Highland Way Protection and Reforestation Project

for the John C. Bock Urban Forest

Several years ago, the Friends of Pheasant Branch set out to purchase 19.27 acres of land off Highland Way in Middleton, Wisconsin from the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District for $3 million in order to protect in perpetuity this ecologically sensitive parcel of land that is adjacent to the Pheasant Branch Conservancy.

Thanks to major grants from the Wisconsin Stewardship Fund, the Dane County Conservation Fund, and the City of Middleton, as well as several very generous donations from private foundations and individuals, and from hundreds of Dane County residents, some of whom contributed as many as three times, we raised nearly $3 million by December 2005. In order to exercise our option to purchase the parcel, we decided to borrow the remaining $200,000.

On January 31, 2006, the Friends of Pheasant Branch transferred title for the Highland Way Parcel to the City of Middleton on condition that it be permanently protected and designated as part of the city's conservancy lands. This parcel has been named the John C. Bock Urban Forest in recognition of substantial support from the John C. Bock Foundation.

The Conservation Fund, a non-profit organization, loaned us the $200,000 so we could close on the acquisition. Since October 2006, we have reduced the Friends' loan to $140,000, thanks to generous contributions, including $4,000 from the Middleton High School Ecology October dinner.

Your contribution will help us further reduce our loan and move on to the next important phase of planning for site restoration and planting trees. We urge you to remember the value of our project to future generations when you consider your charitable gift-giving. Your donations are tax-deductible and we will provide a receipt.

We continue to seek contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations and government sources. Please help. We gratefully welcome contributions of any size.

To download a contribution form, click here.

Mail your contribution to:

FOPB Highland Way Project, Box 628242, Middleton, WI 53562-8242

Five Other Ways You Can Help

1. Include the Friends of Pheasant Branch/Highland Way Project in your end-of- the-year charitable donations.

2. Inquire about matching funds from your employer.

3. If you contribute to the United Way Campaign, specify your donation for the FOPB/HWP.

4. Invite a group of friends for a fundraising party. We will be happy to give a presentation and provide any other support you might want or need. You set the time and place and make the reservation list. We do the rest.

5. Submit a grant proposal to an organization, business or foundation which supports environmental and educational projects. We will provide information and other support in writing the proposal.

For more information, please contact a member of our fund raising committee:
Brian Butler , 259-2609; Susan Gruber, 836-3848; Jim O'Brien, 836-3617; Vern Howard, 257-2281; Ann Peckham, 831-5624; Janet Kane, 831-1452; Sally Kefer, 238-7854; Bill Hoeksema, 836-0804, or Emit Haney, 827-5419.

Also, we invite you to join us and become a Friend today.

Background Information on the Highland Way Project

View Highland Way Preservation Project Map

BECAUSE OF YOUR HELP Dane County residents and visitors will continue to enjoy this wonderful resource with its lovely view of the Conservancy. The area will eventually be restored and its habitat improved so that it will become even more valuable as a natural resource. Had this parcel been allowed to become fully developed, recreational use of the land and educational opportunities for our children would have been lost forever.

This parcel will also remain an important groundwater recharge area. The City of Middleton relies on well water to supply our homes and businesses. Water table levels are dropping throughout the area. It is vital that we preserve open areas where soils are such that rainwater readily soaks into the ground, rather than running off into storm drains. The use of conservation practices on the John C. Bock parcel will ensure that rainwater is absorbed into the ground, recharging the water table as well as slowly delivering ground water to Lake Mendota. Had this parcel become fully developed, the amount of water lost to runoff could be as high as 2,545,000 gallons annually, according to the EPA's L-THIA model.

Make a Commitment

Although the Friends of Pheasant Branch are an all volunteer organization, we have received many awards and grants during our first ten years. In 2001, the Capital Area Citizens awarded the Friends of Pheasant Branch its prestigious Orchid award for community service. More recently, the Friends were one of only twenty-two organizations in the United States and Canada to receive a grant from the North American Wildlife Conservation grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The $50,000 grant — the maximum amount allowed — will help restore oak savannah and wetland marsh at the north end of the Conservancy. Other grantors, such as the Wisconsin DNR, the Dane County Conservation Fund, Dane County Conservation League and private foundations are confident that they have made wise investments in our organization.

Plans for the Future

• Preserving public access for recreation

• Protecting Lake Mendota and Conservancy from harmful erosion

• Restoring native trees, plants and animal communities

• Creating educational activities

• Possible future site of Pheasant Branch interpretative center



Your support, along with the help of your neighbors, will make the difference.

Text Updated November 2006