The rustling of tree leaves in the wind.
The calls of birds of all kinds.
The flow of streams, whether gentle or intense.
Or even just the stillness of the outside.
It’s all part of the incredible beauty of Wisconsin nature.
Spending time in nature has been known to improve our mental and physical health, reduce feelings of loneliness, connect us with the local community, and provide a much-needed escape from the technological impulses that are consuming us the consumers ever more so.
With the summer upon us, so too is prime time to explore the state’s great nature.
I’m Reid Kamhi. Join me Tuesdays this summer during WORT’s live local news at 6 for Trail Tuesday, as I take you to a new nature site in and around our listening region every week. You will hear the beautiful sounds, find out about the nooks and crannies, and learn about the trails’ roles in Wisconsin history.
We start at the Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton. This sprawling hotbed of natural beauty is located just north of the westernmost reaches of Lake Mendota.
The main entrances to the Conservancy are off Pheasant Branch Road, a hilly road which runs mostly due north and south and connects County Highways K and M. There are also entrances behind the stores and apartments on the south edge as well as one on the east side from a neighborhood.
Ownership of the Pheasant Branch Conservancy is split between the City of Middleton, Dane County, and the state of Wisconsin. The county’s section, in the northern part of the Conservancy, covers about forty percent of the property. Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources controls a strip in the middle, while the southern half belongs to the city.
I started my visit in the northern, county-controlled portion of Pheasant Branch. From the springs parking lot, located only just north of the cutoff line between the county- and state-owned sections of the conservancy, there are already multiple paths available to take through this large field. The wider gravel path is the beginning of the route to the top of the historic Effigy Mounds. Interested in the nearly 200-foot climb and the views from atop the mounds, that’s where I walked.
A few hundred feet into that path, you will reach a three-sided information sign. To the left of that landmark is a grassier and more inclined path. This route encircles the mounds, taking you towards the top. Reeds surround the trail increasingly as you progress, sometimes accompanied by a cricket cacophony.
Once you are near the top, the path splits off towards the left and right. It’s a lollipop-style path, so continuing in either direction will eventually lead you back to the fork. The views from the top do not disappoint. Looking towards the south, you can see the tree-laden Middleton-owned sector of the park which we will visit shortly. Views in other directions show the vast present day farmland that surrounds the Conservancy.
The county-owned half, especially the mounds, is where much of the Conservancy’s role in history lies. Native Americans controlled the land going back two thousand years. Deceased bodies were buried at the summit of the Effigy Mounds, said to be halfway between sea level and the sky, so as to serve as the connection to the “Upper World” that the dead would then enter.
Joleen Stinson is the parks director for Dane County. She explains that such features as this one are the reason Dane County Parks is careful in its stewardship of its properties which contain historical roots.
“Dane County Parks is really fortunate that a number of our properties have on them and we, as park managers or public land managers, always do our best to honor the history and respectfully honor the land that these cultural features are on and certainly respect those cultural features,” said Stinson.
On now to the southern half of the Pheasant Branch Conservancy, the section controlled by the City of Middleton. Prepare yourselves for some incredible natural beauty.
The two southernmost parking lots off Pheasant Branch Road serve as gateways to the Middleton portion’s trails. I began from the southernmost of those two, where a relatively steep and winding downhill gravel pathway is the inlet to the main trail.
Once you reach a fork, a left turn quickly leads you to a deck which offers a fine view of the wetlands.
For now, we will focus on the forest, which is to the right. This is where trees line the path, providing general shade with sprinklings of whatever sunshine pokes through the leaves and branches.
The birds make their presence known.
And at work near a wooden bridge was, appropriately so, a woodpecker.
That bridge is part of the four-mile main loop in the south half of the conservancy. Additionally, there are several other paths that break off from the main one. One appears at a fork shortly after the aforementioned bridge. While turning right keeps you on the loop as you walk by a stream, a left turn takes you through a path with a heavenly view and scent.
The main loop surrounds the conservancy’s wetlands, which played a crucial role in the nineteenth century. In 1832, the Ho-Chunk signed a treaty with the United States government which – unbeknownst to the original inhabitants until it was too late – handed the land’s rights to the federal government. That allowed new settlers – many of them German immigrants – to set up in the Pheasant Branch area, where they could take full advantage of the agricultural offerings of the area. Some of the early settlers drained the upstream wetlands and built dams to make it easier to fish and to grow crops in other parts of the space.
The Pheasant Branch Conservancy, especially on the southern half, is home to a rich array of wildlife. Aside from the birds heard earlier, owls, foxes, snakes, and even opossums can be found. And as explained by Mark Wegner, the City of Middleton’s assistant director for conservancy and forestry, a close eye is kept as well on a pair of eagles.
“And we have an observation platform that you can watch the nest area from,” Wegner said. “We’re still hoping to get a successful hatch. We haven’t yet. They’re a young couple of eagles, so they’re still trying to figure things out. But the last three years, they have come back to the nest every year, and so we anxiously watch the developments associated with that.”
Also involved in the maintenance and preservation is an organization known as the Friends of Pheasant Branch. Hans Hilbert is a co-president of the group, which was founded in 1995 as part of an effort to campaign against the proposed construction by the City of Middleton of two sewer lines under the Conservancy’s grounds.
“And they (Friends of Pheasant Branch) basically formed to advocate against that. And long story short is that they reached an unhappy compromise where only one sewer line was put in. So that’s on the west side of the Conservancy if you’re walking there and you’re on the trail. That sewer line is underneath your feet,” explained Hilbert.
The group’s present day missions are to protect, restore, and promote the Conservancy.
“We kind of break that into a few areas as an organization,” said Hilbert. He went on to explain: “Restoration which I just mentioned as well as education and accessibility and use, and then we do continue our work with advocacy for the Conservancy and the watershed.”
The product of their work, along with that of the state, city, and county is a spectacular nature destination with enough paths that multiple visits are required to take in all that the Pheasant Branch Conservancy has to offer.
Be sure to tune in next week for another edition of Trail Tuesday.