Free to PLATO Members and Guests
Witness a Lost Landscape
Returning to Life
A Walk Into History with Land Stewards and Donors
Roger Packard and David Musolf
When Aldo Leopold established a research program at Faville Grove in the late 1930 ’s, he found a fragmented landscape and decimated wildlife populations. Today at Faville Grove Sanctuary, Madison Audubon is painstakingly stitching that landscape back together, and wildlife flourishes once again.
We are excited that Roger Packard and David Musolf, founding volunteer sanctuary managers, who fell in love with the land and donated conservation easements on their land to Audubon in exchange for establishing the sanctuary, have agreed to lead our group and tell us about how they took advantage of whatever resources they could find or create to support their goal of restoring the land to pre-European ecological communities. They will share with us lessons learned; of using tax policy and government programs to fund sanctuary efforts and engaging with budding UW conservationists to further the work, and even inspiring an accomplished artist and neighbor to memorialize on canvas the beauty of this evolving landscape.
Join a group of learners for a walk at Faville Grove Sanctuary on September 12 and learn about how Musolf and Packard and Madison Audubon set out to restore and preserve it for future generations. Learn how the restoration of the diverse habitats at Faville Grove nurtures hundreds of species of plants and animals. Today, Faville Grove Sanctuary encompasses 1,000 acres in northwestern Jefferson County including recessional glacial terrain, Crawfish River floodplain, wetlands, pre-Cambrian rock outcroppings known as the Lake Mills Ledge, restored prairies, grasslands, savannas and woods. We hope that after your introduction to the sanctuary that you will return in all seasons to enjoy the many gifts the it has to offer.
Parking Instruction - Meet at 8:45 Sharp
We will meet at the Lake Oasis Travel Plaza just north of I-94 on Hwy 89 and carpool from there. They have kindly agreed to allow us to leave our cars there as long as we park well away from entrances and busy areas. Let’s meet on the north end of the parking lot. We will consolidate into fewer cars there for the 4 minute drive to the first stop on our tour.
Length, Difficulty & Pace of Walk
This will be a 2.5 hour tour and educational conversation, covering 2 + miles. Since it is spread over a large area of marsh and prairie, we will drive between the eastern and western portions of the sanctuary so our hosts can introduce us its wonderful diversity.
Handicap Accessibility?
The trails are not handicap accessible, although the tour routes are manageable with a walking stick. Please call Mike at 608 257-9164 to further evaluate the trails. With little rain this summer, we should not be troubled by wet trails.
Faville Grove Sanctuary: A Madison Audubon Property - Lake Mills, WI
"Diversity of habitats, diversity of plant life, diversity of wildlife. Faville Grove Sanctuary is a gift of nature managed by the Madison Audubon Society with the assistance of many volunteers. It includes 1,000 acres of restored prairie, wetlands, savanna and oak woodlands, as well as agriculture fields waiting to be restored to native habitat. Walk off-trail to experience the landscape as the Native Americans did. Get your feet wet in the prairies of the Crawfish River floodplain; sit in the shade of centuries-old bur and white oaks on outcroppings of pre-Cambrian quartzite bedrock; or stand in a dry, short-grass prairie and watch a harrier hunt over a floating bog of sphagnum, sedges and tamarack. Faville Grove is open to the public and welcomes individuals from every walk of life. Come out and explore this unique sanctuary where rich history and biodiversity intersect."
Questions?
Contact trip leader Mike DiIorio at mdiiorio1234@gmail.com
