Fighting for the Ice Age Trail and Stewardship

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail is a thousand-mile ribbon of inspiration - and has provided a home for me. It took me in when I was floating through life to nowhere in particular. College hadn’t worked out and I needed an outlet to keep busy. I was living in Eau Claire at the time and found the local volunteer chapter of the Ice Age Trail in Chippewa County. I began to attend meetings and workdays. The skills I learned while volunteering on the Trail enabled me to get a job with the Wisconsin DNR, building and maintaining trails in State Parks across the state.

While working for the DNR, I continued to volunteer extensively on the Ice Age Trail, discovering new and wondrous places every month. In 2010, I was fortunate enough to get the time off from work to hike the whole Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The hike was not easy. Blisters, knee problems, sweltering heat and mosquitoes conspired to stop me. But quit I did not. After 59 days, I reached Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls. Over 1000 miles lay behind me, 1000 miles of wonder, 1000 miles of discovery, 1000 miles of pride, 1000 miles of Wisconsin’s best.

Along the way I blogged about my adventures, entertaining readers with stories and whatever else floated into my head. I snapped 1500 photos, the quality of the shots improving each day. Two months of hiking through the glacial terrain of Wisconsin helped me discover my voice for writing and eye for photography. Both skills have continually been put to use since the hike, personally and professionally.

I now have the great fortune of working for the Ice Age Trail Alliance – I make a living doing what I had done for years as a volunteer. Every day I get to see the joy and inspiration the Trail brings to backpackers, birders, runners, skiers and volunteers. Over 1.2 million folks use the Trail every year – and that number is growing. In 2014, over 2,000 volunteers gave nearly 80,000 hours, mowing, clearing downed trees, keeping signage up to date, building new trail and promoting this great asset.

IATA volunteers working on the Milwaukee River Segment in Washington County on land purchased through the Stewardship Fund.

The Governor’s proposed budget will severely hamstring those efforts. The elimination of funding for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program will put on hold any new land purchases for the Ice Age Trail by the State until 2028. This will effectively block the continued growth of the Trail. The loss of Stewardship funds, along with the elimination of direct funding through capacity grants, also eliminates about $100,000 of direct support to the Ice Age Trail Alliance – the non-profit partner charged with supporting, protecting and building the Trail. This money directly supports those 2000 volunteers.

The Joint Finance Committee is debating the stewardship portion of the proposed budget this week. Now is the time to write the legislators on the committee and let them know continuing funding for stewardship and capacity grants for the IATA is vital to keep this great resource open to anyone who wants to stretch their legs and discover more of what makes Wisconsin special. (Here's the link to the Joint Committee on Finance)

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail is a treasure for the people of Wisconsin and the Nation. Not everyone will lace up their hiking shoes and complete all thousand miles (to date just over 100 people have), but having the resource in their backyard, available and ready for when that itch comes to get out and explore the inner beauty of Wisconsin. Please continue funding for the Stewardship Program and direct support for the Ice Age Trail Alliance – The future of the Ice Age Trail depends on it.