Spring Green, Wisconsin
Thursday, September 22, 2022 | Vol. 3, No. 22 FREE, Single-Copy
Inside this edition
Letters to the Editor: It’s election season
Community Calendar: Homecoming, Farm/Art DTour
Agriculture/Rural Life Columns
Page 2
Pages 6, 7
Pages 1, 4, 5
Reflections from Evenings Afield with the Lowery Creek Watershed partnership Barb Barzen, Contributed Haze from western fires made for a stunning sunset from the top of a Welsh Hills prairie the evening of September 8. While enjoying the view of the Taliesin estate and beyond, two dozen attendees of this “Evenings Afield” session learned how the prairie beneath their feet has been restored over the last ten years. That impressive effort has been led by Mike Degen, Natural Landscape Manager for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. When discussing this work, he quickly credits valuable assistance from dedicated volunteers and from resources the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Iowa County provide landowners for restoring native vegetation. Typical of many people around here, Mike wears several hats. He is a local resident, a Town of Wyoming supervisor, and a partner in the Lowery Creek Watershed Initiative, the group that organizes monthly Evenings Afield sessions from May through September. Back in 2014, Mike and a few
other residents of the Lowery Creek watershed found themselves having kitchen table conversations about the future of this special area they live in. Fearing ridgetop mansions and other developments that would spoil the landscape this area is widely revered for, they wanted to proactively protect and, importantly, continually improve this watershed. While pondering how to go about this, they looked to the Driftless Area Land Conservancy, based in Dodgeville, to guide and formalize their effort. One thing led to another, and through my role as the Conservancy’s Community Conservation Specialist, I have the great privilege of coordinating this exceptional group and helping them achieve their vision. If the torch they have lit keeps getting passed to equally dedicated people, this small but vibrant watershed, stretching from Taliesin south to Pleasant Ridge, will indeed be more beautiful and healthy many years from now than it is today. Partners seated at the table include the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation,
Taliesin Preservation, Cates Family Farm, Stapleton Farm, Savanna Institute, Otter Creek Organic Farm, Iowa County Conservation Department, Town of Wyoming, Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, Future Fruit Farm, Driftless Area Land Conservancy, and individuals who bring a wealth of experience to this effort. The star of the show, of course, is Lowery Creek itself. In January, it was upgraded to a Class 1 trout stream and is one of only three streams in Wisconsin with “heritage” trout. Constructing the dam that created the pond at Taliesin isolated these fish and kept their genetics pure. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources now collects spawn from this population to stock other streams. Like all watershed groups, maintaining excellent water quality is a high priority. One Tuesday morning per month, from May through October, teams of volunteers monitor nine sampling sites in Lowery Creek and its main tributary. We do this through Wisconsin’s Water Action Volunteers network, so our data is entered into
a statewide database and analyzed in multiple ways. After four years of sampling, we are developing a valuable picture of water quality throughout the stream. We understand better how land use practices and weather events are affecting its chemistry and aquatic life. Our stream monitoring work is about to become even more important as the Town of Wyoming launches an innovative effort to help meet the state’s new stricter water quality requirements for sanitary systems. Instead of increasing chemical treatments to lower phosphorus levels in water that is discharged from the sanitary station into Lowery Creek, near where it enters the Wisconsin River, the town has organized a coalition of resources to develop a watershed-wide effort to reduce nutrient levels. This “nutrient trading” approach, successful elsewhere, will be developed over the coming months, and our group’s data and outreach will play an important role. Other current projects include
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Kraemer Library Friends group celebrates anniversary Kathy Dwyer, Friends of the Kraemer Library The Friends of the Kraemer Library are excited to begin their 20th anniversary year with two October events. The first is the community favorite Pies, Pages and Puzzles, which will take place on Friday, October 7th and Saturday, October 8th from 9 am to 3 pm, both days. This event began in 2002 and has been held annually, with the exception of 2020. Visitors are invited to fill a new library tote bag
with a wide variety of books, DVDs, and jigsaw puzzles for $5. Homemade pies will be available for $10 each on SATURDAY ONLY. The second is the inaugural PLAIN READS event. Interested readers can pick up a free copy of Michael Perry’s humorous and heartfelt 2002 memoir, Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren At a Time throughout October, and then meet and greet the author at a special community event at the library on Thursday,
October 27th at 7 pm. Michael will discuss this book about his hometown of New Auburn, Wisconsin. This is a great opportunity to meet a very popular Wisconsin author and learn how his experiences compare to life in Plain. Refreshments will be served. The Friends continue to sponsor the popular Senior Lunch and Movie event held monthly from September through May. Lunch is catered by Plain’s Roarin’ 20’s restaurant, and is followed by a movie. Donations are welcome
for the meal. The October lunch is scheduled for Thursday October, 20th at 11:30. To reserve a place for the next lunch, contact the library. The Kraemer Library and Community Center continues to fulfill its original mission to meet the needs of the community and surrounding area, and the Friends of the Library look forward to supporting those efforts as we begin our next 20 years. We hope to see you at the library in October!