Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
June 2021
New Trailhead Signage for the Chippewa County Ice Age Trail Segments
Students from the Cornell High School Technical Program routed new Secondary Signage for our trailheads at all four trail segments. They did a fabulous job. School finished on May 15th, so our Blazettes will finish the remainder of the yellow lettering this week. Once that is done, the signs will be posted at the trailheads for the Chippewa River, Firth Lake, Harwood Lakes, and Chippewa Moraine segments. The Cornell High School Technical Program is a partner with us as part of the designation of Cornell as an Ice Age Trail Community.
National Trails Day Hike - June 5th
Come and join us for our National Trails Day Hike on June 5th. JoAnn Parks will be leading a hike on the Harwood Lakes Segment. Come join us as we hike on an in-and-back hike beginning at County E and heading west. The group will determine how far west they want to hike before turning back. The first mile will take you around Picnic Lake on the detour which has become the trail. The second mile features the tamarack bog and a bench overlooking a wetland.
Hikers should meet at the County E parking lot at 9:00 a.m. Wear sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots, long pants, and long sleeve shirt. Be prepared to tuck your pants legs into your socks. Bring water and a snack. Mosquito repellent is recommended. Wear a mask at the parking area. Maintain 6 feet of distance on the hike. Please send an RSVP to JoAnn at jjjparks123@gmail.com. Please let JoAnn know if you are willing to serve as a trail assistant for the hike.
Upcoming Hikes:
August 1 - First Sunday Hike - Obey Center to 267th Trailhead and back
September 5 - First Sunday Hike - Obey Center - group picks the hike option
October 2 - Parade of Colors Hike
June Trail Maintenance Day - Saturday, June 12
Participants should meet at 8:00 am at the Obey Center. We will be working on the Harwood Lakes Segment. We will split into 2 work teams. Teams will work east and west of Deerfly Trail.
Participants should wear long pants and long sleeves. Sturdy shoes or boots are recommended, and you should be able to tuck your pants legs into your socks. Bring work gloves, insect repellent, and water. You will need to wear a mask for covid if you have not had your 2 covid vaccines.
Please RSVP to chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org if you are planning to attend this event.
Future Trail Work Days: August 14, September 18, October 16
Remember, you must have a signed Volunteer Agreement to work on trail projects. Volunteers under the age of 18 need to have a signed Volunteer Agreement with the Parental Consent section filled in and signed by their parent/guardian. See below for the Volunteer Agreement.
Trail Projects are underway
Lots of trail work has been going on this spring and into the summer. The detour around flooded Picnic Lake has been blazed yellow as official trail and work was done to improve the steep hill by adding stone steps. (see picture above with John Stipak). We removed the flooded boardwalk on the Chippewa Moraine Segment at Horseshoe Lake, and we will be rerouting the detour to create new official trail following the hills above Horseshoe Lake. A Boy Scout, Jacob Collis, will be co-leading the project with Jerry Sazama for his Eagle Scout rank. Two new Dispersed Camping Areas (DCAs) are on the docket for the Firth Lake Segment. Both are located east of Firth Lake.
The Alliance had its auction during the 2021 Conference and received a bid of $5000 towards the cost of a parking lot installation at the Otter Lake Esker just off the designated connecting route between Cornell and the Lake Eleven Segment. Delayed by rain last week, the project will be starting this week with the installation of a culvert.
The property was purchased by the Chippewa County Land Conservancy with Knowles-Nelson funds . Trail development is on the docket for this year. In the future, it is hoped that this property will be part of a new trail segment in Chippewa County.
To see more pictures of the boardwalk removal, visit our Cornell Trail Community Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/Cornell-Ice-Age-Trail-Trail-Community-112670347241743
Get your Volunteer Agreement and join the trail crew on work projects!
You need to have a completed Volunteer Agreement for the National Park Service in order to participate in our trail improvement days. If you filled one out last summer, you are in good standing.
If you do not have a signed Volunteer Agreement, here is the link: https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/x_INDIVIDUAL-301A-COVID-Packet.pdf Please fill out the fillable form and email it to Daniel_Watson@nps.gov
Please read the following documents before signing the agreement:
• Cover letter from Eric Gabriel NPS https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Cover-Letter_Eric.pdf
• IATA Volunteer Risk Assessment Tool https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-IATR-VIP-Risk-Assessment-Tool-002.pdf
• Covid19HA https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-COVID19-JHA-v2.pdf
When you send in the Volunteer Agreement to Dan Watson, he will sign it and return it to you. Please print a copy for yourself, and forward the email to me at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org for our records.
IMPORTANT! THERE IS STILL TIME TO SUPPORT THE KNOWLES-NELSON STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM
We received the following message:
"Thank you to everyone who has reached out to their legislators this week to support our final push to renew the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in the state budget, which is being debated right now. Some of you may have seen that the Joint Committee on Finance released their agenda listing the budget items the committee expects to vote on next week (June 2nd). While several Department of Natural Resource items are on that agenda, we do NOT expect Knowles-Nelson to be considered next week.
We Anticipate that the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program will likely be considered by the Finance Committee shortly thereafter, but we won’t know for sure until an official agenda is released. We’ll let you know as soon as we do when we expect Knowles-Nelson to come up for a vote. Until then, help us keep up the momentum and please spread the word and encourage everyone to contact their legislators in support of Stewardship."
If you have not contacted your legislator yet, please follow the simple steps below to contact them now.
Governor Tony Evers has included a 10 year reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in his 2021 budget proposal. This program is a major source of funding for purchase of land for the Ice Age Trail. The Krank Preserve, which is part of the Chippewa River Segment, was purchased with Knowles-Nelson funds. You can contact your representatives to support Governor Tony Evers’ proposal by going to
knowlesnelson.org to “Take Action”. There is a form letter that you can send to your representatives.
Once you type in your contact information, the form letter will fill in your senator and representative for you, as well as your name in the signature. This does not appear on the main screen, but you can see it when you click “Preview”. Once you check there, you can “send”. Please take the time to contact your representatives to support this vital program.
See you on the trail,
Vicki Christianson
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Coordinator
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The Ice Age Trail
A Walk Through Time