Welcome to the 2009 SWS-WWA-WBS Joint Meeting Website

FIELD TRIPS

Below is a list of field trips to be held on Friday, June 26. Click the trip title for a description and details. You may sign up for the field trip of your choice on your registration form.

Note: Undersubscribed field trips will be cancelled in late May. Please register for field trips by May 16th to help ensure that your trip choice does not get cancelled.
Note: Return times refer to the time the field trip group will arrive back at the convention center.

◊ Horicon Marsh: A Wetland of International Importance
◊ Horicon Marsh: Managing a Large Wetland Complex
◊ The Leopold Shack and International Crane Foundation
◊ A Carbon Neutral Field Trip: Biking the Madison Area Wetlands
◊ UW Arboretum: The World's Oldest Restored Ecosystems
◊ Cherokee Marsh
◊ Cedarburg Bog
◊ Lodi Marsh
◊ Fens and Bogs of Southeastern Wisconsin
◊ Wisconsin River Canoe Trip
◊ Driftless Area Wetland Restorations
◊ Flora and Geology of the Devil's Lake Region
◊ Tour of Lake Mendota and Pheasant Branch Conservancy Wetlands
◊ Post-Meeting Field Trip to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Horicon Marsh: A Wetland of International Importance
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Registration: $65
Leader: Bill Volkert

Horicon Marsh, designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar International Convention on Wetlands, is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States, boasting more than 32,000 wetland acres. Also recognized as a Globally Important Bird Area, the site supports more than 290 species of birds and provides stopover habitat for tremendous numbers of migratory waterfowl. Tour the marsh and learn about its history and the extensive management and restoration work in progress.

Horicon Marsh: Managing a Large Wetland Complex
7:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Registration: $33
Leaders: Horicon Marsh Wildlife Biologists Brenda Hill (WDNR) and Wendy Woyczik (USFWS)

Horicon Marsh, is a 33,000 acre wetland complex. Management is a partnership between the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Tour the marsh and learn about its history and extensive management and restoration work. This is a shorter version of the all-day trip, without the boat tour.

The Leopold Shack and International Crane Foundation
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Registration: $40
Leaders: Michelle Stevens and Rich Beilfuss

Make a pilgrimage to Aldo Leopold's renowned "Shack" and the landscape that inspired his conservation philosophy and writings in A Sand County Almanac. Also visit the International Crane Foundation to observe all 15 of the world's crane species and the wetland/prairie restorations on site. Learn how crane rearing, ecological restoration and education initiatives developed here contribute to the conservation of these magnificent birds and their habitat around the globe. Throughout the trip we hope to spark conversations about community conservation approaches.

A Carbon Neutral Field Trip: Biking the Madison Area Wetlands
8:00 AM - variable return
Registration: $15 + bike rental
Leader: Dave Siebert

Madison has been voted one of the nation's most bikeable cities. Bring your bike-- or rent one at the departure point -- and join us for planned loops of varying distances with stops at great wetland resources that surround the City. There will be shorter loops for hybrid riders and longer loops for more adventurous riders. The longer loop will cater to cyclists that want to hit the hills and take in the surrounding countryside that hosts one of the international Ironman competitions and will be the site of the Olympic road races (if Chicago is the selection for 2016). Rentals available for $25 for hybrid bike (short loop) and $75 for a Trek Madone road bike (bring your own pedals and shoes). Helmets included in the rental price.

University of Wisconsin Arboretum: The World's Oldest Restored Ecosystems
8:30 AM - 12:30 noon
Registration: $20
Leaders: Dr. Joy Zedler and Brad Herrick

The University of Wisconsin Arboretum is renowned for pioneering the field of ecological restoration and natural community management. The Arboretum's collection of restored Midwest ecosystems, begun in the 1930s, is not only the oldest, but also one of the most extensive. Like most of the world's wetlands, those in the Arboretum collect water and materials from watersheds that are increasingly developed. This field trip will illustrate local answers to questions of broad interest, namely: How important are wetlands? What are the consequences of being in an "urban sink"? What role do wetlands play in relating biodiversity to ecosystem function? How will our changing climate affect wetlands? Can diversity be restored? Are remnant ecosystems less vulnerable to invasion than restored ones? How can we capitalize on novel settings for sustaining native plant diversity? How should we begin to restore diversity when we don't know what will work? What are the practical limitations of wetland restoration? We will consider these questions while visiting Curtis Prairie (the world's oldest ecologically restored prairie, now 75 years "young"), an unplowed prairie remnant, new stormwater management research facilities, our mesocosm facility, and two "adaptive restoration" research sites, South Shore Fen and Gardner Marsh.

Cherokee Marsh
Half Day: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM; Registration: $30
Full Day: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM; Registration: $35
Leaders: Quentin Carpenter and Russ Hefty

Tour a large wetland within the city, at one of Madison's gems--Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park. Part 1 will be a canoe tour of the wetland and innovative restoration measures. A longer option is available for those who want to take on some light hiking after lunch through sedge meadows and fens and bring us close to Indian mounds and restored oak savanna.

Cedarburg Bog
7:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Registration: $35
Leader: Jim Reinartz

The 2,500-acre Cedarburg Bog is one of the largest, most diverse, and biologically interesting wetlands in southern Wisconsin. The Bog contains ten distinct plant communities that include examples of nearly all of the pre-settlement wetland communities present in the Great Lakes area. Its most unusual feature is the presence of a string or "patterned" bog, a vegetation type that is typically found much further north. We will access the string bog via a boardwalk, and along the way will see cedar-tamarack swamp forest, shrub carrs, sedge meadow, swamp hardwoods, and tamarack-black ash swamp. The grass pink and rose pogonia should be in bloom, and with luck, as many as four other orchid species. We will pull up a core of the buried post-glacial lake sediments that give us a glimpse of the history of the wetland. This field trip will explore the vegetation, hydrology, and natural history of the Cedarburg Bog

Lodi Marsh
8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Registration: $20
Leader: Beth Middleton

Explore the Lodi Marsh including floating fens, prairie fens, bur oak savanna, and the Dane County Mitigation Bank. The Lodi Marsh claim to fame is that it has a large amount of dry prairie to fen ecotone, which supports rare moths. The field trip is short, but covers rugged terrain that was formed on the edge of the Driftless Area. Be prepared to get wet, and to climb up and down bluffs.

Fens and Bogs of Southeastern Wisconsin
7:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Registration: $35
Leader: Don Reed and Ron Kurowski

Southeastern Wisconsin is known for its abundance of calcareous fens. Explore fens at Vernon Marsh, Ottawa Lake Fen State Natural Area, and Scuppernong Prairie. Discuss fen hydrology, soil chemistry, and plant community reaction to these factors. Next, visit Beulah Bog State Natural Area, a Sphagnum bog relict and bog lake supporting insectivorous plants and other species typical of northern Wisconsin bogs.

Wisconsin River Canoe Trip
7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Registration: $45
Leader: Pat Trochlell

Aldo Leopold wrote, "Yet there remains the river, in a few spots hardly changed since Paul Bunyan's day...one can still hear it singing in the wilderness..." Canoe the historic Wisconsin River, where in 1982 the last 92 miles was protected from development. View scenic wooded bluffs, sloughs and sandbars that support a diverse biota, including eagles, ospreys, cranes and map turtles.

Driftless Area Wetland Restorations
7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Registration: $35
Leader: Bob Hansis, Rich Henderson and Steve Richter

Visit southwest Wisconsin's unglaciated region and tour several project sites where native prairie and wetland landscape complexes have been restored. Learn about the use of prescribed fire, seeding and herbicide treatment for maintenance. A short visit to a local winery is included.

Flora and Geology of the Devil's Lake Region
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Registration: $20
Leader: Phil Fauble and Thomas Meyer

Ride the ferry across the Wisconsin River to Parfrey's Glen, a gorge in the Baraboo Hills and site of Wisconsin's first State Natural Area (SNA). Rare plants and northern species grow on the moist, cool, moss-covered cliffs. Next, head west to hike the spectacular East Bluff at Devil's Lake State park, a unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve, and learn about the region's world-class geological features and diverse ecological communities, including a "pygmy forest" of stunted trees. After lunch in the park, travel deeper into the famed Driftless Area to Ableman's Gorge SNA to explore its geological wonders. Finally, hike a trail through oak woodlands to the top of Ferry Bluff SNA for a stunning vista of the Lower Wisconsin River valley.

Tour of Lake Mendota and Pheasant Branch Conservancy Wetlands
8:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Registration: $55
Leader: Tom Bernthal, Dr. John Magnuson and Dr. Randy Hunt
Space limited; register early to reserve your spot!

Some say that Lake Mendota is the "most studied lake in the world." Tour this icon of limnology aboard the Betty Lou Cruise Boat along with a continental breakfast and explore one of its associated wetland jewels, Pheasant Branch Conservancy. We will take a 90 minute guided tour of the lake with a limnology expert, then visit Pheasant Branch Springs and learn about the hydrology, restoration and management of the Conservancy wetlands and the Friends of Pheasant Branch. Top off the day with a beer and a brat at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Terrace, or return directly to Monona Terrace.

Post-Meeting Field Trip to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Visit Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore after the 2009 SWS Meeting June 27 and 28! This trip will be led by SWS members Joy Marburger, Ph.D. and Daniel Mason, Ph.D. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, authorized by Congress in 1966, is considered the first "urban" park in the National Park System. The park has some of the most unique wetlands in the Midwest, ranging from bottomland swamps to interdunal swales, pannes, and bogs. A unique feature of the park is the 85-ha (210-acre) Cowles Bog, named after the University of Chicago plant ecologist who conducted field studies there in the early 1900s. The site is currently dominated by cattail (Typha) hybrids, but is being restored to a sedge-meadow complex. East of the Cowles Bog, a 200-ha (500-acre) wetland called the Great Marsh, is being restored in an interdunal swale formed by glacial retreat 10,000 years ago. The Great Marsh restoration project began in 1999 through removal of drainage and ditch plugs, followed by continuous invasive species management and wetland plant installations. Read more about Indiana Dunes at www.nps.gov/indu. The park is about 97 km (60 miles) east of Chicago, easily accessible by the South Shore train line or the 90/94 interstate highway.
NOTE: This field trip is being organized separately from conference registration. Please contact Joy_Marburger@nps.gov if you are interested in a tour of the wetlands on June 27 or 28.

QUESTIONS? Contact Field Trip Committee Co-Chairs Pat Trochlell and Tom Bernthal (patricia.trochlell@wisconsin.gov, thomas.bernthal@wisconsin.gov)

Society of Wetland Scientists

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