Volunteers Head to Sheboygan County to Improve the Ice Age National Scenic Trail

When: August 13 - 16, 2009
Where: LaBudde Creek State Fisheries Area, Elkhart Lake, Sheboygan County
For more information contact: Sarah Gierke (920-838-2466) or Brad Crary (608-798-4453)
The Ice Age National Scenic Trail in and around Sheboygan County offers hikers and conservationists of all ages and walks of life opportunities to explore thrilling geography. Features considered commonplace are seen by geologists as some of the finest examples in the world of continental glaciation's effects on a landscape. Whether your interests include discovering the natural world, learning about Wisconsin’s glacial heritage or just "getting outside", the Ice Age Trail links the history and diverse human cultures of the land that we call Wisconsin.

Ice Age Trail construction and maintenance is largely done by volunteers. You and your family are invited to help construct and improve sections of the Ice Age Trail. The LaBudde Creek State Fisheries Area will be the work site location. Natural features in this area includes small and large wetlands that intersperse the many forested uplands.

Local volunteers from the Ice Age Trail Alliance's Lakeshore Chapter and the statewide Mobile Skills Crew, a well-trained and experienced group of volunteers, will meet each morning at 8:15 am at LaBudde Creek State Fisheries Area's Garton Road parking area, approximately a half-mile east of State Road 67. Watch for yellow Ice Age Trail Event signs. Trail work ends each day about 4:30 pm except Sunday which ends at noon. Lunch and snacks will be provided on the Trail.

Registered volunteers will receive free camping and food (breakfast, lunch and dinner). All tools will be provided. Training will be provided by experienced volunteer Crew Leaders. Everyone works at their own pace. Help is needed at camp (cooking and more) as well as on the trail. There is work for all abilities. All volunteers are welcome for whatever period of time your schedule allows. Please visit http://www.iceagetrail.org/msccalendar.htm to register.

DIRECTIONS TO THE CAMPING AREA AND WORK SITE: Camping will be at the Greenbush Group Campsite #1. Otherwise, work will begin each day at the LaBudde Creek Garton Road parking area. Watch for yellow Ice Age Trail Event signs.

WHAT TO BRING: Insect repellant, leather work gloves, sturdy hiking or work boots (no sneakers!), daypack, water bottles, sunscreen, long-sleeve shirt and pants, hat, raingear and personal needs. If camping, you are responsible to bring your own tent, sleeping bag, etc. The Ice Age National and State Scenic Trail winds throughout Wisconsin for more than a thousand miles. The eastern terminus is in Potawatomi State Park near Sturgeon Bay. The trail continues through the Kettle Moraine State Forests to Janesville, on to Madison, Devil's Lake State Park and central Wisconsin. At Antigo the trail swings west to Lincoln and Taylor counties, to the Chequamegon National Forest, the Chippewa Moraine and Rusk, Barron, Washburn and Polk counties. The western terminus is at Interstate State Park on the St. Croix River. Tracing significant features of the last continental glaciation, the Ice Age Trail is a non-motorized, foottravel only experience. One of only eleven National Scenic Trails (1980) in the nation, it was designated as Wisconsin’s first State Scenic Trail in 1987. Partnership efforts to create, maintain and support the Trail are led by the Ice Age Trail Alliance, a non-profit citizen-based volunteer organization started in 1958; the State of Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources; the National Park Service; County Forestry departments; local units of village, city and county governments; and private landowners statewide. For more information on this or future projects, or about the Ice Age Trail in general, contact Tim Malzhan, Ice Age Trail Alliance Director of Field Operations, at 608-798-4453 or tim@iceagetrail.org.