Wisconsin - Environment

On our first full day in Wisconsin, Erin, the Visitor Services Manager started by giving us a quick overview of the Horicon Wildlife Refuge.

We had an early orientation and detailed tour of the natural wildlife that we'd be working on for the next few days. The Horicon refuge spans for thousands of acres and caters to a plethora of birds and other wildlife animals.

She took us out and showed us several things on the refuge. We got to see a carp trap that they use to get carp out of the marshes here. We also got to see some of the water management places that they use to raise and lower water levels to benefit the habitats.

After lunch, the Reserve's biotech, John, took us along on his rounds for the day. This began with the automatic water management structures- where we spotted several muskrats- one of which was caught in the chain-link fence! Luckily for him, our very own Elizabeth saved the day by poking him free.

John was a great guide! He provided us with great information on how to help scare the environment. We helped John take out the logs and he showed us some geese on the road.

Then we headed back to the visitor's center, after some surveying. We decided to sightsee and eat in Fon du Lac at night. Today, well, lets just say- Buckthorn removal is hard work! The group began Tuesday removing the invasive Buckthorn plant from a section of the marsh. The plant had taken control of a large patch of land and overpowered native species. After lunch, we returned to removing until 4 pm, taking out close to 800 of the plants. The US Fisheries and Wildlife employees really appreciated our help

After a successful day, the group enjoyed a delicious steak dinner, grilled by our very own Goose! We bought some ice cream at the local Piggly Wiggly, settled in for Capote, and are heading to bed early before another day of the Wild Life.