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Letter emailed to Margaret K. Thiessa, resident caretaker of James Taylor Property, 1746 Hook Island Rd, Oregon, WI 53575. (608)-835-5180, with request to submit to Dane County Zoning Board Members at meeting, Apr. 9, 1996, Re: DNR request to purchase property on Rutland Dunn Townline Rd for parking&public access to Hook Lake Date: Mon,8 Apr 1996 12:09:44-0500 To: mthiessa @students.wisc.edu From: mwinkler @facstaff.wisc.edu (Marge Winkler) To: Dane County Board and those involved with the purchase and use of the Hook Lake Bog access property. From: Marjorie Winkler, Senior Scientist Center for Climatic Research Inst. for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin-Madison Re: Hook Lake Bog protected area access Hook Lake is a unique wetland in the Dane County landscape. It contains a Sphagnum bog complete with tamarack trees, heath shrubs, pitcher plants, sundews, and sedges which today are more characteristic of northern Wisconsin areas. It contains an upland island vegetated by basswood and red oak trees with an undergrowth of spring ephemerals. It is also a peaceful landscape which is home to several pairs of nesting sandhill cranes. To paraphrase Aldo Leopold, time hangs heavy on such a landscape. Hook Lake is here today because it formed in low-nutrient acidic outwash sands in a hollow left after melting of stagnant ice blocks more than 13,000 years ago which is lined by glacial day. Since that time it has been a relatively low-nutrient lake and wetland until a change to a cooler and wetter climate after about 3000 years ago resulted in a rise in the water table at the site which favored peat accumulation and expansion of Sphagnum. It is separated by the many feet of glacial clay from the alkaline (calcareous) Dane Co. groundwater and is watered by precipitation and surface runoff from the surrounding uplands. Any nutrient addition to the Hook Lake watershed will change the character of the bog and alter the acid-base balance crucial tO maintenance of the Sphagnum bog vegetation association. I am happy that the DNR has purchased property adjacent to Hook Lake and will provide access to this area for research and educational purposes. It should, however, be limited access with restrictions prohibiting fishing (there is no fish in the lake), hunting, and access during the crane nesting period in the spring. Measures to limit erosion at the lakeshore and leaching of excessive nutrients into the lake should be formulated and followed. I worry about fertilizer use in the Hook Lake watershed. Hook Lake Bog is an endangered wetland landscape in Dane County and it should not only be appreciated, but also protected. Sincerely, Marjorie G. Winkler (608)262-0775 Phone (608)262-5964 FAX Work address: Center for Climatic Research, 1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706 Home address: 3415 Blackhawk Dr., Madison, WI 53705