I hate it when people steal my stuff!

When we got back from our trip we found that someone stole our canoe while we were gone.

I doubt the "new owners" will enjoy it as much as we have. I imagine it was scrapped for the aluminum, which makes it even sadder to me.

But, since we really can't canoe on the river like we used to, maybe it doesn't matter anyway.

(Next up: more vacation shots.)

Dam debris photos

On Sunday, Brain and I went canoeing on the Milwaukee River, scraping bottom many times. I got a few photos (some of them are even beautiful, but not these). When I saw this article by Chris Liebenthal on the subject (worth reading), I figured I should probably post them. I don't know if you remember, but earlier this month, there was an offer- by volunteers- (article here) to remove the woody debris, thwarted by the need for an environmental pollutant assessment- which would cost $100,000, and was not in the budget. Huh. There is a lot of debris down by the dam. We were astounded. Look at all the plants growing in it! Did I say plants? I meant noxious weeds.

And, best of all, some enterprising individuals have even built a little cabin with a deck out to the river, using found wood (see below).

Open letter from Glendale Alderman Richard W. Wiese

This is part of a letter that Glendale's 4th District Alderman Richard Wiese wrote to County Supervisor Theodore Lipscomb. Alderman Wiese is graciously allowing me to quote from it.
"I am a life long resident of Milwaukee’s North Shore. In my early years, I fondly remember renting a row boat and rowing around the Lincoln Park lagoon and Milwaukee River with my Grandfather and Father, plus fishing in the river along numerous points in Lincoln Park, catching many large fish.
You will also note a photo that I have included with this letter that was taken by an ancestor of mine(F. Bischoff) in 1893. He took photos throughout Milwaukee County, particularly in the emerging parks. One of the photos he took clearly shows Estabrook Park and the Milwaukee River, and is identified as Estabrook Park in his own hand note at the top of the page, which based on the date precedes the establishment of the Milwaukee County Park system, and is therefore potentially a City of Milwaukee park, with the Board of Park Commissioners established in 1889. This photo shows 5 men in a row boat and several fishermen clearly in the background. Further in the background is the railroad trestle, the supports of which still stand, and was the line going into what is now the Glendale Technology Park.
A close inspection of the photo shows the top edge of the natural dam beneath the trestle, which created the wide still water lake (now referred to as the impoundment) that the people in the photo are clearly enjoying. As this photo was taken before any governmental intervention in the river, this was clearly the natural flow of the river. Oddly enough, it seems that fish were making it into this section of the river without any assistance from special interest groups. Taking a walk along the river today, accessed by the stairs that are to the south of Picnic Area 5, you can still see the original banks of the river along the western side of the river, which are a substantial distance from the current river pathway.


The natural condition of the river in 1893 resulted in an area of natural beauty and wide quiet waters. From other photos in this collection, I believe that the boat in the photo is a rental item, which indicates that this section of the river was an active recreational area. Many of the people speaking at last night's meeting [March 24th] continued to emphasize the need to “return the river to its natural condition”. I believe that this photo shows that the levels of the river today when the dam is closed closely match those of the original river. It does not appear that the river was the narrow fast moving channel that many of the presenters alluded to...
The waters above the Estabrook Dam have provided beauty and recreational opportunities for generations of Milwaukee County residents. If the dam were to be removed, it would be a tragic loss to the citizens of Milwaukee County, the City of Milwaukee, and the citizens of Glendale."


Respectfully,
Richard W. Wiese
4th District Alderman
City of Glendale

Parks and Recreation

This photo below is by Eddee Daniel, author of the wonderful book Urban Wilderness: Exploring a Metropolitan Watershed. I bought an autographed copy last year, because I knew I would turn to it again and again. The photo was taken in Lincoln Park between the islands, on the impoundment, with the Estabrook Dam closed.
I believe strongly in the power of recreation, to create self-esteem, to build skills, to build a community. To learn about nature. (I worked for the Milwaukee County Special Rec department for a few years.) I believe that denied the opportunity for constructive recreation, people are more likely to turn their energies to what I will politely describe as more destructive pursuits. I also note that the Urban Ecology Center has publicly declined to take a stand on the dam position; they utilize the impoundment often, every summer.


Forget, for a moment, about the flood control; forget about the hydropower. Forget about the history and the all hard work that all the men from the CCC did during the last Depression.
We have something beautiful, people. Let's not let it slip away.

Braveheart

I am reminded of a conversation I had with my brother a few years ago. I said to him (I think we were discussing war or something) that I didn't understand why there was so much dissent in the world. I wondered why people couldn't just peacefully float around in canoes. (Sort of a variation on the "why don't people just get along?" argument.)

He said to me, "If people were just floating around in canoes, "I'D attack them!" As in, people have to stay organized. People have to be aware of the political issues that affect them and their neighborhoods. Let our elected officials know how you feel. The pen, as they say- and also the computer keyboard and the telephone- is mightier than the sword.

At http://www.milwaukeeriverpreservation.org we have a contact list for the County Supervisors on the Parks, Energy, and Environment committee. Please contact them and let them know that the inland lake provided by the Estabrook Dam is a recreational and aesthetic treasure in our urban habitat that could be lost forever.

Save the Estabrook Dam!

Please be sure to check my home page. Content is updated daily!
I am the River Otter. I live by the Milwaukee River. I love the river, I love nature; I try to conserve gas by riding my bike; I reduce and reuse. I also love to kayak (if by myself) and canoe (with my dear husband) on the Milwaukee River and Lincoln Creek. That is by far the most influential reason we moved here (and it's close to where we both work).
Let me explain: the Estabrook Dam was built as a WPA project in the 1930's, as part of the economic stimulus package during the Great Depression. Bedrock had been removed from the riverbed and the water level was low as a result. The dam, an innovative design that won an award and influenced later dams, raised the water level to essentially its original level. As part of this project, wetlands were drained and islands were formed in what is now county park land in Lincoln Park. It is beautiful...peaceful...an urban oasis.
Now, I am not a big proponent of draining wetlands, and if such a project were proposed now, I would be opposed.
However, we live in a built environment, an urban environment that has been altered. John Gurda's fantastic documentary series _The Making of Milwaukee_ illustrates how humans have altered the land, from the time people noted that the confluence of rivers and the natural port on Lake Michigan were a great place to settle, all the way to now, when we have a population of nearly two million people in the metro area. Removing the Estabrook Dam won't return the area to a pristine natural setting such as existed three hundred years ago; leaving it in place allows the park to exist as it does now, an urban paddler's paradise.
See also my posts about the recreational benefits of the impoundment, the original state of the confluence, and some more of its history.