Sprawl - you know it when you see it, and the definitions for it are infinite. Sprawl has been cited for everything from destroying green space and causing congestion to driving up taxes. The data for these tangible costs of sprawl - the environmental and economic impacts - are plentiful and relatively simple to analyze. There are, however, other less tangible costs of sprawl, and these - the physical and social - are perhaps the most insidious not only because they have become a seemingly accepted part of life, but because sprawl is not the sole cause. Nevertheless, the physical and social costs of sprawl are real and are part of a wider disconnect between people and their surroundings.

Physical
The logic is simple - the more people walk, the healthier they are, but the inverse has also been shown to be true: the more time people spend in a vehicle, the more obese they are.1 In sprawling communities, where the handiest mode of transportation is the car, not the feet (and where the sidewalk is becoming an endangered species), one is likely to be nearly 10 pounds heavier than an individual is in a more compact development.1 Why are people not walking in suburban developments? Often the distances are too great for easy pedestrian accessibility, and when commercial development is kept separate from residential, there isn't much to walk to anyway.

Sprawl has also been associated with other health complaints, such as arthritis, asthma, and headaches. These problems increase with the degree of sprawl and are linked to air pollution - from increased vehicle activity and exposure from increased commute times - and as with obesity, physical activity.2

Social
In 2000, the average commuter's drive to work was 25.1 minutes,1 and on average the American driver spends nearly 450 hours a year behind the wheel of a car.3 Increased car time is bad, not only for health but also for quality of life - it means increased traffic patterns and accidents. Not only that, but all that time spent behind the wheel is not time spent on family, friends, and community. The increase of sprawl has also led to a decrease in community involvement. The research has implicated sprawl as a major contributor to rising obesity rates, fractured communities, and a loss of a sense of "place." 1

Critics argue that those who migrate to the suburbs are those who desire a less active and less involved lifestyle. While this may be true for some, it is not exactly the point and facilitates a circle argument. Regardless of one's desire to exercise or remain involved in the community, it is easier to be at least nominally active - physically and mentally - in a traditional neighborhood design development (a higher-density development that mixes residential and commercial buildings) or even in a conservation development where outdoor activities are available and recommended for a greater sense of community.

Should people be forced to participate or even acknowledge their surroundings and take pleasure in the beauty of nature? No. However, it never hurts to make it easier for people to do so, in an atmosphere where community involvement and appreciation for open space are a foregone conclusion. This is why comprehensive planning and urban in-fill are so important for many growing communities. The considered placement of people not only helps preserve a community's natural and cultural resources, it also ensures that there will still be a thriving, healthy community 40, 50, 60 years from now.

~Katie Sullivan
GLC Membership and Outreach Coordinator

1. Harbor, Ben. "Weighing in on city planning," Science News Online. Jan. 20, 2007. Vol. 171, No. 3.
2. Stein, Rob. "Sprawl may harm health, study finds" Washington Post. Sept. 27, 2004; Page A03
3. Sprawl Costs Us All. Coalition for Smarter Growth. www.smartergrowth.net/issues/landuse/sprawl/costofsprawl.htm

The Geneva Lake Conservancy is extremely grateful for all (currently 20) of the voluntary land protection agreements it holds. Every property has its own individual characteristics, each of which helps to maintain the beauty and character in the lakes area that we all enjoy so much.

In February 2000 the Conservancy acquired a land protection agreement for the Town of Linn Community Nature Park. While most of our land protection agreements are held on private property, the Linn park is a public park.

Located at the intersection of South Lakeshore Drive and maple Ridge Road, the 160 acres are permanently set aside to offer a resource for locals and visitors in the area to enjoy nature as well as history. There are hiking trails, equestrian trails, and many species of birds to watch, among many other things, all in quiet rural setting.

The park is home to natural communities, including prairie, wetlands, and oak savannahs. These communities have become home to many different species of wildlife. The Town has been busy the last few years beginning park restoration work. The removal of invasive and non-native species is a long and difficult process in which the Town has been actively engaging.

This spring the Town - nominated among 35 other groups - won the 2008 Chicago Wilderness and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Native Landscaping and Conservation Award. This award recognizes park districts, municipalities, and corporations that use native landscaping in such a way that it helps support native species of wildlife. The Town was recognized for their exemplary use of native plants within the landscape of the park.

The park is also home to a historic silo that was built around 1875. This unique figure-eight-shaped silo is one structure and is part of agricultural history. The handmade silo is believed to be one of a kind in Walworth County. With many efforts of Doris Roan, a Linn citizen, there was enough fund raising to restore this silo in 2004.

There are discussions under way with the Town of Linn government regarding suggested ideas for enhancing portions of the park. The Conservancy is working with the Town to explore these opportunities within the limits of the land protection agreement.

The park has set an example for other communities in the permanent protection of public lands. This park will be here for future generations to enjoy the open space and all of the natural features that accompany it.

So before the winter snow arrives, enjoy what is left of fall and take a tour of the park and enjoy everything it has to offer.

~Lynn Ketterhagen
GLC Land Protection Specialist

At this year's Mai Tai several generous souls stood up and underwrote the Conservancy's effort to bring watershed education materials to local schools. In doing so, the donors enabled the Conservancy to purchase five groundwater models.

The models are officially known as Groundwater Sand Tank Models and were developed by the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Groundwater Model Project, a fundraiser for the UW-SP Student Chapter of the American Water Resources Association. The project was started in the 1980s and developed into the current business. The models continue to be made by students, and the building itself is used as an educational tool.

The groundwater models are an interactive classroom tool designed to show the flow of water and toxins though differing gradients, aquifers, and, for the Conservancy's purposes, watersheds. The models may be used in front of the classroom and are easily used by students themselves.

After training on one of the models at a DNR-sponsored groundwater model teacher workshop, I saw firsthand the effectiveness of the tool and immediately determined that the model could be the cornerstone of the Conservancy's school education program for our watershed project. These models will be excellent for demonstrating how human activity affects the Geneva Lake watershed.

All of the five models are equipped with rain simulators. Four of the models will be available to all area schools for use during applicable classroom education.The fifth model will remain with the Conservancy staff for demonstrations and presentations to local organizations. This model also may be used by local organizations wishing to do the same.

For more information on the UW-SP Groundwater Model Project, visit www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/awra/h2omodel.html. For more information on the DNR's groundwater education materials, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/gw/educate.htm.

If you are an area teacher or local organization and you'd like to borrow one of the Conservancy's models, call Katie Sullivan at 262-275-5700 or e-mail katie@genevalakeconservancy.org.

~Katie Sullivan
Membership and Outreach Coordinator

As winter creeps ever closer and economic concerns spread, amidst some significant changes the Conservancy sits back and wonders: What if the Committee to Save Geneva Lake had never formed? Where would Geneva Lake and its communities be without the Conservancy?

What wouldn't have happened in the early days? The 1985 Geneva Lake Historical Study would not have been funded, nor would real estate have been purchased for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network Acid Rain Test Facility. The Fontana Fen would never have been preserved and restored. Instead, a shopping center would stand in place of the fen.

Several State of the Lake conferences would never have taken place, nor would investigations into citizen complaints regarding zoning, development, pollution, mooring problems, and other matters relating to the environment of the lake area. Collaboration with the Geneva Lake Environmental Agency would never have resulted in the publication of the Geneva Lake Water Quality Index.

Without the Conservancy, various educational programs, from the early "Wetlands-Wonderlands" and "Trees are Terrific" to the recent Watershed Education Program, would never have existed for area schools.

Without the Conservancy, Yerkes may have lost its battle to remain a landmark dedicated to the stars. While the Conservancy was not the lone cry against the sell-off of the Yerkes property, we supported the Concerned Taxpayers of Williams Bay, a group that was able to galvanize the movement to defeat the plan.

Had the Committee to Save Geneva Lake never formed, there would be no benchmark for good development - development that not only encourages economic growth but also takes into consideration the environmental, cultural, and historical importance of each site in concert with the overall community plan. There would be no organization to tie together the principles of environmental and open land preservation, farmland protection, and healthy economic growth for our lake-area communities.

More than 880 acres of natural habitat would not be protected thanks to voluntary land protection agreements. These include exceptional lakefront estates such as Black Point and Driehaus and farms such as the Moelter property that donates so much of the land for Native American ceremonies and Boy Scout activities. Similarly, the Conservancy protects one property, donated to the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association Foundation/Seno Woodland Education Center in 2006, that educates the public on the sustainable management of forest and related resources. These are just a few of the stories of conserved properties that are protected through voluntary agreements with the Conservancy.

The Conservancy today: the GLC headquarters at the historic Douglas-Stevenson Mill House in Fontana, Wis.

Without the Conservancy, the lakes area would not know just how valuable Geneva Lake is to the local economy. Nor would there be beautiful watershed signs to educate the community on the boundaries of the Geneva Lake watershed and no accompanying civic education program to educate the population on why knowing that boundary is important. Without the Conservancy's program, similar programs in Delavan and Twin Lakes may not have had the inspiration to go forward.

When the Conservancy first engaged with the Village of Fontana government over the sewage issue in 1978, the Conservancy accomplished what it set out to do but recognized there was still more that could be done.

Would some other group have stepped in to fill the void in these 30-plus years? Perhaps. But the fact remains the Conservancy is still fighting to do more. We are your advocacy group for this lake. We are your voice, and we will continue to be that voice.

Throughout its 30-year existence the Conservancy has helped change the way our communities interact with this lake and the lands surrounding it. While it may not earn Clarence his wings, it does give us hope for the next 30 years, and I think in these uncertain times hope is a gift in and of itself.

~Katie Sullivan
GLC's Clarence

Above: The Mill House Pavilion

Left: Toonerville trolley track, on e of the many historical artifacts on display at the Mill House Pavilion.

Below: A pen-and-ink drawing described as "the property of C.L. Douglass" shows the flowering mills (left), the feed mill (center) and the Mill House (right).