatly expanded the drainage network, increased runoff, destabilized the channel, increased erosion, and deteriorated water quality. Consequently, the ability of this area to stabilize downstream flows, protect water quality and recharge groundwater has been diminished.
Land use in the northern part of the Pheasant Branch Creek Watershed is mostly agricultural with the result that nutrient-laden runoff flows from the watershed and into Lake Mendota. This runoff contains significant amounts of sediment and phosphorus, which pollute the Pheasant Branch Creek and contribute to the algae blooms that plague Lake Mendota. Runoff from the urban areas in the South Fork also contribute large amounts of sediment, phosphorus and other pollutants which end up in the Conservancy and Lake Mendota. In fact, Pheasant Branch Creek is one of the major tributaries that deliver phosphorus to Lake Mendota.
Steps are being taken to correct this situation. Pheasant Branch Creek Watershed is part of an innovative, multi-faceted approach known as “adaptive management” to reduce phosphorus. Led by Yahara WINS (Yahara Watershed Improvement Network,) this pioneering approach brings together diverse partners - farmers, businesses, cities, towns, Madison Metro Sewerage District, and the county - to fund and carry out a range of conservation practices including cover crops, strip cropping, manure injection, streambank buffers, biofilters, and grassy swales to control and reduce the amount of phosphorus flowing through the watershed and entering the Conservancy and the Yahara Lakes. The Friends of Pheasant Branch strongly support the adaptive management effort.
Additional Information: Several maps of the conservancy are available at the Friends of Pheasant Branch website: http://www.pheasantbranch.org/
Accessibility: A 2 1/2 mile walk along a graded path makes this walk one of the more accessible we'll offer this year. The route may involve a few small hills to view newly added prairie.
Microphone: Our leader will have a microphone along to assist in delivering his message clearly as possible.
Driving and Parking Information: We will use the parking lot at Orchid Heights Park, 3960 Valley Ridge Rd, Middleton, WI 53562.
For further information, contact PLATO trip leader, Mike Dilorio at mdiiorio@tds.net or 608-520-4448.
