Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
November 2023
ANNUAL MEETING: MONDAY, NOV. 20TH
The Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place at 5:30 on Monday, November 20th at the Chippewa County Courthouse - Downstairs in Meeting Room 3. Please enter at the door facing the parking lot which is located on the west side of the Courthouse.
The Annual Meeting will include election of officers. The Chapter Coordinator and Chapter Treasurer are up for election this year for a two year position. The other three positions, Secretary, Trail Maintenance Chair, and Assistant Coordinator will be confirmed for their second year of their terms. Reports will be given on this year’s activities, trail maintenance, financial, and stewardship activities. A report will be given on trail construction, maintenance and stewardship for 2024. We will approve an annual chapter budget for 2024. A proposed calendar will be provided.
Please register for the meeting by contacting Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org .
VIRTUAL VOLUNTEER RAMP UP: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH
The Alliance is holding it’s Virtual Volunteer Ramp UP on Thursday, November 16th from 6:00-8:00pm. They will have updates from HQ, including season highlights, program updates, upcoming events, and a preview of what’s to come for next year. In addition, they will cover chapter finances, potential updates to volunteer hours tracking, program name changes, and an overview of trainings from the past year and next year’s trainings.
If you are interested in participating in this virtual meeting, please register at: https://www.iceagetrail.org/event/iat-u-virtual-volunteer-ramp-up-and-wrap-up/
PARADE OF COLORS HIKE and HIKE & MEET MONTY
We had two successful hike events in October. There were 54 participants for the Parade of Colors Hike. Thank you to all the volunteers who worked the booth or shuttled hikers. You kept everything running smoothly. We had 70 participants for the Hike and Meet Monty event. Thank you to the volunteers who participated in the hike and helped with kids events at the Cornell Visitor Center. Thank you to Pat Kosher for appearing as Monty. The weather was great on both days. It was fun to have so many children attend the HIke and Meet Monty event. They did a great job of hiking out and back for 3.8 miles.
JEFFERSON AWARD RECIPIENT: TOM KOLB
We are proud to announce that our Chapter Treasurer, Tom Kolb, was presented with the Jefferson Award given by WQOW-TV. The Jefferson Award is given to people who volunteer in their community. Tom and his wife, Sue, have been members of the Chippewa Moraine Chapter since 2015. He has been a volunteer with the chapter on hikes and trail work. He has been the chapter treasurer since 2020. In addition to his work with the Chippewa Moraine Chapter of the Ice Age Trail, he delivers food for Meals on Wheels and volunteers at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Congratulations, Tom, on receiving this award.
If you would like to see the news report on Tom’s award, go to: https://www.wqow.com/community/jefferson-awards/jefferson-award-winner-tom-kolb/article_e6ae9834-467b-11ee-aa75-9f42ba6e73c9.html
BENCH VIEW ON THE HORSESHOE LAKE REROUTE
The Horseshoe Lake reroute on the Chippewa Moraine segment has been completed thanks to the dedicated work of trail volunteers. Thank you to everyone who worked on the numerous workdays from August thru October. The trail now follows along the shoreline of two lakes high above lake level. This reroute takes you off an old county forest trail and up onto a scenic route high above the lakes. The route has been blazed and is ready to hike on. If you would like to check out this reroute, it is just west of Town Line Road (160th St.) on the Chippewa Moraine Segment. You can access it off Town Line Road or hike in from the eastern trailhead on Plummer Lake Road/Rattlesnake Rd.
OBEY CENTER OPEN 5 DAYS A WEEK
The Obey Center will be open from 9:00 - 3:00 throughout the year on Wednesday thru Sunday. They will be hosting classroom groups on Wednesdays and Thursdays as scheduled. Rod Gont is looking for people to volunteer with the classroom groups throughout the school year. These visits run from 9:00 to 2:00. Time is allotted for lunch. Rod needs one volunteer with each school group to work with Jeanette in the Obey Center while he is working with the students outside.
Volunteer work includes:
1. Staffing the front desk: greeting non-school visitors and answering their questions, selling IATA and park merchandise
2. Help Jeanette with the Exhibit Search. Students are divided into 3-person teams. They receive a worksheet. They have to travel to different stations within the displays and look for answers to questions. The volunteer has an Answer Key for the worksheet, and they check the students answers.
3. A volunteer may be scheduled to lead a hike.
Email or call Dave Hladilek if you are interested in volunteering. If you volunteer, Rod will contact you to find out when you are available.
Contact Dave Hladilek at Dave.Hladilek@wisconsin.gov or call him at 715-967-2800. Dave needs to do a background check because you would be working with school children. He needs your name, email, and phone#.
NOTE: Volunteers for the Ice Age Trail need to have a signed Volunteer Agreement from the National Park Service. If you do not have a volunteer agreement, you will need to get one from Dan Watson at the Wisconsin office of the National Park Service. See the article below for instructions on getting the agreement.
TRAIL ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES
We are looking for a trail adopter for the trail section between Ice Age Trail Drive and 267th Ave. on the Chippewa Moraine segment. This would involve walking this section at least 3 times per year (spring, summer, and fall) and doing minor cleanup. Bigger issues, such as trees down over the trail, would be reported to Jerry Sazama for our sawyers or trail maintenance crew to take care of.
If you are interested in being a trail adopter, or if you have questions about the job, please contact Vicki Christianson at: chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org
Volunteer Agreement Information
All new volunteers need to have a completed Volunteer Agreement for the National Park Service in order to participate in our trail improvement days or to volunteer at events. They have a new form on the Alliance Website.
To access the new Volunteer Agreement, here is the link: https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Packet-Individual-301a-exp-10_2024.pdf Please fill out the fillable form and email it to Daniel_Watson@nps.gov Please note the large box at the bottom of the first page of the new Volunteer Agreement. Dan Watson has provided links and videos for volunteers to look at.
NOTE: Fill in all the required boxes. The fillable boxes are on everything except the signature line. You can type your name and date in the date box next to the signature line. Save the document to your computer and then send it to Dan Watson as an attachment. Or print off your completed document, sign it, and mail it to Dan Watson. Dan’s address is on the directions page that comes with the form.
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 or save it in your files. Email me at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org to let me know that you have received your new signed Volunteer Agreement.
Chapter Calendar 2023
These are our annual events. Watch for upcoming events and additions (in red) to this calendar in the monthly newsletters.
Nov. 16 Virtual Volunteer Ramp Up - Zoom
Nov. 20 Annual Chapter Meeting 5:30 Chippewa Falls Library
See you on the trail!
Vicki Christianson
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Coordinator
chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org
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The Ice Age Trail
A Walk Through Time