Celebrate! Wait a second, not so fast...
The City of Middleton will be paving the trail between Parmenter Street and Century Avenue this October. This is the "creek corridor" trail I frequently cite on my wisbirdn posts, on this birding blog, and where I conduct the majority of my birdwatching at the conservancy. The creek corridor is where thousands of neotropical songbirds concentrate during spring and fall migration. It's where I've led Madison Audubon field trips for nearly a decade. This is the trail section where the overwhelming number of birders come to observe and enjoy an incredibly rich variety of songbirds. Though you can find some of the same bird species along the trial north of Century Avenue (the trail section Middleton's city council voted against paving last night), it consistently yields fewer birds and less diversity during spring and fall migration.
Link: Map of Conservancy Lands
This is a story of how Middleton's politicians painted themselves into a corner. Grant money from the Department of Transportation was applied for and awarded to Middleton for the construction of bridges and a paved trail through the conservancy from Parmenter Street to Century Avenue. The original plan was voted on and passed in 2007 by the three alders present at that particular city council meeting. (One of them is against paving any conservancy trails now). Last week the council voted (6 to 2) in favor of awarding the contract to complete the bridges and pave this section of the trail, effectively sealing the deal. What was interesting at this meeting was how district alders chose to differentiate between the creek corridor and the conservancy "proper."
There's a good "politics as usual" explanation for this distinction. While signs posted at the creek corridor's trail entrances refer to it as a conservancy, halting the paving meant voting down awarding the contract. If Middleton had done that, they would have forfeited a huge grant and effectively wasted time and money the DoT spent on their own resources while researching the creek corridor plan. Not only would this have made Middleton look pretty bad politically, but also would have been a stain against their reputation when applying for any future grant money. This would have sent a message, "Hey, be careful doing business with Middleton! They may back out of a deal 2 years after they approved it!" Even if the district alders and Mayor Sonnentag opposed paving the creek corridor trail; they still had the city's reputation to uphold.
Arguments offered by Middleton's politicians for the paving included safe passage for children, improved access to the creek corridor so handicapped people can enjoy its scenic beauty and wildlife, and making a "pro-green" statement by having a well-groomed commuter trail that could accommodate a variety of bicycles. Nevertheless, I couldn't get any of the district alders or the mayor to tell me why they opposed paving the trail north of Century. Don't they want children to be safe when they bicycle through that part of the conservancy, too? Don't they want to allow a variety of bicycles through that parcel? And don't they want handicapped individuals to enjoy the conservancy proper? Whatever "wildlife and scenic natural beauty" arguments Middleton's politicians are keeping to themselves in opposition of paving the "north trail" north of Century Avenue apparently doesn't apply to the creek corridor trail.
An endangered philosophy...
This takes us to the present, when it seems at long last the public finally learned about paving the trails at Pheasant Branch Conservancy. Well, it turns out they're against it. A tremendous amount of public pressure against paved trails initiated a reaction as well as misleading media stories (surprise) in the Middleton Times Tribute and the Wisconsin State Journal. Middleton's politicians listened, but found themselves caught in a classic catch-22. Going against public opinion might have cost them votes in the next election, but they also couldn't kill the contract and forfeit the grant without looking bad politically. So it was no surprise that a majority of Middleton's district alders (and Mayor Sonnentag) sided with the public and voted down paving the trail north of Century Avenue. As it turns out, in true political form, you can be both for and against paving conservancy trails. While I understand why Middleton's politicians voted how they did, I fail to find honor and logic in the rhetorical arguments that the public were asked to swallow. Whatever arguments were true of the west trail (north of Century Avenue) , were also true of the creek corridor trial (south of Century Avenue), as they are both on conservancy lands.
Er, what's it called?
Two closing points: I personally think the bridges are essential, will benefit birders, but I also recognize that they couldn't be installed without the trail paving because the way the grant was authored and awarded to Middleton. Finally, Middleton's Public Land Manager has offered to work with me in designating alcoves along the creek corridor trail where birders can stand without having to worry about blocking it from bicyclists, joggers, and other trail users. There is also a proposal to allow me to designate the locations of a few new footpaths in areas where the birding is really good during spring and fall migration. I'll do the best I can with the interest of birds and birders in mind. You can't always get everything you want, but I think we should take what we can get now that the trail is going to be paved.
"'There are strategies for conserving forest for migratory birds, but those strategies emphasize the largest patches of forest,' Dunning said. 'We found that even very small woodlots were filled with migratory birds at times. It makes us believe we also need to conserve the little patches of forest, not just the big ones.'"
From: Migratory birds not picky about their rest stops
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
- Plato
"Thoreauvian walkers know where we like to walk the best. We like to walk in Nature. Capital N nature. With trees tinkling shadowy over our heads, and the thunk of a wood-rot pathway guiding our feet, with grasses brushing our thighs, or a stony escarpment sweeping up our side. We shamelessly proclaim our romantic aspirations. We want to feel renewal in the stillness and birdsong and the hidden movement of worms, and the unabashed truth of decay. We want to pay attention, to know the wonders of life in secret places, to watch and be watched, to learn and unlearn."
- L. L. Haupt
© 2009 Mike McDowell
