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As we learn more and more every day, every single piece of wetland we have left is worth protecting – the health of Madison’s chain of lakes depends on our wetlands. So I am happy to share with you that today we permanently protected 84 acres of wetlands along Six-Mile Creek on the northwest side of Waunakee. Six-Mile Creek flows north and west of Waunakee into Lake Mendota. We need wetlands, like the one we purchased today, to keep the water clean and reduce flooding.

The O’Malley family worked patiently with us for four years to protect their land. It has been in the family for three generations. Please check out the short video below to hear their story.  When I first saw the property, I began to get a sense of their attachment to it. I feel lucky that they asked us to help them protect it.

Funding and other support to purchase the property came from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Dane County Conservation Fund, North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Village of Waunakee, the Town of Westport, and supporters of Groundswell including the Estate of Marie Fraser. The Village of Waunakee will be the long-term owner of the property.

I hope you can join us for a celebration with the O’Malley’s later this month.  It will be a nice chance to thank the family for what they did. We will send out an email with details in the next week.