 Dr. David Bart of UW-Madison and his students are doing a capstone project on the ABC to determine if our two "dehydrated" calcareous fens can be restored. A fen is a relatively rare microsystem that is an accumulation of peat due to groundwater upwelling which has raised the surface to a height of several meters above the adjoining land, The tiling and plowing of the surrounding grounds make it difficult, but we are hopeful Dr. Bart and his students will have some creative ideas.
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I was once a wet swamp, but now I'm blind and can see (waterfowl...better anyway). Thanks to Cody Watson and his students at the Whitewater High School for building a wildlife viewing blind at the ABC in the pond to the right of the dike path by the ABC sign. It is shown in its final form (with privacy shower curtain and pavers) as well as in stages with Cody giving a thumbs up near the end. There's a wood duck box and a muskrat den within fifteen yards of the blind which will make for good viewing next spring. Thanks again to Cody and thanks to the Whitewater High School for their efforts! Thanks to Dr. Eric Compas and his student Aidan Biedrzycki for starting a mapping project at the ABC. Using a drone with a sophisticated camera that records high res film, a detailed aerial map of parts of the Conservancy will help us monitor trends over time in the vegetation. Thanks Eric and Aidan! Dr. Bruce Eshelman's students at UW-Whitewater conduct research on small animals at the ABC. Pictured are some of the dedicated team that are out in the field every day during monitoring season. They've found voles (M. pennsylvanicus), jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius), birds like warblers and even a least weasel.  |
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