MONROE - Nine years in the making, the nearly mile-long Bison Trail in New Glarus Woods State Park opened in September.
Covered mostly with Indian grass, switch grass and Canada wild rye, the 35-acre prairie has been abuzz with new insects, and mammals are more willing to venture down from the woods, said Ranger Steve Johnston, Green County work unit manager.
"The scent of prairie is amazing, almost overwhelming," he said. "And the tactile sensation - almost invariably people will hold out their arms as they go along to feel the grasses."
With the help of volunteers from the Friends of New Glarus Woods and other community organizations, the Bison Trail was designed to be an educational destination.
Seventeen colorful, interpretive signs along the trail offer information about prairies - how they formed, ecological contributions, plants and wildlife.
"I call them water cooler facts; fun, but educational," Johnston said.
Natural resources officer, Ranger Brad Bates, designed the graphics and included historical photos.
Some bromegrass remains where old trees and stumps were removed when the prairie was planted, he said.
"These are areas that still are to be reclaimed by Indian grasses," Bates said.
With as much as 65 percent of its biomass underground, prairie grasses produce about 24,000 pounds of roots per acre.
The new prairie is home to about 160 different species of birds, like the meadowlark, bobolink and grasshopper sparrow.
The grasses, wild flowers and their seeds also provide a varied diet for voles and mice, which in turn attract red-tailed hawks, the American kestrel and northern harrier, as well as owls.
"It's like a giant bird feeder," laughed Dunnell Kendrick-Parker, president of Friends of New Glarus Woods.
Kendrick-Parker said the Bison Trail received its "seed money" from the Monroe Morning Optimists club.
"They were behind us from the beginning," she said.
A stewardship grant, money donated by the New Glarus Community Foundation for a kiosk and a life-sized fiberglass buffalo, a private donation of a porch swing, and hundreds of hours of work by volunteers, contributed to the development of Bison Trail.
The state park receives no money from hunting or fishing licenses, instead it depends on visitors' admission for 75 percent of its funding. Most of the remaining portion comes from federal programs and grants.
"Each year, we lose more and more tax money," Bates said.
"The Bison Trail is the best example of a partnership between the government and the Friends," Johnston said.
Covered mostly with Indian grass, switch grass and Canada wild rye, the 35-acre prairie has been abuzz with new insects, and mammals are more willing to venture down from the woods, said Ranger Steve Johnston, Green County work unit manager.
"The scent of prairie is amazing, almost overwhelming," he said. "And the tactile sensation - almost invariably people will hold out their arms as they go along to feel the grasses."
With the help of volunteers from the Friends of New Glarus Woods and other community organizations, the Bison Trail was designed to be an educational destination.
Seventeen colorful, interpretive signs along the trail offer information about prairies - how they formed, ecological contributions, plants and wildlife.
"I call them water cooler facts; fun, but educational," Johnston said.
Natural resources officer, Ranger Brad Bates, designed the graphics and included historical photos.
Some bromegrass remains where old trees and stumps were removed when the prairie was planted, he said.
"These are areas that still are to be reclaimed by Indian grasses," Bates said.
With as much as 65 percent of its biomass underground, prairie grasses produce about 24,000 pounds of roots per acre.
The new prairie is home to about 160 different species of birds, like the meadowlark, bobolink and grasshopper sparrow.
The grasses, wild flowers and their seeds also provide a varied diet for voles and mice, which in turn attract red-tailed hawks, the American kestrel and northern harrier, as well as owls.
"It's like a giant bird feeder," laughed Dunnell Kendrick-Parker, president of Friends of New Glarus Woods.
Kendrick-Parker said the Bison Trail received its "seed money" from the Monroe Morning Optimists club.
"They were behind us from the beginning," she said.
A stewardship grant, money donated by the New Glarus Community Foundation for a kiosk and a life-sized fiberglass buffalo, a private donation of a porch swing, and hundreds of hours of work by volunteers, contributed to the development of Bison Trail.
The state park receives no money from hunting or fishing licenses, instead it depends on visitors' admission for 75 percent of its funding. Most of the remaining portion comes from federal programs and grants.
"Each year, we lose more and more tax money," Bates said.
"The Bison Trail is the best example of a partnership between the government and the Friends," Johnston said.