By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Riverway Board adopts land acknowledgement
Lower Wisconsin River
Riverway Board listens to Rathman
LWSRB BOARD members listen to a presentation from WDNR’s Bridget Rathman about management plans for 11 State Natural Areas within the Riverway. The board met on January 9 at the LWSRB office in Muscoda.

Acting on an item tabled at their November 2024 meeting, the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board (LWSRB) voted unanimously to adopt a land acknowledgement at their January 9 meeting. The item had been previously tabled to develop a revised proposal from an ad hoc committee composed of board members Meredith Beckman and Ritchie Brown.

“In November, two modifications to the land acknowledgement I wanted to see were inclusion of the word ‘water’ since we are the Riverway Board, and listing the names of the 12 federal or state recognized tribes in Wisconsin,” Beckman explained. “This updated version contains live links to tribal websites for each tribe that can be used on the website as a link for those who want to learn more.”

LWSRB Chair Gigi LaBudde commended Beckman for the revised version, and especially for the way the word ‘water’ had been woven in.

“One thing I’m confused by, though, is the language associating ‘boundaries and territories’ with ‘representations of the sacred’,” LaBudde shared. “I usually associate boundaries and territories with European settlement.”

Beckman responded that she had borrowed the language from one of the websites she’d used in her research. She said that all of the sources she’d accessed in research leading to the final draft of the land acknowledgement submitted for board review had been shared with the board.

“I like it,” Ritchie Brown told the board. “It expresses what Meredith wanted it to express.”

Text approved

The Land Acknowledgement Statement text approved by the board reads:

“The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board (LWSRB) honors the sovereignty of all Indigenous nations, their lands, and their waters. We recognize that these boundaries and territories are representations of the sacred. This acknowledgement demonstrates our strong commitment to collaborate and partner with the sovereign Tribal Nations located in Wisconsin. We are grateful for the ingenuity, leadership, partnership, and knowledge shared by Wisconsin’s Indigenous People in the responsible and respectful stewardship of Wisconsin’s natural resources. We acknowledge the resilience, resourcefulness, and contributions of these nations and their people:

• Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

• Brothertown Indian Nation

• Forest County Potawatomi Community

• Ho-Chunk Nation

• Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

• Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

• Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

• Oneida Nation

• Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

• Sokaogon Chippewa Community

• St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin

• Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians

“No matter where you are in the state, you are on the ancestral land of a Tribal Nation. The LWSRB reminds each of us to take the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the history of the land we are on and the great historical, present, and future contributions of Indigenous people.”

Executive report

LWSRB Executive Director Mark Cupp addressed a variety of topics in an ‘executive committee’ report. Those topics included board appointments, an update on the Sauk County Recreational Bridge project, Riverway safety signage, the acquisition of the Wintergreen property by the Driftless Area Land Conservancy (DALC), and new federal rules protecting eagle nests.

“The terms of three people on the board expire May 1, and Kim Cates (Iowa County), Dan Hillberry (Richland County), and Randy Poelma (recreational user group representative) are seeking reappointment,” Cupp told the board. “I will work with the counties to get their names submitted to the Governor’s office. We still have an ongoing vacancy on the board for an at-large representative.”

Cupp told the board that on December 19, he’d had not one but two great experiences. One was when Dane and Sauk counties approved the final design for the Sauk County Recreational Bridge, and let bids for the project. The other was when he was notified by DALC that their acquisition of the Wintergreen property would move forward.

“Last May, I’d thought the process of approving the design for the Sauk County Recreational Bridge was wrapped up until the design was modified to contain additional safety treatments in the form of wire mesh cages on viewing platforms,” Cupp told the board. “I questioned whether inclusion of the wire mesh cages was a data-driven decision, given that there was no history of citizens jumping off the existing railway trestle and drowning at that location.”

According to Cupp, inclusion of the safety treatment was stimulated by two letters from citizens. The letters cited the location as a particularly dangerous place on the river, and the location of repeated rescues on the river. However, as Cupp pointed out, there had been no drownings from jumping on that stretch of the river for the last 35 years.

“The difference was resolved when Dane County urged inclusion of a less extreme safety treatment, which Sauk County agreed to,” Cupp said.

Safety signage

Cupp told the board that the Spring Green Lions and Cardinal Glass were collaborating on a proposed upgrade of safety signage at boat landings in the Riverway. The project was stimulated by the drowning in the summer of 2024 of a Cardinal Glass employee at Peck’s Landing.

“The Cardinal Glass employee was a non-English speaker, and so the company wanted to see the effectiveness of bi-lingual warnings of safety hazards increased,” Cupp explained. “The language on the proposed signage came from research about similar warnings posted on beaches in Mexico. The proposal also calls for inclusion of a QR code on the signs which could translate the warning into the language a recreational user’s cell phone is programmed for, expanding the potential protection of the warning to additional languages.”

Cupp pointed out that some of the boat landings in the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway are managed by local units of government, and some by Wisconsin DNR. He said that permission to place the signs would be sought from all affected parties.

WDNR Riverway Park Manager Harrison Stone, who attended the meeting, said that “at first flush” the proposal might work. He said that he would present it for approval and get back to the board.

“Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway (FLOW) don’t have ‘Kids Don’t Float’ kiosks at all the boat landings that have warning signs,” FLOW president Timm Zumm shared. “The signs currently placed have information on their backs facing the river letting paddlers know how far it is to the next boat landing.”

Zumm told Stone that the project could be accomplished free of charge for Wisconsin DNR, with cost of the signs paid for by Lions and Cardinal Glass, and labor to place the signage provided by FLOW volunteers.

Wintergreen Resort

Cupp told the board he was “gobsmacked” on Thursday, Dec. 19, when DALC Executive Director Jen Filipiak had notified him that they had found the funding sources needed to acquire the Wintergreen property from the Shifflet family. Cupp said the funding package will be a combination of federal funds, Knowles-Nelson Stewardship funds, and private funding raised by DALC.

“The future of the building on the property remains unknown at this time,” Cupp told the board. “I wrote a letter in support for the federal funding for the project, which touched on the property’s value as habitat for the long-eared bat as one of the qualifications. The property is, in my estimation, one of the top three priorities in the Riverway, if not the top priority. Stay tuned for more information at our March meeting.”

“I am delighted to hear of this,” LaBudde said. “There are so many different habitats on that property.”

“The news was a great way to close out the Year of the Riverway, and there are lots of exciting possibilities for the building on the property,” Cupp closed.

Eagle nest rules

Bridget Rathman, an ecologist recently appointed as the WDNR State Natural Areas point person in the Riverway, talked with the board about her understanding of the new federal eagle nest protection rules.

“I recently talked with the federal representative administering the new rule,” Rathman told the board. “Her take on it is that they haven’t really changed the rules, and that they are willing to work with folks and be flexible with existing houses. The rules are more likely to affect timber harvests.”

In summary:

• Bald eagles are unlikely to be disturbed by routine use of roads, homes or other facilities where such use was present before an eagle pair nested in a given area. For instance, if bald eagles build a nest near your existing home, cabin or place of business, you do not need a permit.

• A Nest Take Permit (Specific Permit or General Permit) is ALWAYS required for an activity that removes, relocates, destroys or obstructs an eagle next, even if the nest is not in use (active).

To learn more, go to: https://www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act.

“So far, with timber harvests that have been reviewed, one was fine to move forward, and one was modified,” WDNR Southern District Forestry Team Leader Mike Finley reported. “Going forward, we will work with Bridget or whoever we need to in order to follow the rules.”

“The question is, from a permitting standpoint, how are we supposed to know the locations of eagle nests?” Cupp asked. “WDNR no longer is tracking eagle nest locations in the Riverway, and there is no good database for us to reference, so it is on the onus of the person doing the project. I lament the end of the WDNR project surveying eagle nest locations, which has left us with a new rule to enforce without the data we need – we’ll have to do this on a case-by-case basis.”

In other business

In other business, the board:

• approved a permit for the Marn structure in the Town of Troy in Sauk County for expansion of living space for an existing structure

• approved extension of WDNR management permits on 11 State Natural Areas within the Riverway

• shared concerns with WDNR staff about the need to take greater steps to protect mounds located on state property

• approved extension of two management permits by WDNR wildlife biologist Annie McDonnell for state properties in Richland and Crawford counties

• learned that the Crosscurrents Heritage Center plans additional educational events in 2025, including a walk-through of the farm with Dr. Eric Carson, following up on his 2024 presentation about the geomorphology of the Riverway, and a performance by Ho-Chunk singers and dancers on the weekend of the Muscoda Morel Mushroom Festival.