County Grounds public hearing Monday May 2

Monarch Trail and Innovation Park site

I am forwarding the following announcement from the Friends of the Monarch Trail. I hope you will join me and give your input at this important meeting:

The City of Wauwatosa is hosting an open house for public input regarding trail connections on the County Grounds – Monday, May 2.

May 2^nd –   4:30 - 7:00 pm

Wil-O-Way   @  Underwood Parkway

10602 W Underwood Creek Parkway (across from Hanson golf course)

Please come share your ideas for the “master trail plan” that is to be implemented by the National Parks Service. Several parcels that are owned and must be maintained by different agencies will have trails, including the State Forestry Education Center, the new Milwaukee County Park, and the MMSD detention basins, as well as the UWM Innovation Park complex.

The Friends of the Monarch Trail have worked hard to preserve the Monarch Trail, the butterfly habitat, and the natural environment on the County Grounds. Now is the time to get the Monarch Trail on the official Map! We thank you for being persistent in your efforts to preserve this critical habitat~

  

**Brief presentations describing the project will be given at 5:00 and again at 6:00 pm 

Please take time to stop in wherever you can fit it in between 4:30 and 7Pm. This is the one chance to show our interest in the Monarch Trail and how it will connect with the rest of the trail system being created on the County Grounds.

  

Talking points to comment on:

·        End results should provide first and foremost for the needs of the habitat; this is the main attraction and the reason for the Monarch Trail.

·        Connecting the Monarch Trail to the other trails will make them all more successful because it is and attraction and highlight that stimulates curiosity and interest.

·        Mention possible negative impacts along with solutions.  The 11-acre monarch habitat is too small to accommodate paved paths or room for bicycles. The idea for this segment of trail is to provide a peaceful place for observation, photography, and not a tract for commuting through; a good comparison would be Wehr Nature Center. There are areas for tramp trails and more appropriate places for bike trails.

There will be thoroughfares for bicycles and vehicle access to the habitat via the residential roadways and parking lots.

·         Preservation of the natural scenery to provide views is also an attraction as well as the historical features such as the Eschweiler buildings. All planning of trails that is not in keeping with the scenery or which would obscure, distort, or detract from the integrity of the environment should be avoided. The trails are for humans, but the environment comes first.

·         The wildlife and ecosystem depend on our protection. The trails should be integrated in a way that enhances and protects the landscapes that support wildlife.

·        Promote the need to preserve the woods behind the Ronald McDonald House as part of the trail system. Milwaukee County should retain these valuable woods in order to reconnect the environmental corridor. 

Metaphor? I hope not.