Interpretive Master Plan for Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway

VOLUME 1 Executive Summary

Submitted to the: By: Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Interpretive Solutions, Inc. P.O. Box 204 732 Westbourne Road Kimberly, WI 54136 West Chester, PA 19382

In association with: Cornerstone Preservation, LLC Cross Plains, WI 53528

Ken Saiki Design Madison, WI 53703

HYDesign DECEMBER 2012 Wycko , NJ 07481

Interpretive Master Plan (IMP) Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Volume 1: Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Preface

1.1 Introduction: The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway………………………. 3 1.1.1 Purpose, mission, vision 1.1.2 What’s an Interpretive Master Plan? 1.1.3 What’s the purpose of interpretation? 1.1.4 What are the goals for the plan? 1.1.5 Who’s the plan for? 1.1.6 What will people do in the Parkway?

1.2 What’s so special about this place? ………………………………………….. 11

1.3 Our Themes and Stories……………………………………………………… 14

1.4 What’s in the plan? ………………………………………………………….. 21 1.4.1 What’s in it for everybody? 1.4.2 What’s in it for the Lower Fox River? 1.4.3 What’s in it for the Upper Fox River and the Pool Lakes? 1.4.4 What’s in it for the Lower Wisconsin River?

1.5 How will we know it’s working? …………………………………………… 36

1.6 Implementation Plan, Years 1-10 …………………………………………. 36 1.6.1 Personnel 1.6.2 Priorities 1.6.3 Action Steps Year-By-Year

List of figures

Figure 1: Map of Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Figure 2: Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Primary Interpretive Themes

1910 Statue of Father Marquette, facing the Mississippi in Prairie du Chien

2 Preface

In August, 2011, the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway embarked on a journey of discovery – to investigate and understand its stories, and to find effective ways to convey them. Like the journey that inspired the birth of the Parkway – that of Father Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673 – the full consequences of the journey may not be recognized for years.

This Interpretive Master Plan articulates the significance of the Parkway. It identifies its essential stories, along with the needs and wishes of the audiences who will respond to them. Its recommendations cover interpretive services and programs; media; vital partnerships; and special projects for all three river segments. Some of the recommendations will be implemented within the next few years, while others involve long-range planning and a strategic approach to the future.

With this initial planning phase complete, the Parkway can look forward to many opportunities to share the meaning and significance of the themes and stories that make this unique landscape and its people so distinctive, and so compelling.

1.1 Introduction: The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway (Parkway) is an idea, a vision, a present-day concept, and a plan for the future. It has been in the works at least since 1989, when a group of citizens and organizations, including the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, Friends of the Fox, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, began to imagine a corridor running the length of two rivers—the Upper and Lower Fox River (and the Winnebago Pool Lakes that join them), and the Lower Wisconsin River—that would showcase the rich natural and cultural heritage embodied by this historic waterway, and highlight and promote it as an outstanding destination for tourism and recreation on land and water.

Stretching more than 280 miles from the Bay of Green Bay in the north, to the Mississippi River in the south, the Parkway follows the historic route of the1673 journey of Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet as they became the first white men to encounter that great river from the north. In so doing, they forged a link between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, and opened the interior of the North American continent to the possibility of settlement and trade.

The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway is a community-based, volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to creating opportunities for promotion, interpretation, and celebration of an important Wisconsin resource. It seeks to be a synergist and a catalyst that will strengthen opportunities for residents and visitors to appreciate and enjoy these rivers and all they have to offer.

The three river segments that make up the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway include the Lower Fox River, the Upper Fox River and Winnebago Pool Lakes, and the Lower Wisconsin River. The three river segments are quite different in character, culture,

3 history, and landscape. The Lower Fox is heavily industrialized, the Upper Fox meanders through once-bustling towns, at times becoming a marshy expanse that has confused the most intrepid way finders, and the Lower Wisconsin is a shallow, mostly unencumbered scenic river, whose drifting, constantly changing sandbars ultimately prevented its status as a prime transportation route in the Midwest. Connecting the two is “The Portage,” a human gateway more than 10,000 years old, where a walk of just 2,700 paces (per Fr. Marquette) bridges two watersheds and connects the Great Lakes Basin to the Gulf of Mexico. The historic, only partially restored Portage Canal now links the two, crossing the St. Lawrence River Continental Divide.

The Portage Canal

Heritage assets in the Parkway include 71 National Register of Historic Places sites, 25 National Register of Historic Places Districts, and ten National Historic Landmarks. The sites range from Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Taliesin; to Aldo Leopold’s humble but iconic “Shack;” to Hearthstone, the nation’s first house lit by hydroelectricity; to Historic Indian Agency House, made famous by Juliette Kinzie’s account of life there on the Wisconsin frontier; to John Muir’s Fountain Lake Farm. There is something for every heritage tourist, from Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien to the Neville Museum in Green Bay.

The Parkway is equally rich in natural areas. There is one National Wildlife Refuge, and more than 40 state natural areas of various kinds, including the White River Marsh Wildlife Area, where the International Crane Foundation has created a new summer home for whooping cranes. Recreational opportunities abound, with fishing, hiking, biking, paddling, and birding high priorities for lovers of the outdoors.

Please see Figure 1: Map of Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway.

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The statement of purpose describes why the Fox-Wisconsin waterway was organized as a heritage parkway, and what specific purposes exist for it.

The purpose of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway is to connect and promote the natural, recreational, and historic resources within the Fox and Lower Wisconsin region and to create opportunities for interpretation, education, recreation, and tourism. A mission statement describes what an organization does.

The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway celebrates its rivers and their history.

How does it fulfill its mission?

The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway fulfills its mission by collaborating, promoting, leveraging resources, and seeking ways to increase the public’s access to and love of its rivers.

A vision statement describes the outcome of a mission fulfilled: Why does the organization do what it does? What does it hope to accomplish?

We envision vibrant riverfront communities, connected to each other and the rivers through the rich natural and cultural heritage they share, invested in stewardship, and sustained for future generations.

How does the Parkway achieve its vision?

We create our vision by leveraging phenomenal volunteerism, dedicated leadership, and grassroots energy to create a model river heritage region characterized by authenticity and professionalism, service to partners, and vibrant, engaged communities.

As it celebrates the rivers, the Parkway will also play an educational role, increase tourism, bring physical and mental health benefits to its people through encouraging activity on and near the water, and promote economic development.

1.1.2 What’s an Interpretive Master Plan? An effective interpretive plan: • Guides decisions regarding the delivery of interpretive services • Is collaboratively created: many people contributed their thoughts and ideas to the plan. • Is dynamic: it does not sit on a shelf gathering dust. It is practical, flexible, and implementable. • Makes sure stories get told from many different viewpoints. • Serves as a tool for managing organizational change.

Interpretation is the art of seeking to understand and share with others the meaning and relevance of the world around us. It attempts to help people connect intellectually, emotionally and spiritually with the ideas, principles, beliefs and values embodied in that world.

1.1.3 What’s the purpose of interpretation? Interpretation is the art of seeking to understand and share with others the meaning and relevance of the world around us. It attempts to help people connect intellectually, emotionally and spiritually with the ideas, principles, beliefs and values embodied in that world. It tells us why things matter.

“I would assert the virtues of narrative as our best and most compelling tool for searching out meaning in a conflicted and contradictory world … When a narrator honestly makes an audience care about what happens in a story, the story expresses the ties between past and present in a way that lends deeper meaning to both … At its best … historical storytelling helps keep us morally engaged with the world by showing us how to care about it and its origins in ways we had not done before.” William Cronon, 19921

At its heart, interpretation is about the stories a place has to offer. We know that the history of any local place can be interpreted to reflect the story of the nation as a whole, and that we can gain an understanding of broad patterns of United States history and culture when we place our own stories within a wider context. Our stories help us find and appreciate our place in the continuum of American history, and speak to the roots that have made us what we are today. They help us understand who we have been, and who we may become. Our youth, in particular, need to hear these stories, as they will guide and manage our future.

1 William Cronon, "A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative," Journal of American History 78:4, March, 1992

7 In William Cronon’s words, stories show us how to care about our world. What could be a more appropriate goal for interpretation: to encourage people to care, to feel, to engage?

However, interpretive carries another purpose, as well. By invoking meaning, relevance, and why things matter, it attempts to create a bond between the resource being interpreted, and the persons who connect with it. With that bond comes caring for the resource, and caring about it will lead to a spirit of stewardship. So the ultimate role of interpretation is to encourage the preservation of heritage assets by people who care about them.

1.1.4 What are the goals for the plan? Specific interpretive goals were created during planning. They are:

• Overall goal: To establish the Parkway as a synergist among existing and potential partners – an entity capable of bringing elements of the Parkway together to accomplish results that would not be attainable individually.

Additional, specific goals: • Help create pride of place and appreciation of natural and cultural heritage assets in Parkway residents, visitors, and the business community, including the hospitality industry. • Create opportunities and benefits for the Parkway. • Create a tangible and visible entity that connects Parkway stories into a comprehensive and cohesive interpretive experience and reinforces a strong Parkway brand. • Enhance interpretation of under-interpreted Parkway assets and fill in thematic gaps. • Reinforce the recreational potential of the Parkway, and provide more opportunities for land access to the waterway.

The purpose of the interpretive plan goes beyond defining the region’s stories and identifying ways of telling them. By invoking meaning and relevance, the plan attempts to create a bond between the resource being interpreted, and the persons who connect with it. With that bond comes caring for the resource, and caring about it will lead to a spirit of stewardship. So the ultimate role of interpretation is to encourage the preservation of heritage assets by people who care about them.

8 1.1.5 Who’s the plan for? The Parkway will serve a vast array of audiences. They fall into five broad categories:

1) Land-based recreation (hikers, bikers, hunters, cross-country skiers) 2) Water-based recreation, including fishermen. Subsets: paddlers, power boaters and sailors. 3) Nature-based (birders, ecotourists, geocachers, etc.) 4) Heritage, arts and culture (museums, theatre, historical sites, etc.) 5) Culinary/agritourism (farmers markets, local foods, farm tours, etc.)

Wollersheim Winery, Prairie du Sac

9 People with special needs are an important Parkway audience. With attention to this special target audience, and building on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s already excellent services to this audience, the Parkway could become a renowned place for folks of all abilities to engage in a wide variety of recreational activities, including paddling, fishing, and hunting.

Example of an ADA-friendly kayak landing

1.1.6 What will people do in the Parkway? We hope their experiences will include: • Get out on the water Canoe or kayak the rivers (experienced paddlers) Learn how to canoe or kayak the rivers (less experienced) Boat to heritage sites on the river Sail between the lakes Take a boat/water taxi tour to heritage sites • Travel along the rivers Ride horseback (own horse or rented) Bike along the rivers Hike along the rivers Drive along the rivers • Enjoy winter sports Cross-country ski Ice-skate Snowshoe Ride a snowmobile • Add to their life bird list • Hunt along the rivers • Fish the rivers • Become immersed in art, theatre, dance, music, and architecture • Have fun with family members of all ages • Learn about the history/heritage of the rivers • Experience the tastes of the Parkway (chocolate, cheese, supper clubs, fish fries, farmers’ markets, wineries, breweries, cheese factories, agriculture, etc.) • Do all these things from a wheelchair

All of these experiences are achievable within Parkway boundaries with careful planning and attention to a broad range of constituencies.

10 1.2 What’s so special about this place? The special nature of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway rests on its 12,000 year history of the use and interaction of people and the river. From the earliest times that humans walked on the North American continent, the waterway has been a cultural corridor, conveying people, goods, and ideas from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. It became a strategic water route in the European struggle to gain a foothold in the New World. The importance of this connection has been known to people for millennia and has shaped the way that people interact with and think about the river.

The Parkway has a fantastic opportunity to tell stories that are both culturally diverse and deeply rooted in time and place, with the tangible evidence that supports these stories still present and visible in the surrounding landscape. The Parkway allows the visitor to see the history of the country as a cultural continuum stretching from its earliest people to the present, with each era rooted in the social, cultural, economic, and political values of its time.

In many ways, the Parkway’s stories are little different from those of other American rivers. It shares with other regions stories of native peoples, fur trade, exploration, transportation, hunting and fishing, early settlement, the development of industry, water and electrical power, the growth of the recreation industry, the reclamation of the waterfront, and our changing views of water as a resource. These stories define our place within the pageant of American history, enhance citizens’ ownership of their heritage, and strengthen pride of place. However, the Parkway does hold significant stories that distinguish it from other regions and connect us powerfully to the past. These include:

• An exceptional and world-renowned array of geological features that resulted from the Wisconsin glaciation of 10-30,000 years ago. • The largest concentration of indigenous effigy mounds in the world. • The corridor connecting the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, an ancient human footpath more than 10,000 years old. • When Father Marquette and Louis Joliet traveled that corridor, they effectively opened the west to the possibility of settlement. • Possibly the last remaining structure of its kind in the country, the nationally significant National Register of Historic Places-listed Indian Agency House in Portage, a symbol of a time when U.S./Indian relations balanced on the cusp of change. • The Portage Canal, remnants of a grand dream to link the Great Lakes Basin to the Mississippi River, the first crossing of the St. Lawrence Continental Divide north of Chicago. • The Lower Wisconsin River, which in many places retains the scenic beauty and rich diversity of flora and fauna that the first European explorers and generations of native peoples experienced centuries ago. • The first commercial use of hydro power to generate electricity.

The Wisconsin River near the Leopold Shack

• Four intellectual giants from the area (Frederick Jackson Turner, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Frank Lloyd Wright) that have had a national – and perhaps global – impact on how we think about the land and environmental issues, including the need for conservation practices that carefully balance the needs of society and nature. The focus on conservation issues provides the opportunity to join the national conversation on the importance of industry and the health of the environment – and on the balancing act that is necessary to sustain both. • A unique system of locks on the Fox River, designed specifically for steamboat traffic, and one of only two hand-operated navigable lock systems remaining in the U.S.

Appleton Lock #1

12 • The largest concentration of paper mills in the world. • The dedication to nationally renowned conservation practices by the Parkway’s tribal partners rounds out the conservation story of national significance. • The biggest ongoing PCB cleanup in the world

The Parkway offers economic significance, too. The region’s abundant historic, cultural, and recreational resources can be leveraged to encourage the tourism and new business growth that is imperative to survival. And finally, the Parkway’s increasingly important recreational resources, with their economic development impact as well as their positive impact on the mental and physical health of both citizens and visitors, along with the opportunity for educating new generations of historians, scientists and engineers, create an economically significant aspect of the Heritage Parkway.

Aldo Leopold Shack near Baraboo

1.3 Our Themes and Stories

The Parkway’s main story is this: three geologically varied stretches of river together create a distinctive and unique waterway whose history represents and reinforces larger trends in American history. The collection of stories that make up this main story are consolidated as three primary interpretive themes. Each theme accommodates an almost infinite number of topics or subthemes. The primary interpretive themes are:

• People of the River (Then and Now). The stories of the people of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers – their cultures, their communities, their conflicts and encounters – connect us to each other, to the landscape, and to this place we call home.

• The River as a Resource (Then and Now). For thousands of years, people have used the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers for sustenance and survival, harvesting riches, harnessing power, transporting goods, and navigating the waters. We are ever dependent on our rivers.

• River Legacy. Changing perceptions of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers shape decisions – past, present, and future – made by people, industries, and organizations regarding the role of the rivers in our lives. We continue to engage in – and encourage dialogue regarding – the ongoing struggle for balance between present use, and preservation for future generations.

Please see Figure 2, Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Primary Interpretive Themes, for a diagram that shows some of the subthemes and stories we can tell. They include:

People of the River:

Native Peoples • The Menominee, whose traditions indicate that they have occupied the area “from the beginning of time” • The Ho Chunk people, who once ruled over land extending from Upper Michigan to southern Wisconsin • The Potawatomi, who migrated to the shores of Lake Michigan more than 500 years ago. • The Oneida, who settled along the Fox River beginning in 1824 • The Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohicans and the Brothertown community (a group of Pequot, Niantic, Montauk, and other coastal peoples who had once been given refuge by the Oneida in New York) all came to Wisconsin during the 1820s. • Each of these nations maintains traditions that reinforce their connection to the river, the giver of life.

The Explorers The journey by Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet along the Fox-Wisconsin Parkway to the Mississippi was widely heralded in France and formed the basis for the exploration and exploitation of the Mississippi Valley by other French explorers of the seventeenth century.

The Era of Conflict After the War of 1812, the U.S. government elected to erect a series of forts intended to protect trade routes used by American fur traders. In Wisconsin, these were Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien (1816), Fort Howard at Green Bay (1816), and Fort Winnebago at the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers (1828). Remnants of Fort Crawford Museum, these three frontier forts, the route of the old Prairie du Chien Military Road, and Portage’s National Register Historic Indian Agency House help to illustrate the struggle of a new nation to claim and control its destiny – a destiny closely linked to its rivers.

DAR marker for Military Road, c. 1934

Immigration Wisconsin’s nineteenth-century immigrants came mainly from Norway, Germany, Ireland, Poland, England, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland, and Belgium. The immigrants’ river histories are reflected in the lives of Irish canal diggers in Portage, Norwegian fishermen turned farmers, German brewers, farmers and leatherworkers, Finnish dockworkers, Danish factory workers, and Dutch and Belgian farmers, among others.

Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner, born in Portage in 1861, led late 19th-century scholars to examine the role of geography and the frontier experience in shaping American democracy and character. His formative years in Portage brought him firsthand experience of the frontier as he hunted, fished, and canoed with his Indian neighbors, “feeling that I belonged to it all.” His seminal work, The Frontier in American History, once widely debated, has lost influence today, but it is still honored for the impact it had upon an entire generation of scholars.

The Portage that connects the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers – just 2,700 paces, according to Father Marquette himself – is an ancient transportation corridor more than 10,000 years old, one of the oldest anywhere in North America.

The River as a Resource

Land and the Rivers Wisconsin’s landscape is world famous for the glaciers that have shaped its rivers and, consequently, human interactions with them. The 2-mile portage at Portage, Wisconsin, that spans the divide links the Gulf of St. Lawrence – and the Atlantic Ocean – to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Fur Trade During the fur trading era and until the railroad era in the 1860s, the most-used transportation route between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River was that of the Fox River and the easy portage to the Wisconsin River at Portage. It provided an important trade connection south and north via the Mississippi River that was used for centuries by Native Americans and was adopted by the French recognized that the cold climate of the Lake Superior basin produced the richest fur-bearing animals in French North America.

Fur Trade Museum, Villa Louis, Prairie du Chien

16 The Fox River Lock System The navigational system is unique in the United States in that it was the only one built for the passage of steamboats. The Wisconsin system is one of only two remaining hand- operated navigational systems in the country, a unique technological artifact from a bygone era.

Hard-Working Rivers The river-driven industries of the Parkway contributed to the nation’s status as an international economic powerhouse. From the development of the richest fur-bearing region in French North America, to logging and sawmill operations that supplied materials for most of the developing nation’s housing, to quarrying of stone that was shipped throughout the country, to early hydroelectric plants, to flour milling, to the largest concentration of paper mills in the world -- Wisconsin supplied the raw materials, and the rivers did the rest.

Thilmany Paper Company, Kaukauna

River Legacy

Few subjects in the world are more important than the interaction of humankind with nature. The waterway offers the opportunity for dialogue on this universal theme – and on the legacy we will leave to future generations.

Conservation Leaders The waterway is a cradle of leadership in conservation. Iconic leaders who have lived in and been inspired by the Wisconsin landscape include John Muir, Aldo Leopold and his

17 many students, Frank Lloyd Wright, August Derleth, Increase Lapham, George Archibald of the International Crane Foundation, and many others. In addition, many of Wisconsin’s Indian tribes have a long legacy of conservation of natural resources.

John Muir John Muir is considered the father of the national park system because his nature writings and advocacy convinced U.S. presidents to protect Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, and Mount Rainer as national parks. Growing up in Wisconsin, his love of nature and observation of its wonders planted the seeds that led him to become perhaps this country's most famous and influential naturalist and advocate for the preservation of wilderness.

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold’s extraordinary concerns for the natural resource legacy of future generations led him to a coherent and reflective concept of sustainable development: the greatest good for the greatest number over the longest period of time. His Sand County Almanac, written to record his observations of nature at his revered Wisconsin River “Shack,” is an international classic of environmental writing.

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright, born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, in 1867, was named by the American Institute of Architects “the greatest American architect of all time.” Wright first grew to love the natural environment growing up near the Wisconsin River, where he spent summers on his uncle’s farm. His lifelong association with the Wisconsin River in Helena Valley, just outside of Spring Green, shaped an artistic response that challenged late 19th-century convention and inspired generations of European and American architects.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin

18 Native Leaders The Parkway’s native people have revered and protected the rivers and its related resources long before the men addressed above transformed America’s approach to thinking about and managing nature. For example, Wisconsin’s Menominee people have been leaders in the development of sustainable forestry practices. The Potawatomi Nation’s strong cultural ties to the environment have made the group a leading advocate for environmental protection and sustainability in Wisconsin. A coalition of community groups that includes the Ho-Chunk Nation has advocated for the restoration of the natural state of the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant on the Lower Wisconsin River.

Wisconsin’s Conservation Legacy Wisconsin has been home to many innovative, environmentally focused leaders who have influenced the national dialogue. The theory of our relationship to the land and its resources cultivated by these leaders has created an intellectual heritage for Wisconsin that is second to none.

The PCB Cleanup The Lower Fox River area thrived as an economic powerhouse for the nation throughout the first half of the twentieth century, becoming a world leader in harnessing the power of water for industry and growth. Eventually, it became clear that sediments in the river had become contaminated with the hazardous substance and probable human carcinogen polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), used in manufacturing carbonless copy paper between 1957 and 1971. Wisconsin citizens banded together with industry and government to undertake the monumental task of decontaminating the river, providing a world class model for best practices for the nation and the world.

Continuing the dialogue. The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway occupies a unique position from which to look at the causes, consequences, and balanced mediation of pollution. By promoting and sharing perspectives on the environment, it offers the potential to positively impact the future of the rivers.

For more details about these stories, please see the Interpretive Master Plan, Volume 2, Foundation for Planning and Recommendations.

19 Three geologically varied stretches of river Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway together create a distinctive and unique waterway Many Others Interpretive Master Plan whose history represents and reinforces Bridges Figure 1.2: Themes & Stories larger trends in American history. Ferries Ice Harvest Final Draft December 2012 Wisconsin progressives Steamboats Pearl buttons\ (ex: Gaylord Themes Clamming Nelson)

... and others Railroads Increase Manufacturing Lapham Subthemes

Etc. Canals & August Edna Ferber Locks Boat Building Derleth Stories Hmong, HIspanics, Zona Gale The "Portage" Ho Chunk recent arrivals Logging & Nation Papermaking Eastern Frederick Transportation/ Menominee Europeans Others Jackson Navigation Nation Turner Mining (esp. lead) & Norwegian Potowatomi fishermen Missionaries Fur Trade Quarrying Distinguished Nation Individuals The River German Frank Lloyd brewers Marquette & as a Resource: Industry Wright Joliet Fishing & Irish canal Hunting Then & diggers Immigration Aldo Leopold Explorers Now Commerce, PCB Cleanup/ Trade & Restoration Shipping John Muir The Changing views/ Yankees People Agriculture Recreation perspectives Hydro- of the Conservation River: electric Frontier Lock Leaders Pollution Cranberries Power era/Era of Then restoration conflict & Now Environment, Dairy & Wild rice Rye wheat Art & cheese Respect Industry & Intertribal Inspiration conflict for the Conservation Native River: The French & Challenge: People Then & Conservation Success: the Indians Whooping Invasive Health Recreation Spiritual Today Now Cranes Species Wisconsin benefits Renewal The War of Indians Today 1812 Advocacy Success: Eagles Americans/ Impact: Environment, Indian Passenger WIldlife, Pigeon Success: Wars/Treaties Nature Stewardship Peregrine Forts & Falcons Military Road River ecology Sustainability Success: Pelicans Watershed as Ecosystem Success: Sandhill Cranes

Success: Sturgeon

NOTE: Subthemes & stories are not intended to be all-inclusive; stories in 20particular are probably infinite in number. 1.4 What’s in the Plan?

The plan includes a wide variety of interpretive programs, services, and media that tell a broad range of stories about our past and present. It includes recommendations for every theme and every river segment, incorporating a multitude of different voices. All of the recommendations are important to telling our stories, but some will be put in place before others over the ten-year time span covered by the plan.

The following section summarizes the plan’s recommendations for each segment of the Parkway. For more details about each program and service, please see the Interpretive Master Plan, Volume 2, Foundation for Planning and Recommendations.

1.4.1 What in the plan for everybody? One of the plan’s biggest challenges is the great length of the Parkway, and the widely varying nature of each of the rivers. Recommendations to address this challenge encourage visitors to think of the Parkway as a single sweeping path of history, nature, and opportunities for recreation. They include web-based itinerary-building functions and a smart phone application, as well as gateway kiosks in strategic locations to let visitors know what opportunities await them in each section of the Parkway.

Other strategies include partnering, networking, and leveraging assets to enhance interpretation throughout the Parkway. Anchor institutions will be key partners, with an interpretive unit centered on the Parkway installed in each of their lobbies. In many cases, the Parkway will play the role of an overarching “umbrella,” providing information, education, and leadership along with critical partners. It will push innovation and “big ideas,” connections and leverage, and work hard to engage people with their heritage.

Every river segment will have: • One or more gateway kiosks. These are simple, easy-to-access outdoor units where visitors can quickly learn about the Parkway, and see a map of the entire corridor that calls out historical and recreational highlights. The kiosks are intended to educate visitors about the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, and place it geographically “on the map.” Each kiosk will also highlight information about nearby heritage sites, and include an “agenda” of things to see and do in the immediate vicinity. They will include QR codes with links to more information that allow for commercial sponsorship by a restaurant, hotel, or other benefactor, if desired. The first three gateway kiosks are recommended for the De Pere Lock, Portage Welcome Center, and Wyalusing State Park.

• One or more anchor institutions. Anchors are distinguished, up-and-running institutions that will partner with the Parkway to provide more in-depth interpretation. These institutions have exhibits in place, they are open year- around, they reinforce Parkway themes, and best of all, they have restrooms. When visitors see the Parkway anchor display in the partner institutions’ lobbies,

21 they will get an idea of the scope of the Parkway and the many stories it has to tell. A pilot program to test the anchor concept is underway, centered on the Neville Museum in Green Bay, an institution that beautifully introduces nearly all the Parkway themes. The Parkway hopes to be able to establish two anchors in the first year, with one more to follow each year for four years, for a total of six anchor institutions. • Listing of its highlights and heritage and recreational assets as part of a trip- building web tool on the Parkway’s website. Each trip will be customized to visitor specifications, like the nature, ages, and desires of members of the party, the river segments to be visited, and the length of time available for a visit. It will offer a form of agenda-setting, which tells visitors about potential Parkway experiences, helps them map and schedule their visit, and allows for printing the trip itinerary from a home computer. The trip-building function will be available at anchor institutions as well, where online access will allow visitors to create a trip itinerary and email it to their smart phones. Visitors will be able to plan where they can go birding, enjoy culinary treats, hike, walk or bike the trails, tour by car, engage in winter sports, find fun things to do with kids, go hunting and fishing, paddle or boat the rivers, and find outfitters to help them enjoy the outdoors. • Features listed in a series of topic-specific heritage-based itineraries. In order to encourage visitors to explore the Parkway’s best stories in greater detail, recommended itineraries will offer suggestions for exploring transportation and navigation, geology, the natural environment, the fur trade era, hydroelectricity, industry and commerce, Native Americans, the era of conflict on the frontier, and immigration. Visitors will access the itineraries via the Parkway website or smart phone application, selecting from half-day, one-day, weekend, three-day, or week-long options. Each river segment will offer something that addresses each story, so that it will not be necessary to traverse the entire length of the Parkway to access the story. In addition, some itineraries will be accessible to visitors traveling both overland and on the waterway. • Listing of highlights and assets on a smart phone application. Visitors will be able to download a smart phone application from the Parkway website, or by scanning QR (Quick Response) codes that they will encounter at gateway kiosks, at anchor institutions, and on printed material. The application will inform them about heritage attractions and recreational opportunities, and providing mapping and wayfinding information, along with information on where to stay and to dine. • Video productions. Many community members recommended creating high quality video productions to promote the Parkway’s communities and their stories, heritage assets, and interesting people. The Parkway is actively engaged in seeking a production company with which to partner. • Social media. A visible presence on the major social media platforms is essential for public entities. The Parkway will develop a social media strategy to include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and photo sharing sites that will help to promote all its communities. • The Water Trail. One of the Parkway’s foremost goals is to get people back on its rivers. Development of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Water Trail is

22 ongoing. The trail involves the development of physical assets like portages, launches, signage and maps, as well as web-based interactive mapping capability that will allow detailed trip planning to include put-in, take-out, break points, camping spots, and repair facilities the length of all the river segments. The trail will allow non-motorized through-transportation from Green Bay to the Prairie du Chien area and will increase the number of people on the water and encourage them to visit heritage sites that are accessible from the rivers. It will encourage paddlers to utilize the Upper Fox and the more urbanized Lower Fox, as well as the beautiful Lower Wisconsin. • Heritage Paddles. The Parkway has sponsored six heritage paddles per year for the last several years. Typically three of the paddles are on the Lower Fox, where there is a large population of avid paddlers, with two on the Upper Fox, and one on the Lower Wisconsin. Each heritage paddle features some historical element. • ADA-friendly kayak landings. Access to the water for people of all abilities is a goal of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway. A funding request is being explored to facilitate installation of ADA-friendly kayak landings in a number of Parkway municipalities. • The Hiking/Biking Trail. The Parkway’s long-term goals include a hiking/biking trail that allows visitors to travel the entire length of the Parkway, from Green Bay to the Mississippi River, accessing heritage sites along the way. Much of the trail will travel existing roads. • Outdoors 101. Two strong potential Parkway partners share the goal of teaching families how to enjoy the outdoors: Wisconsin DNR, and the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The Parkway will explore with these two partners the possibility of creating a partnered outdoor education program devoted to showing families how to have fun in the outdoors. Lessons could include camping, hiking, fishing, winter sports, paddling, or any number of activities. These opportunities abound in all three river segments, but are particular abundant on the Lower Wisconsin. • Military Road signage. The Military Road links many Parkway elements. The Old Military Road, surveyed and constructed between 1832 and 1837, connected Wisconsin's three frontier forts, Fort Howard at Green Bay, Fort Winnebago at the Fox-Wisconsin portage, and Fort Crawford at Prairie Du Chien. Today the route of the historic road remains a largely unrecognized presence within the Parkway from one end to the other, and ties together an important theme of conflict and westward expansion. Interpretive signage installed along the historic route of the road would recreate – in part – the journey by many in the 19th century who traveled the length of what we now call the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, linking the river segments, and the east shore of Lake Winnebago. • Oral history research. Building on an ongoing oral history project centered on lock tenders and their families, the Parkway will explore with the Wisconsin Humanities Council and others the possibility of establishing an ongoing, carefully planned program of oral history research. Meaningful oral history projects can help to capture the everyday experiences and traditions of ordinary people by documenting the life of neighborhoods and families and the ties that bind them. They can build critical folk knowledge, sustain elements of living cultural heritage, nurture local grassroots initiatives, and help build community.

23 • River Summit. The Parkway will host an annual conference for the purpose of facilitating dialogue, collaboration and support regarding river issues. On alternate years, the conference might focus on Wisconsin’s conservation leaders and their legacy. In addition to Parkway partners, a wide range of constituents will be invited: representatives of industry, agriculture, municipalities, tourism, etc. The location of the River Summit will rotate among Parkway river segments. • The Great River Voyage Reenactment. In spring of 1972, a group of seven men from Chicago set off to re-enact the 300-year anniversary of the voyage of Father Marquette and Louis Joliet. Beginning from St. Ignace, Michigan, they paddled two custom-built canoes across Lake Michigan, up the Fox River, and down the Wisconsin to the Mississippi. At each night’s encampment, dressed in period costume, the travelers demonstrated voyageur skills, sang French voyageur songs, and taught the journey’s history to anyone who gathered. The Parkway will explore the possibility of periodically renewing this event with a multi-day voyage from Green Bay to the Mississippi. • Tribal partnerships. The Parkway is committed to interpreting the Fox- Wisconsin story from multiple viewpoints. Five of Wisconsin’s eleven federally recognized Indian tribes have a strong, ongoing cultural connection and deeply rooted traditions to events and places in the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway: the Menominee, Ho Chunk, Potawatomi, Oneida, and Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nations. Each of these nations has its own unique history and cultural heritage. The Parkway hopes to encourage and facilitate the telling of each nation’s story for the benefit of its residents and visitors. These shared stories will greatly enhance the Parkway’s message. • National History Day in Wisconsin. Each year, the National History Day organization chooses a broad theme as the basis for student research projects. The Parkway will sponsor a History Day prize for projects focused on the Fox or Wisconsin Rivers. The competition is open to students from all across the state.

• Partnered signage. There are many different sign systems in place throughout the region of the Parkway. Some of the signs within these systems are under-utilized, because the information they convey is outdated, poorly maintained, or simply missing. The Parkway will consider partnering with the sign owners to collaboratively develop

interpretive content, which could be produced as new graphic panels to be installed on existing signage infrastructure. The Parkway would help fund and develop the content for the signs, and the “owner” of the sign structure would be responsible for maintenance and upkeep. • Support for other regional initiatives. A number of regional, landscape-scale initiatives share Parkway values and mission. The Parkway supports: o The Ice Age National Scenic Trail

24 o The Lake Michigan Water Trail, an America’s Great Outdoors project o The Niagara Escarpment Resource Network o Wisconsin Geographic Alliance • Virtual field trips. Nothing substitutes for an in-person, actual experience of a heritage or natural resource. But if classroom constraints prevent teachers from scheduling field trips, virtual field trips may be the next best thing. The Parkway will seek a university partner to investigate the possibility of creating virtual field trips centered on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programming. The waterway offers many opportunities to explore these subjects, from the operation of the lock system, to the PCB cleanup. • Steamboat Classroom/floating visitor center. An idea that generated a great deal of enthusiasm during the public input phase of planning centered on a floating visitor center that could ply the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, visiting cities and towns along the way with interpretive messages. This is a long-term goal for the Parkway; many higher priorities take precedent at this time.

1.4.2 What’s in the plan for the Lower Fox River? The Lower Fox has many stories to share, from the days when French fur traders and their Native neighbors created a world-class economy, to the industries that line the river today.

The Lower Fox River will have the opportunity for: • An anchor exhibit located in the Neville Museum in Green Bay. • A gateway kiosk near De Pere Lock. Later phase gateway kiosks are recommended for CityDeck in Green Bay, Kaukauna Hydropark, Fox Cities Mall, and Brown County Park near Wrightstown. • A water taxi. Many details remain to be worked out, but the plan is for the water taxi to launch at CityDeck and travel to De Pere with stops at heritage sites along the way, including the Neville Museum, Heritage Hill, Hazelwood, the National RR Museum, White Pillars Museum in De Pere, etc. Bike racks would be provided, as the route parallels the popular Fox River Recreational Trail; passengers could bike down to De Pere and take the water taxi back, or vice versa. An on-board interpreter would enhance the tour and answer questions. The Parkway plans to partner with volunteers and organizations to offer free, invitation-only proof-of-concept pilot programs for the water taxi program for the next two years as it continues to explore feasibility of a larger program. • ADA-friendly kayak landings in Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Kaukauna, and Appleton. • A study to evaluate the feasibility of interpretive theatre at the Charles Grignon Mansion. One of the most effective yet demanding approaches to interpretation is the development of scripted dramatizations that take place in and around historic properties. When a site has a rich, significant story, with a multitude of documented characters who offer a variety of viewpoints, it is a good candidate for this type of interpretation. The Charles Grignon Mansion in Kaukauna is one such site. Charles Grignon (1808-1862), a part-Menominee government interpreter and entrepreneur and his gently raised Pennsylvanian wife Mary Elizabeth Meade seem like characters right out of a historical

25 novel. Their story offers a number of rich, meaningful, and far-reaching concepts regarding multicultural life on the Wisconsin frontier. • A rendezvous at the Charles Grignon mansion. An annual special event on the grounds of the Charles Grignon Mansion could provide a venue to demonstrate traditional skills like blacksmithing, weaving, pottery-making, traditional cooking, moccasin-making, leather tanning, etc. First-person interpreters or interpreters in period costume could tell the story of the Grignon family, their Menominee relatives, and their impact on Kaukauna. The event replicates the concept of the trading post that the Grignons operated at that very spot.

Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Green Bay

• A Heritage Education Program at Appleton Lock #1. Appleton Lock #1 represents a golden opportunity to educate school children, families, and adult visitors about the industrial history of the Fox River Valley, and Appleton in particular. The Appleton Lock #1 school field trip experience will need to offer outstanding value in terms not only of what the students would learn and do, but also with regard to cross- curriculum standards. A visit to the site by a group of school children might feature a variety of hands-on experiences, such as locking through on a boat, operating the lock, and participating in hands-on period- activities, pretending that they are members of the lock tender’s family or an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers.

26 • Tours of industry. The Parkway will encourage the businesses within its boundaries to offer tours of factories and hydroelectric plants, exploring potential ways to overcome any barriers that have caused the manufacturers to stop giving these in the past.

A dam on the Lower Fox

• Interpretation at the Fox River Locks. The locks will be interpreted as a system, but with specific, individual interpretive signs for each lock, for both land-based travelers and those on the water. • Adaptive reuse of the lock tender houses. The Parkway will partner with the owner of the houses, the Fox River Navigational System Authority (FRNSA) to make four of the lock tender houses (Combined Locks at Little Chute, Little Chute Guard Lock, Cedars, and Appleton #2) available as period-interpreted vacation rentals, modeling a similar program at the C & O Canal National Historic Site in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Lock houses at De Pere and View from Appleton Lock #1 Menasha were not considered for the rental

27 program, as prospective uses for them are already under consideration (offices at De Pere, potential concession stand and Parkway headquarters at Menasha). Little Kaukauna was not listed because it is on DNR property, which prevents its use as an overnight facility. Some of the remaining houses, such as those at Rapide Croche and Kaukauna, may eventually serve as paddler hostels, and Appleton #1 may serve an Lock tender house at Cedars educational purpose. • Enhanced interpretation of Appleton’s Vulcan Power Plant replica. The Vulcan Power Plant replica has been designated a National Historic Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and as such is a significant historical gem. As an element of the Parkway’s hydroelectric power interpretive theme, it represents the first time in the country that mills and a residence were lit by hydroelectric power using a Thomas Edison system. Original Edison equipment is still in place in the replica. The replica has recently received a coat of paint, and is ready for stronger interpretive support.

The First Incandescent Central Station The Vulcan replica with a new coat of Description, c. 1882. WHS Image ID 28333 paint.

• Potential site improvements. In addition to recommendations for enhanced interpretation at various sites, the planning team recommended site improvements that would improve the visitor experience. For the Lower Fox, these include: o Landscape improvements at De Pere Lock, including bike racks, historically accurate landscaping, and new guardrails. o Landscape improvements at Rapide Croche Lock, including relocation of the parking area, a path extension to a new picnic area, ADA-accessible viewing areas and docks, restroom facilities, new guardrails, plantings, clearing of some vegetation, and improved directional signage.

28 1.4.3 What’s in the plan for the Upper Fox River and the Pool Lakes? These Parkway segments with their central location and variety of interpretive opportunities are targeted for a number of new recommended programs and services.

The Upper Fox River and Pool Lakes will have the opportunity for:

• Gateway kiosks at Menasha Lock and John Muir Park (second phase) and City of Oshkosh and east side of Lake Winnebago (third phase) • Anchor exhibits at Oshkosh Public Museum, Fond du Lac (location TBD) and possibly UW-Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Convention Center.

Lumber industry diorama at Oshkosh Public Museum

• ADA-friendly kayak landings in Oshkosh and Berlin.

Riverside Park in Berlin

• A feasibility study for a future multi-day environmental education center in the Oshkosh area. The program would offer overnight stays to school groups studying watershed management or river ecology, modeled on similar programs at Cuyahoga Valley National Park and NatureBridge, which offers a similar program in six national parks. • Planning re: the Augustin Grignon Hotel. The Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society is attempting to acquire the historic National Register- listed Augustin Grignon Hotel in Butte des Morts. Built between the 1830s and 1850, the hotel is significant as the base of fur trader and entrepreneur Augustin Grignon (father of Charles Grignon of the Grignon Mansion in Kaukauna). If the Society is successful in obtaining the building, the Parkway could play a role in helping plan for its highest and best use, including how it can best be interpreted.

Grignon Hotel

• A possible river mural project in cities on the Upper Fox. While industry is still a vital force on the Lower Fox River, it is less evident on the Upper Fox today. Yet the Upper Fox towns, including Omro, Berlin, Princeton, Montello, and Portage, once supported a range of thriving industries. One way to honor this important aspect of Upper Fox River history is to work with Arts Wisconsin and the river communities to create murals that depict industries like fur and leather, stone, steamboats, cranberries, etc. The murals would create a heritage attraction, help reduce blight along the river in some areas, and encourage community pride.

Red granite quarry in Montello

30 • Dialogue regarding John Muir Park. This county park was the boyhood home of John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, and widely considered the “father” of the national park system. The park features two monuments and part of an Ice Age Trail kiosk honoring Muir, but the main use tends to be recreational. It beautifully represents the Upper Fox river and all its natural and heritage resources: several different types of habitats, and a wide variety of plant and animal species. It is truly a natural treasure of the Fox- Wisconsin Heritage Parkway. As there are a number of parties with a stake in the development of the park and its landscape, the Parkway would like to convene a group of stakeholders to engage in dialogue about ways to enhance interpretation of the John Muir story and honor this American icon more deeply at the park. • Encouraging/marketing guided paddle trips on the Upper Fox River. In keeping with the Parkway goal to get more people out on the rivers, guided paddle trips will be encouraged, especially on the Upper Fox. Enterprising outfitters who offer voyageur experiences with period clothing and authentic craft will be particularly encouraged. • Paddler hostels on the Upper Fox. At one time, the Upper Fox River featured nine locks as part of the Fox Wisconsin Waterway. Only one lock tender house, at Berlin, remains, which may be a candidate for overnight stays on the river. It is likely that other historic buildings exist along the Upper Fox that may be suitable for the vacation rental/paddler hostel program. The more paddlers can be encouraged to use the Upper Fox, for example, the better, as it is a gentler, safer stretch of river, and the cities along the water have a lot to offer.

What’s in the plan specifically for Portage? “The Portage” is what makes the Parkway what it is: it links the two river systems into a historic and present-day transportation and recreation waterway. In addition, the City of Portage is host to a number of significant historic sites. As such, the planning team has a number of recommendations centered on Portage, providing the opportunity for: • A gateway kiosk and an anchor exhibit at the Portage Welcome Center. • A gateway kiosk at the Ice Age Trailhead just off Route 33 near the Portage Canal (third phase). • Two ADA-friendly kayak landings. • The possibility of renting a former Neville Museum temporary exhibit on the War of 1812 for display in the new Welcome Center. This excellent exhibit tells the story of the War of 1812 in Wisconsin from multiple points of view, including the impact on various Indian tribes. It would tie in well with Portage’s other

31 historical attractions in this bicentennial year of the war, and enhance the new Welcome Center, which is due to open in July 2013. • The possibility of interpreting and marketing several Portage historic sites as a “Fort Winnebago Historic Site.” A plan to interpret Historic Indian Agency House, Surgeons Quarters, and the former site of Fort Winnebago as a single story could include new interpretive signage, a website, brochure, and even a physical link between the two extant historic sites. The Parkway would like to help these organizations develop an interpretive plan for that purpose. • Restoration of native prairie at Historic Indian Agency House. Aldo Leopold himself led an early initiative to encourage extensive prairie restoration at Indian Agency House. Restored to prairie, the landscape would more closely resemble the historic surroundings that are described in Juliette Kinzie’s Wau-bun, which describes her experiences in the 1830s as the wife of Indian agent John Kinzie at Fort Winnebago. • ADA-accessible content for Historic Indian Agency House. Since the interior of Historic Indian Agency House is not fully accessible, audio-visual programs or other resources ought to be created so visitors with mobility limitations can access the IAH stories. The Parkway could help create a photo album of images of the interior of the Agency House for the use of those who are unable to access it. Historic Indian Agency House • Support for the preservation of the historic Portage Canal. Citizens in various Parkway communities have been deeply engaged in preservation and interpretation projects for many years. The Parkway can lend sustaining moral support, reinforcement, and encouragement as a champion for projects that share its values. There are many such projects in the region. The preservation and interpretation of the Portage Canal is particularly worthy of Parkway support because the canal links its two river systems. Historically, the canal represents one of the first attempts in the nation to create a viable water passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. • Improvements to the Fort Winnebago Wayside near Surgeons Quarters. The wayside features a number of historic markers, but none that might help the visitor envision the fort and environs in the 1820s and 30s. There is opportunity for more extensive interpretation there, as well as improved visitor amenities, especially regarding Fort Winnebago, since it is so close to the original fort site.

Marker commemorating Marquette and The marker as it appears today. Joliet, as it appeared in 1910.

• Improvements to the setting of the Marquette and Joliet marker. The Wauona Trail is significant as the route of the historic portage travelled by Native Americans for thousands of years, Marquette and Joliet in 1673, and the countless military and immigrant travelers that came afterward. There is virtually nothing about this streetscape that suggests its historical significance except for a granite marker, erected by the DAR in 1905, that now rests in an untended and unsightly corner of a Dairy Queen parking lot across Wisconsin Avenue from the Wisconsin River levee. Its setting is no longer indicative of the importance of the site to the history of the Parkway, Wisconsin, and the nation. To enhance the significance of Wauona Trail, a “pocket park” with an improved setting, hardscape, and plantings should be created at the south end of Wauona Trail. Adding similar features across the highway at the levee steps, perhaps including interpretive signage, would visually connect the two spaces and also add prominence to the pedestrian crossing and to the concept that the trail connects two rivers. • Potential site improvements. In addition to recommendations for enhanced interpretation at various sites, the planning team recommended site improvements that would improve the visitor experience. For Portage, these include:

o Improved accessibility and new visitor amenities at Historic Indian Agency House. o Improved sight lines between Historic Indian Agency House and the former site of Fort Winnebago. o Improved canoe launches in Riverside Park and at the north end of Portage Canal o A bicycle route along the Wauona Trail o Development of a trail linking Portage’s historic and natural Amenities

33 1.4.4 What’s in the plan for the Lower Wisconsin? The scenic beauty and natural wonders of this river segment provide a myriad of pleasures for Parkway visitors. Recommendations center on promoting the parkway and making sure people know what there is to see and do in the area.

The Lower Wisconsin River will have the opportunity for:

• Gateway kiosks at Wyalusing State Park (first phase), both landings of the Merrimac Ferry and Victora Park in Muscoda (second phase), and Bridgeport (third phase)

Victora Park overlooking the Lower Wisconsin River, Muscoda

• Anchor exhibits at the Sauk Prairie Chamber of Commerce and Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, as well as (potentially) the Tripp Museum in Prairie du Sac, and Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien.

Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center

34 • Encouraging/marketing more guided paddle trips. In keeping with the Parkway goal to get more people out on the rivers, guided paddle trips will be encouraged. Enterprising outfitters who offer voyageur experiences with period clothing and authentic craft will be particularly encouraged.

Lower Wisconsin River at Sauk Prairie

• Paddler hostels on the Lower Wisconsin. The Parkway would like to continue its paddler hostel program the length of both rivers by seeking appropriate properties along the Lower Wisconsin.

• ADA-friendly kayak landings at Sauk Prairie, Muscoda, and Wyalusing State Park.

• An improved boat landing at Victora Park in Muscoda. Victora Riverside Park in Muscoda is one of the few points of boater access along the Lower Wisconsin River that features public amenities that include parking, restrooms, water, picnic areas, camping and a boat launch. The spacious park

Boat landing, Victora Park in Muscoda offers excellent views of and access to the Wisconsin River. The park is a popular pick-up location for area canoe rental services. Heavy use by both power boats and canoes sometimes causes problems at times when the volume of canoes blocks access by other boaters. The Parkway may consider working with Muscoda officials to design and create a new boat landing that would provide separation between paddlers and motor boats. With or without such improvements, Victora Park offers the Parkway the opportunity to encourage and support guided canoe and kayak trips on the Wisconsin River that highlight nature, conservation, and historic and Native American river sites.

35 1.5 How will we know it’s working? Every interpreting organization needs a plan that will identify areas in need of improvement, save money by focusing efforts and resources on programs known to be effective, and – most important of all – present visitors with the best possible experiences. In the legislation submitted in support of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway National Heritage Area, five goals for the Parkway were articulated. These are:

1) Enhance and promote regional heritage, while vitalizing local identities 2) Connect historic, natural and recreational resources along the corridor 3) Establish a water trail and green trail that expose users to the resources and themes of the Parkway 4) Increase quality of life and pride in Parkway communities 5) Develop tourism and other economic opportunities while preserving cultural and natural assets

In order to gauge the Parkway’s success in meeting these goals, a set of performance metrics and data tracking protocols that document organizational accomplishments are under development. The sustainability of the organization is reinforced when the leverage and impact of the investments made in the Parkway can be documented. As part of the performance evaluation for the Parkway, an evaluation plan will be developed to measure the effectiveness of its interpretive programs. It should be scheduled as an annual, ongoing activity

1.6 Implementation Plan, Years 1-10 In this section, the plan’s recommendations are reproduced in calendar format, with each assigned a time frame during which it is to be accomplished. None of the recommendations are classified as low priority (low priority options were not included in the plan at all). But some are recommended to be deferred for a time in favor of more urgent needs.

1.6.1 Personnel Parkway operations involve more than just interpretation, and staffing requirements to meet marketing, fundraising, business and strategic planning, etc., needs will require new hires in order to build capacity. Of course, the Parkway has always depended upon an amazing corps of volunteers, and it will continue do so. However, with the large number of recommendations in play for the interpretive program, there is a need for at least two staff members who can focus on telling Parkway stories. The greatest need is for a community liaison who can continue the work begun during the interpretive master plan process. The liaison would encourage networking, partnering, and cooperation among all Parkway constituencies, keep in touch with active members of each community, and facilitate collaborative relationships.

The second staff member will be needed in the future if the Parkway decides to provide more formal support to visitors with curriculum requirements. An experienced education specialist should be brought on board before the Parkway initiates structured school- based programs.

36 1.6.2 Priorities Year One begins with a great deal of planning and research, which will be consistent and ongoing, as well as beginning to implement the infrastructure. Emphasis is on recommendations that “manifest” the Parkway most effectively – make it visible either on the ground or in cyberspace: the gateway kiosks, anchor institutions, web-based itinerary tool, and smart phone application. Two anchor institutions will be established, in the Neville Museum and the Portage Welcome Center, with the Portage Welcome Center offered the opportunity to host the Neville Museum’s 1812 temporary exhibit. Fundraising and pre-planning center on large-scale projects like River Murals, rendezvous, re-enactments, and planning for the first adaptive reuse of a lock tender house as a vacation rental. The first annual River Summit launches.

In Year Two, there is visible progress, with three gateway kiosks and two new anchors ready for installation. The smart phone app is tested in a limited roll-out, and the website features a total of five itineraries. Fundraising for some projects begins, and feasibility and business planning continue for long-range projects. The social media strategy is launched.

By Year Three, the gateway kiosk and anchor programs are well underway, with three new installations of the former and one new anchor. After the initial infrastructure- building years, several projects launch: Outdoors 101, River Murals, museum theatre, oral history research, and the lock program for school groups at Appleton #1. Marquette and Joliet’s marker in Portage has a nicely refurbished setting to honor one of the Parkway’s marquee events. The first Great Voyage Reenactment has taken place as a pilot project. Renovations begin on the first lock tender house to be made available as a vacation rental.

Three to five years out, the Parkway acquires a mobile interpretive unit. Launched programs continue, and the Fort Winnebago Historic Site plan is implemented. Itineraries continue to be added to the website.

Five to seven years from completion of the Master Interpretive Plan, the Parkway presence has been well established. Programs are up and running, Muscoda gets a renovated boat launch, interpretive signage is installed for the completed Fox River lock system, and the first signs interpreting the Parkway’s segments of the Military Road are installed. Serious planning for that floating visitor center gets underway.

The plans for seven years and beyond are harder to predict; the plan stays flexible to take advantage of new opportunities. But successful programs continue, new venues are added to the paddler hostel and vacation rental program … and sooner or later, the Steamboat Classroom plies the waters of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway.

37 1.6.3 Action Steps Year-By-Year (Numbers in left column refer to the corresponding sections of Interpretive Master Plan, Volume 2, Foundation for Planning and Recommendations, where more details about each service, program, or medium can be found. For preliminary order-of-magnitude cost estimates, please see Volume 2, Section 2.12.)

Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.3 Manifesting the Parkway (demonstrating a visible presence)

2.5.3.1 Gateway --Backgrnd --Design & --Design & --Design & --Design & --Design & Kiosks Research & install: De Pere, install: Menasha, install: Victora install: install: specifications: Portage Merrimac Ferry Park (Muscoda), CityDeck, Oshkosh, E. De Pere, Portage Welcome Ctr, if feasible John Muir Park Kaukauna side L. Welcome Ctr, Wyalusing SP -- Backgrnd if feasible Hydropark, Fox Winnebago, Wyalusing SP; -- Backgrnd Research & -- Backgrnd Cities Mall Bridgeport, IAT develop graphic Research & specifications: Research & (1/yr) if feasible in Portage, standards specifications: Victora Park specifications: -- Backgrnd Brown Co. Park Menasha, (Muscoda), John CityDeck, Research & nr. Wrightstown Merrimac Ferry Muir Park Kaukauna specifications: (1/yr) if feasible Hydropark, Fox Oshkosh, E. side Cities Mall L. Winnebago, Bridgeport, IAT in Portage, Brown Co. Park nr. Wrightstown 2.5.3.2 Parkway --Neville --Prairie du --Oshkosh --Children’s --Explore & NA anchors Museum Chien Public Museum Museum @ install if feasible: --Portage WC --Sauk Prairie --Plan for Fond du Lac Villa Louis, Tripp Children’s Museum, UW- Museum@FdLac Oshkosh (1/yr)

38 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.3 Manifesting the Parkway (demonstrating a visible presence), cont’d

2.5.3.3 Additional --Acquire NA NA --Acquire NA marketing tools banner stand mobile display unit interpretive unit

2.5.3.3.1 Frontline Customized TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD training for letter per area partners’ heritage itemizing nearby tourism staff heritage attractions 2.5.3.3.1 Heritage NA NA NA Research Pilot program Launch if bus tours of the feasible Parkway

2.5.3.4 Develop NA Wayfinding Develop Implement Ongoing Ongoing wayfinding analysis wayfinding plan wayfinding plan strategy

2.5.4 Interpretive Programs and Services

2.5.4.1 Water Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Trail 2.5.4.2 Heritage 6 paddles/yr 6 paddles/yr 6 paddles/yr 6 paddles/yr 6 paddles/yr 6 paddles/yr Paddles --Acquire voyageur canoe

39 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.4 Interpretive Programs and Services, cont’d

2.5.4.3 Water --Develop --Develop --Acquire/locate Program Program Program Taxi strategic, strategic, boat(s) continues continues continues business & business & --Develop operations plan - operations plan operations plan --Fundraising --Fundraising --Fundraising --Proof of --Proof of continues concept trial run concept trial run --Pilot training & recruitment if feasible --Project launch

2.5.4.4 ADA- --Fundraising Install as Install as Install as Install as Install as Friendly Kayak --Identify funding funding funding becomes funding funding Landings partners becomes becomes available becomes becomes --Install as available available available available funding becomes available

2.5.4.5 Outdoor Plan with Fund-raising for Limited pilot Program NA NA 101 partners (DNR, pilot program/proof launched if IAT) of concept successful --Addl. fundraising if viable

40 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.4 Interpretive Programs and Services, cont’d

2.5.4.6 River --Explore with Community Implementation Implementation NA NA Mural project Arts Wisconsin engagement begins continues (1-2 (Upper Fox) --Fund-raising murals/yr up to 10 total) 2.5.4.7 Museum Assess interest If there is Fund-raising, Program Explore museum Possible Theatre, Grignon among interest, connect scripting, launched theatre programs implementation Mansion community community casting, at other venues of new museum theatre groups theatre with rehearsals theatre IMTAL programs at other venues

2.5.4.8 Oral --Explore Fund-raising Program Program Program Program history research possibilities launched continues continues continues w/Wisconsin Humanities --Identify targets & desired outcomes

41 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.5 Special Events

2.5.5.1 River 1st one launched 2nd R Summit 3rd R. Summit Annual event Annual event Annual event Summit

2.5.5.2 Great --Assess interest Planning phase --1st voyage Every 2-5 years Every 2-5 years Every 2-5 years River Voyage --Research --Assess as feasible as feasible as feasible Reenactment logistics feasibility

2.5.5.3 Attend/research --Assess interest Planning phase Launch program Annual event Annual event Rendezvous @ PdC rendezvous --Research in conjunction Grignon Mansion logistics w/museum theatre launch

2.5.6 Curriculum-centered Programs

2.5.6.1 National Offer prize Offer prize Offer prize Offer annual Offer annual Offer annual History Day (event is in sprng) prize prize prize

2.5.6.2 Heritage Planning phase --Pilot program --Program --Renovation of Program Program Educ. Program, (w/o use of lock in spring launch lock house continues if continues if Appleton Lk#1 house) --Further --Fund-raising --New programs feasible feasible development if continues --Program feasible, evaluation including fund raising for house renovation

42 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.6 Curriculum-centered Programs, cont’d

2.5.6.3 Multi-day NA NA Feasibility Feasibility If feasible, seek, Program launch Environmental study; business study; business acquire & Ed Center plan plan renovate building

2.5.6.4 Virtual NA Feasibility Feasibility Feasibility Pilot production Program field trips study; explore study; build study; finalize continues if potential partnerships; business plan successful partners; assess business plan need

2.5.7 Partnered Programs

2.5.7.1 Neville Explore w/all Explore other Program Program Program Program 1812 exhibit to parties; facilitate similar continues if continues if continues if continues if Portage WC installation opportunities; successful successful successful successful ongoing program? 2.5.7.2 Dialogue Convene parti- TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD re: John Muir Pk cipants (autumn)

2.5.7.3 Ft. Facilitate Develop Fund-raising Implementation Program Program Winnebago discussion; interpretive plan continues continues Historic Site develop preliminary plan

43 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.7 Partnered Programs, cont’d

2.5.7.4 Prairie Dialogue Feasibility Restoration Restoration Restoration Restoration Restoration w/Colonial study; beings continues continues continues @HIAH Dames, UW- Fund-raising Madison

2.5.7.5 Tribal Planning for --Planning --Content Stockbridge --Content 2.5.7.5 Tribal Partnerships Menominee continues for development & Munsee project development & Partnerships sturgeon project Menominee design for --Content design for Ho sturgeon project Menominee development & Chunk project --Begin sturgeon project design for

planning for --Planning Stockbridge Potawatomi continues for Munsee project project (TBD) Potawatomi --Begin planning project for Oneida --Begin planning project (TBD) for Stockbridge --Begin planning Munsee project for Ho Chunk project (TBD) 2.5.7.6 Tours of List potential Explore --Business plan Program Program Industry --Initiate feasibility --Launch pilot continues if continues if conversation program successful successful

2.5.7.7 Encourage Depends on Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing guided paddle marketing plan, trips website & app development

44 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.5.7 Partnered Programs, cont’d

2.5.7.8 Improved NA NA NA Explore w/city -- Implementation NA boat landing, Design, Muscoda fundraising

2.5.7.9 Augustin Assist w/interp TBD TBD TBD TBD Grignon Hotel plan if bldg acquired

2.5.7.10 Support Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing for preservation of Portage Canal

2.6.1 Interpretive Media: Electronic/digital

2.6.1.1 Website Hire & work Adjust Launch 2 Launch 2 Launch 1 Implement new upgrade: w/contractor to --Launch 2 heritage heritage heritage itineraries as itinerary tool develop tool heritage itineraries & 3 itineraries & 2 itinerary/year needed --Launch 1 itineraries & 3 recreational recreational/year heritage recreational -- itinerary & 2 Launch events recreational calendar --Test & evaluate --Plan for events calendar

45 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.6.1 Interpretive Media: Electronic/digital, cont’d

2.6.1.2 Smart --Assemble --Build app Full launch of Update as Update as Update as phone application content --Test & app needed needed needed --Research evaluate as pilot providers & platform --Seek sponsors 2.6.1.3 Video Negotiations TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD production w/media firms: TBD 2.6.1.4 Social On hold until Plan social Launch Continue Continue Continue media branding/market media campaign ing plan when branding/ complete marketing plan complete

2.6.2 Interpretive Media: Traditional

2.6.2.1 M&J --Dialogue Design, fund- New pocket park NA NA NA Marker, Portage w/city raising developed --Identify nature of Parkway support

46 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.6.2 Interpretive Media: Traditional, cont’d

2.6.2.2 Ft. --Facilitate Develop Fund-raising (w/ Wayside NA NA Winnebago discussion interpretive plan Ft. Winnebago upgrades Wayside --Develop in coord. w/plan HS plan) prelim plan in for Ft. coord. w/plan Winnebago HS for Ft. Winnebago HS

2.6.2.3 Fox River --Test --Work --Booklet --Installation of Support for TBD Locks installation of w/FRNSA to becomes lock interp signs interp center at “measuring develop booklet available --Support for Rapide Croche stick” & system for boaters --Fundraising planning for profile @ 1 lock --Install “mea- for lock interp interp center at --Evaluate suring stick” & signs Rapide Croche --Develop interp system profile --Design & signage plan for @ other locks fabrication each lock --Content development for lock interp signs 2.6.2.4 Military NA NA NA --Explore Installation of NA Road Signage potential approximately 1 locations w/land sign/year for a owners total of up to 6 --Develop content; design

47 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.6.2 Interpretive Media: Traditional, cont’d

2.6.2.5 Partnered --Create --Pilot program: Installation, 3 Program Program Program signage (existing inventory of content signs continues continues continues infrastructure) potential sign development for partners 3 signs -- --Discuss Fundraising concept w/sign owners

2.6.2.6 ADA --Assign NA NA NA NA NA Accessible photo photographer album for HIAH --Transfer photos

48 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.7 Special Projects

2.7.1 Adaptive --Planning --Fundraising Renovation of --1st house --Fundraising --3rd & 4th Reuse, Lock logistics for house #1 house #1 available for rent for 4th house houses available Tender Houses --Protocols -- continues --Fund-raising --Renovation of -- Research for for rent Fund-raising for --Research for for 2nd house 2nd house house #4 --Program 1 house house #1 --Research for --2nd house furnishings continues --Search for furnishings house #2 available for rent --Renovation of --Continue addl. venues on --Continue furnishings (Year 5) 3rd & 4th houses - search for addl. UF & LW search for addl. --Continue --Fundraising for --Continue venues venues on search for addl. 3rd house search for addl. UF/LW venues on --Research for venues UF/LW house #3 furnishings --Continue search for addl. venues on UF/LW

2.7.2 --Research --Seek Fundraising Develop, design Program Program Interpretation of potential interpretive & install development development Vulcan Power interpretive partners interpretive Plant content & --Develop media on site methods interpretive plan --Evaluate mechanism

49 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.7 Special Projects, cont’d

2.7.3 Steamboat Continually Continually Continually Continually Develop Actively seek Classroom/ monitor classified monitor monitor monitor strategic, vessel & Floating VC ads for potential classified ads classified ads classified ads for business & qualified purchase for potential for potential potential operations plan captains & purchase purchase purchase engineers; launch when feasible

2.7.4 Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Hiking/biking Trail

2.7.5 Support for Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing other area initiatives

50 Interpretive Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-5 Years 6-7 Years 8-10 Service, Program, and Beyond Media 2.8 Evaluation

2.8.1 Develop Research & Baseline survey Survey begins Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing performance develop strategy to test approach metrics methodology

2..8.2 Develop Research & Baseline Evaluation Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing evaluation develop evaluation to begins strategy for evaluation test approach interpretive strategy programs & services

2.8.3 Develop Research & Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing selection criteria develop strategy for targeting Parkway support

View from Wyalusing State Park