デーン郡の天然記念物・トップ15

EDNA BE TAYLOR WAS A TEACHER, WRITER AND, IN HER LATER YEARS, A DAIRY FARMER. A BELIEVER IN SENSIBLE ECOLOGY" SHE PROPOSED TO SELL 37 OF HER 98 ACRES OF LAND TO THE CITY OF MADISON ADDED TO 10 ADJACENT ACRES ALREADY HELD BY THE CITY AND 11 ACRES PURCHASED FROM OTHER OWNERS, THE LAND, WHICH INCLUDES A SPRING, A GLACIAL DRUMLIN INDIAN MOUND, A MARSH, AND OAK STANDS WOULD FORM A CONSERVATION PARK TO BE ENJOYED BY FUTURE GENERATIONS. THIS CITY PURCHASED THE LAND IN 1912. FOUR MONTHS ATTER TAYLOR'S DEATH.

Eagle Heights Mound Group (DA130) Atop the bluff at Eagle Heights Woods, are three mounds: one hemispherical and two linear in form. You can view the mounds from the trail that circles the group. This trail was originally constructed by George Raymer and incorporated into the carriage drive network established by the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association.

There are four “extant” (still visible) mound groups you can visit on the main campus, all but one of them located within the boundaries of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Recently these mound groups were surveyed and entered in a special burial sites catalog maintained by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The label associated with each location includes a number used in the state Archaeological Site Inventory (ASI) maintained by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The site surveys establish a 25-foot preservation buffer around the mounds.

Picnic Point Mound Group (DA121) The sixth extant mound is a large hemispherical form visible on your right just before you reach The Narrows (where the main trail dips near the beach).

Willow Drive Mounds (DA119) Just east of Willow Creek, near the bridge, are four mounds. The group includes three effigy forms (a goose, water spirit, and an un-named type) and a small conical form. The goose mound is readily visible from the Lakeshore Path.

UNIVERSITY CREEK GROUP INDIAN MOUNDS. EFFIGY FORM LENGTHS 66.100 AND 143 FEET MARKED BY THE UNIVERSITY 1922

Unfortunately, during the last 25 years little has been done to maintain the marsh, in spite of the interest of a large number of people and the development of several management plans. It suffers from runoff from nearby construction sites, parking lots, and fertilized playing fields. In addition, the field on the south side of the marsh is used by the plowing crews to store snow (with its accompanying salt and debris) in winter.

Fortunately, in 1969 an environmental studies class chose the marsh as its class project. After collecting a great deal of data and making allies of the local press, they convinced the university administration to rethink its plans and the land was saved as a wildlife refuge and teaching and research area. It is named for the Class of 1918 because this class agreed to reallocate money that they had donated during their 50 year reunion for a Japanese pond to the new project of enhancing the marsh. The 1970s saw dredging the marsh, building the trail around it, and the addition of a series of interpretive signs, which since have been lost due to vandals. There also were several attempts to establish prairie around the edge.