Dane County land buy would create park, plus possible Ice Age Trail connector
MADISON – Dane County and the cities of Madison and Verona are proposing to pay $2.7 million for land in a rapidly developing area west of Madison that could eventually provide a missing link in the popular Ice Age Trail.
Covered in mature oak forest, the 40acre lot on the west side of Woods Road, just north of County Highway PD, is “a wonderful example of glacial geology,” said Kevin Thusius, director of land conservation for the Ice Age Trail Alliance.
“The glacier ended right here and it left behind glacial till — a lot of rock and debris that created a nice hill,” Thusius said. “There are some great examples of kettle ponds — where there was a hunk of ice left when the glacier melted away.”
Wisconsin’s only designated National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age Trail follows the southern edge of where glaciers covered much of the state roughly 11,000 years ago, stretching about 1,200 miles from Door County to near the Illinois border then north through Dane County and eventually west to the Minnesota border in Polk County.
About 2.3 million people use the trail each year, according to a study completed in 2019 just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
“We are certain that it’s only increased significantly since then,” Thusius said.
The county has negotiated to buy the land from Mary M. Christiansen, Loveday Herrling and the Martha G. Cowling Revocable Trust for its appraised value of $2.7 million.
Under the agreement, the county would pay $1.66 million, Madison would pay $540,000 and the city of Verona $500,000. The town of Verona would provide maintenance services such as mowing and snow removal, and the Ice Age Trail Association would be responsible for construction and maintenance of the new trail segment.
Together with an adjacent 40-acre parcel purchased by the city of Madison in 2018, the land would form a new citycounty park that could include trail loops and eventually link two segments of the Ice Age Trail where users now have to walk about 1.8 miles along the roadside.
“These two properties combined … and hopefully more to the north and west will create this sort of belt around the city of Madison,” Thusius said.
The land is within the designated Ice Age Trail corridor, land identified by the National Park Service and state Department of Natural Resources for future acquisition.
“The purpose of the Ice Age Trail is lost if adjoining parcels such as this aren’t protected,” said Laura Hicklin, director of the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department.
Thusius said acquisitions like this are “vital” to building the final 500some miles of trail.
“The counties where we’re closest to completing the trail are the suburban counties – partly because we get good buy-in from municipalities,” Thusius said. “It’s like links in the chain – sometimes you get the end ones first. … We are used to sometimes moving at a glacial pace.”
This article was provided by the Associated Press.