Dane County Executive Falk Announces Conservation Fund Grant Award

October 20, 2006
Topf Wells, Office of the County Executive (608) 266-9069

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced today (10/20/06) the proposed award of an $818,887 Conservation Fund Grant to The Natural Heritage Land Trust to purchase a 105.7-acre parcel in Patrick Marsh, near Sun Prairie. Purchase of the 106-acre parcel will enable conservationists to restore additional wetlands in Patrick Marsh and improve the water quality of Koshkonong Creek. It also provides direct access to this natural area for the students of Patrick Marsh Middle School. “Dane County residents want improved water quality. The grant award for this purchase is another step to restore wetlands and improve streams and rivers in eastern Dane County,” Falk said. “It also presents an incredible educational opportunity because of the land’s closeness to Patrick Marsh Middle School. It’s important that the children in Dane County experience the outdoors and strengthen their connection to nature in their own neighborhood,” Falk said. The Natural Heritage Land Trust is a Dane County-based, volunteer, non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting natural areas in and around Dane county. Dane County Conservation Fund Grants are available to Dane County local governments and conservation organizations to assist them in protecting key Dane County resources such as rivers, streams, lakes, prairies, wetlands and forests. In addition to County dollars, both federal and state dollars will contribute toward the purchase. Falk said that this purchase is an excellent example of how the Conservation Fund Grant Program has been successful at attracting other dollars to protect natural resource areas of federal, state, and local significance. The Dane County Board of Supervisors will consider the resolution for the grant award in November. The resolution must be approved by the County Board and signed by Falk to take effect. For more information on the grant program, contact Sara Kwitek of Dane County’s Land and Water Resources Department at 246-3896 or, via email, at kwitek@co.dane.wi.us. # # #