Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Update
Mid-June 2017
June Trail Improvement Day, Saturday, June 17
Our next Trail Improvement Day is planned for Saturday, June 17. It’s a potpourri day, with a variety of tasks from dealing with water management, trees down, and lumber relocation. Note the starting time has changed to 8:30 AM at the Obey Center, and we will end at 12:30 PM and have some snacks.
June Trail Improvement Day
Date: Saturday, June 17
Time: 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Meeting Place: Obey Interpretive Center at the Chippewa Moraine
More detail, location map, calendar widget
Registration: Highly desirable. Please use this link to reply online.
What to bring: Water, snack; mosquito repellant; wear long sleeves and pants, socks; work gloves; rubber boots if you have them.
Bring gloves and work boots (water resistant!), long sleeves and pants, and your favorite bug strategy.
Be sure to register. Please email the leader, Jerry Sazama. That way, if there are changes due to weather, etc., we can notify you timely. More here.
We’ll Scour The Woods for the Elusive Solstice: Bring the whole family!
Don’t miss the Solstice Family Hike on Tuesday evening, June 20! It’s actually two hikes: A Discovery Hike, for families with younger children, and an Adventure Hike for everyone else. Young Discoverers will be outfitted with the gear they need to make an amazing discovery, thanks to help from our Mayo Clinic partners. Adventurers just might find the Elusive Solstice on this rare evening (he only shows his face two times per year). It promises to be an exciting evening on the Ice Age Trail at the Obey Interpretive Center near New Auburn. Snacks will be available for all the discoverers and adventurers, and we’ll wrap up by 9 PM to get everyone home at a reasonable time.
Solstice Family Hike
Date: Tuesday, June 20
Time: 7 PM - 9 PM
Meeting Place: Chippewa Moraine Ice Age Unit, Obey Interpretive Center, 13394 Co Hwy M, New Auburn WI.
Location map: http://d.pr/gFxSq
Registration: Encouraged: REGISTER.
What to bring: Mosquito & tick defense; long sleeves and pants, & socks are best for ticks and mosquitos; kids; friends
Chippewa Moraine Master Plan
The highly-anticipated Draft Master Plan for the Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area has been released. You should download it here. The draft contemplates some very controversial changes to the facility and programs at the park.
A public meeting is planned for Tuesday, June 20, from 4 PM to 7 PM to present the plan and field questions, as well as give the pubic an opportunity to provide feedback. The meeting will be at the Obey Interpretive Center, and is conveniently scheduled to run right into the Solstice Hike, so you can attend both!
The document includes reducing the staff at the park*, seeking a “cooperating partner" to provide the school program, and introducing logging to much of the park. The educational program is to be the subject of an as yet unreleased educational plan. Note: the plan states that parking lots will not be plowed in the winter, and traffic will be reduced if the school program is discontinued.
The Old Girl Scout Camp will be developed for primitive camping. Some additional interpretive trails will be developed in the park, and in the future, the IAT will be considered for State Ice Age Trail dedication, when they get what that means figured out. The adjacent state-owned Larrabee Wetlands property is proposed for inclusion in the park (it runs north from where the IAT currently stops at Oak Lane/267th Ave). But the IATA-requested inclusion of the West Wisconsin Land Trust property that runs west from the property is not proposed for inclusion.
The overall conclusion you would reach is that the DNR is planning to provide a facility, but not provide programming. The staff would be primarily for property maintenance and visitor center operation. It is not clear from the draft whether the rumored closing of the center in winter is envisioned or not.
The deadline for public comment on the draft plan is June 30.
Chippewa Moraine Master Plan Public Meeting
Date: Tuesday, June 20
Time: 4 PM - 7 PM
Meeting Place: Obey Interpretive Center
Registration: not applicable
*The originally published June 7 version of the draft was specific on this, but the version now available for download (June 8 version) replaces this with “appropriate staffing levels”.
Coming up in July: Annual Chapter Meeting and Potluck at Obey Center
Our annual mid-Summer break for an evening at the Obey Center featuring a potluck picnic and a brief chapter meeting occurs on Monday, July 17. Mark your calendar for this annual favorite.
Annual Chapter Potluck and Meeting at Obey Center
Date: Monday, July 17
Time: 6 PM - 8 PM
Meeting Place: Obey Interpretive Center at the Chippewa Moraine
Location map: http://d.pr/gFxSq
RSVP: Requested. Please use this link to reply online.
What to bring: Ideas!
Where to Find IATA and Chapter Event Information
The go-to place to find current information about all our chapter events and IATA events everywhere is the calendar at the IATA website, www.iceagetrail.org. The Calendar link is in the menu, or bookmark www.iceagetrail.org/events/. To find our chapter-specific events, either choose Chippewa Moraine from the dropdown menu under Event Category and click the “Find Events” button, or just bookmark this button ⬇︎
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Events
See you on the trail,
Richard Smith
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Chair