Geneva Lake Conservancy Unveils Watershed Awareness Signs

Just in time for Earth Day, the Geneva Lake Conservancy announced the installation of the first watershed awareness signs around the lake. They are designed to make residents and visitors more aware of the land that drains into and affects the health of Geneva Lake.

The Town of Linn and the City of Lake Geneva were the first of eight communities to approve and support this new program, which will see watershed signs initially installed at 39 locations designated as entry and exit points to the Geneva Lake watershed. The Conservancy is working with all the surrounding communities to pinpoint locations that will deliver the maximum impact for watershed awareness.

"The Conservancy thanks the Town of Linn and the City of Lake Geneva as well as the Village of Fontana, the Village and Town of Walworth, and the Town of Delavan for their support of the Watershed signage program.

"The Conservancy is anticipating formal approval from the Village of Williams Bay and the Town of Geneva," said James Celano, Conservancy Executive Director.

"The Watershed signage program is a small step toward working not only within each community, but also with the family of communities that embrace the watershed, to find more ways to work together and educate people about the reasons and ways to protect our common watershed."

From left, Jim Celano, City of Lake Geneva Mayor Bill Chesen, and Charles Colman at the Lake Geneva unveiling on Baker Street.

The installation of the watershed signs is the second phase in the Conservancy's Watershed Education Program. This program is designed to educate our neighbors in Lake Geneva, Linn Township, Williams Bay, Fontana, Walworth, Walworth Township, Delavan Township, and Geneva Township as well as their visitors about the sensitive nature and importance of the Geneva Lake watershed (the 13,121 acres that drain into Geneva Lake).

Many citizens have donated to the Conservancy to enable it to create this signage program. Major donors to the program will be recognized with a formal plaque at the Conservancy's headquarters at the historic Mill House in Fontana.

Additional donations are still needed and welcome, not only for the signage program but for the now-developing community educational program for local schools, civic and social groups, and governments.

For more information, contact the Conservancy at (262) 275-5700. Donations may be mailed to Geneva Lake Conservancy, P.O. Box 588, Fontana, WI 53125.

Here are how other organizations are brining watershed awareness to their communities

Did you know that sprawl is making you poor?

"Perhaps diffusion is too kind of word . . . . In bursting its bounds, the city actually sprawled and made the countryside ugly, . . . uneconomic [in terms] of services and doubtful social value."
Earle Draper, director of planning for the Tennessee Valley Authority, in a speech from 1937.

Sprawl: (verb, intransitive) to spread out in a straggling or disordered fashion; (noun) haphazard growth or extension outward, especially that resulting from real estate development on the outskirts of a city: urban sprawl
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004

"Suburban sprawl is irresponsible, poorly planned development that destroys green space, increases traffic, crowds schools, and drives up taxes."
Sprawl Costs Us All, Sierra Club, 2000.

With the many definitions of sprawl, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, although most will agree, "You know it when you see it." What is certain, however, is that sprawl has multiple costs associated with it, and these costs are not simply economic. There are environmental, social, and physical costs to sprawl that affect not only those who live within the boundaries of sprawling development but also the communities surrounding such development. This article will explore the economic and environmental costs of sprawl.

Economic
The Vision 2020 + 20 Update and information paper on the cost of sprawl, developed by the Puget Sound (Wash.) Regional Council in December 2005, analyzed nearly 15 different reports about the costs of sprawl and compiled the findings.

They concluded that sprawl is more costly to build and maintain than compact development. Sprawling developments have higher capital costs, which include building or expanding schools; extending roads, water, and sewer lines; and increasing police and fire services.

Scattered development relies on a widely dispersed public infrastructure, which is more costly to implement and maintain. Fire and police have farther to go when responding to calls, buses have greater distances to travel to pick up schoolchildren, increased reliance on municipal water and sewer means increased costs for these services, and finally the more roads there are, the more they need to be cleared, salted, and plowed, which will continue to drive up costs each year.1

Both the Vision 2020 report and the Coalition for Smart Growth Web site further maintain that the loss of urban centers in favor of sprawl has an economic cost as well. Taxpayers bear the brunt of the costs to spread outward, whereas reinvigorating and maintaining currently vibrant urban centers improve the region-wide economic outlook by investing in areas where the necessary infrastructure already exists.

A subdivision in Warren County, NJ, which highlights the farmland-fragmentation that accompanies sprawl. Photo by John Hasse, courtesy plannersweb.com

Environmental
Sprawling developments often use all the land available for development and cut the land into cookie-cutter lots with no regard to the topography, natural features, wildlife, or natural resources of the land. Almost all the land is used in some way. What green space there is - in the form of lawns - is privatized, which leads to the further isolation of these communities.

Because sprawling communities often lack retail and business access within walking or biking distance, sprawl also increases the distance one has to drive, thus increasing the roads necessary to get from place to place.

They increase the amount of impervious surfaces. All of this leads to polluted water (not to mention air) that has nowhere to go but our creeks, rivers, and lakes. More hard surfaces mean less natural filtration of stormwater runoff and increased pollution of that runoff as it takes along with it the grease and oil on asphalt and concrete surfaces.

Alternatives to sprawl - conservation design and planned compact development (such as Traditional Neighborhood Development) - are denser than standard development. That said, they also use only 50 percent of the developable land. Additionally, when communities correctly apply smart growth development techniques, preservation of that open space is required, forever protecting the natural features of the property. Economics and environmental concerns favor compact development, and the benefits extend all the way from the individual to the community to the region as a whole.

The environmental and economic costs are significant and usually enough to give one pause. These costs are the easiest to determine, and yet they are not the only ones. There are social and physical - one could say human - costs associated with sprawl, and these will be discussed in the next newsletter.

Up Next:
Costs of Sprawl, Part 2: Did you know sprawl is making you fat?

~Katie Sullivan
GLC Membership and Outreach Coordinator

1. Sprawl Costs Us All. Coalition for Smarter Growth. www.smartergrowth.net/issues/landuse/sprawl/costofsprawl.htm

June is Invasive Species Month

Wisconsin Invasive Species Crossword Puzzle: Click Here!

Walworth State Bank President, and Geneva Lake Conservancy Vice-Chair, Robert W. Klockars, has been honored with the receipt of the McPherson College Alumni Citation of Merit. Bob, (Class of 1968), along with his wife Jane (Class of 1967) was recognized with this distinguished recognition at the 2008 commencement activities on Sunday, May 25, 2008 on the McPherson College campus.

The Citation of Merit, whose winners are selected by the McPherson College Board of Trustees and the Awards Committee of the Alumni Board of Directors, is awarded to a select few alumni each year and is based on professional achievement, service to society and the church, and loyalty as a McPherson College alumnus. This is McPherson College's most prestigious alumni honor.

The Conservancy extends its warm thanks to Alliant Energy Foundation for its generous grant for the Watershed Education Program. The foundation's grant will help fund a portion of the educational component of the watershed initiative, which seeks to inform schools and civic and social groups of the importance the Geneva Lake Watershed plays in the social, economic, and development issues in the area.

We also thank Sheldon Landscaping and its sponsor, Advisory Board Member David Weinberg, for keeping our driveway snow-free. They kept the Conservancy going during what was a terribly snowy winter, and you have our gratitude.

And last, but certainly not least, the Conservancy thanks Fred Noer for extending his copy-editing expertise to the newsletter. For two years now, at each edition, Fred has lent his gentle "massage" to the variety of articles submitted to him. The newsletter's staff editor is always grateful for his help, and grants that all errors contained within these pages are hers.

Georgeanne Pellettieri
In the eyes of those who knew her, especially her daughter, Georgeanne "Che Che" Pellettieri, was special.

A typical weekend day for Georgeanne was to wake up at 5:30 a.m. and walk the shores of Williams Bay with her dog, Flower. She'd then eat breakfast at Daddy Maxwell's, shop at Details in the Bay, and get coffee at Tickle Me Pink, after which she'd play 18 holes at George Williams College Golf Course.

Georgeanne Pellettieri outside her home in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

Lunch would be at Gordy's (with a beer at Chuck's). Then Georgeanne would stop at Pearce's Farm Stand for fresh fruits and veggies and make a quick stop at Pesche's Greenhouse Floral & Gifts (because she always got those names mixed up).

The day would wind down with a boat ride, a stop at Bay Movie House to rent a movie, cooking dinner for the family, and walking the dog again. Finally, Georgeanne would fall asleep during the movie.

Her energy and her spirit were contagious. She loved the time she spent in Williams Bay and neighboring towns. She loved talking to her neighbors and all the shop owners, and she loved going to the chicken roasts and pancake breakfasts.

She shared her Williams Bay experience with many of her relatives, friends and coworkers, and they would like to give something back to the area she loved and wanted to save for her grandsons and future great-grandkids.

The Geneva Lake Conservancy was honored to be the recipient of donations in Che Che's memory. It is our great honor to grant Georgeanne Pellettieri and her family an honorary membership and establish a watershed sign in her name.

Howard Thompson
With sadness the Conservancy marks the passing of Howard Thompson, who died April 17. He served in the U.S. Air Force and was a pilot for United Airlines from 1965 to 1992. He is survived by his widow, Joan, two children, and two siblings.

He spent many happy years enjoying the Geneva Lake area, and the Conservancy expresses its condolences and heartfelt thanks to Howard's friends and family for their kind and generous contributions in his memory.

Raymond I. Geraldson
The Conservancy also extends its sympathy to the family of Raymond I. Geraldson, who passed away March 28. Raymond is survived by his wife Evelyn, siblings, and many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Raymond and his wife were long-time Conservancy supporters and donated an easement on their property. The Conservancy sends its condolences and sympathy to the entire Geraldson family.

From the Green Bay Press-Gazette

Wisconsinites often compete for time and space on public lands, but those who spoke at state-sponsored listening sessions in early April seemed to realize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund provides more grounds to unite people than divide them.

The sessions in Waukesha, Eau Claire and Green Bay were conducted by the Stewardship Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Board. Their mission was to hear what folks think of the program's new access rule, which requires future Stewardship lands to be open to hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking and cross-country skiing.

When reviewing each purchase, the state Department of Natural Resources Board can prohibit one or more of those activities to protect public safety, unique animals or plants or to "accommodate other usership patterns."

Good enough, but why create new access rules 20 years into the program? When the state Legislature and Gov. Jim Doyle reauthorized Stewardship last fall, they boosted its funding from $60 million to $86 million annually from 2011 to 2020. Some folks claimed Stewardship was denying hunters access to lands bought with that public money.

OK. Let's dust for fingerprints. In the Big Stew's first 20 years, the DNR acquired 447,000 acres of formerly private land. Further, 54 private land-trusts and conservation groups acquired or protected 38,500 acres by matching Stewardship grants with their own money; and local governments matched Stewardship grants for an additional 15,950 acres.

Of those 501,450 total acres, 92 percent are open to hunting and 98 percent to fishing. More specifically, public hunting is allowed on 95 percent of the DNR's Stewardship lands. Closed areas are typically parking lots, access trails or sites near homes.

Meanwhile, 3,800 acres (24 percent) of Stewardship lands owned or protected by local governments are open to hunting. Before turning purple, let's concede these closed lands are usually small strips along urban parks, walking trails or river corridors.

Also realize that until eight years ago, Stewardship money could be used for ballparks, playgrounds and even golf courses, real drags on hunting participation. Former state Sen. Kevin Shibilski stepped in during the 2000 budget process to end those unintended payments.

What about lands protected by nonprofit groups? Public hunting is allowed on 91 percent of the 33,500 acres they own. When we add the groups' 5,000 acres in conservation easements to protect unique lands from development, public hunting falls to 72 percent.

None of these numbers indicate hunting rights were abused during Stewardship's first two decades. In fact, hunters benefited greatly. None of those lands offered public hunting before Stewardship began, and all taxpayers contribute to those purchases, not just the 12 to 15 percent of us who buy hunting, fishing or trapping licenses.

And although the DNR is charged with managing state-owned Stewardship lands, the agency does not help local governments and nonprofit groups manage theirs. So, even with a 24 percent hunting rate on lands owned by counties or municipalities, no hunter should prattle about lost rights under Stewardship.

Neither should they play our version of the race card by claiming every closure is an attack by anti-hunters or discrimination by non-hunters. Such accusations flared last year during the Stewardship debate, often hurled by those who demand more hunting access, then scream about socialism when the state buys that access.

Fortunately, that fringe element avoided the DNR Board's listening sessions or swallowed its venom. Cooler heads noted that outdated local ordinances, not Stewardship guidelines, caused the most blatant problems. Others suggested that if firearms aren't practical on some properties, why not archery? It's a safe, quiet, effective option for managing deer.

In other words, most hunters looked around the room, recognized their non-hunting allies, and encouraged other forms of recreation. They know hunting, fishing and trapping aren't the only legitimate ways to enjoy the outdoors.

They also realize no one walks directly from an urban sidewalk to a rural deer stand. Only by spending time in a woods, marsh or forest do people move toward a hunting lifestyle.
What better program than Stewardship to build bridges between those two worlds?

Patrick Durkin is a freelance writer who covers outdoors for the Press-Gazette. E-mail him at patrickdurkin@charter.net