Sauk County parks, more than just recreation
With Wisconsin boasting around 600 county parks, they all need to be managed specific to their area. Falling under the responsibility of each county’s government, recreation may not be the only focus of many.
Located in South central Wisconsin, Sauk County manages and maintains approximately 2,000 acres, made up of small tracts with boat landings to wayside type properties.
The majority of the acreage though, is taken up by White Mound County Park, and the Sauk County Forest, both located down towards Spring Green.
Outside of the recreation responsibility, management of six dams throughout the county falls under the parks system, with one of them being a high hazard.
“Right now, we are in the process of moving forward to repair or replace Hemlock Dam in the Township of La Valle with a new structure. That structure was damaged in the floods of 2018 in August and September, and is at an age where it should be replaced. We were looking to make repairs to it,” Sauk County Parks and Recreation Manager, Matt Stieve said.
Last year he said the river actually rose faster than Hemlock Slew did and the water flowed in reverse, and flowed from downstream to Hemlock Slew and eroded away the earth and dam. “That will get repaired/replaced with a much better structure. We spend a lot of time with our dams in Sauk County. When you think of Sauk County Parks, you don’t think of dams, but we have to for the safety of everyone in Sauk County,” Stieve said.
The county has a number of boat launches throughout the county, and in addition to the county-owned boat launches, they also work with the Township of La Valle and the Woodland Township. He said, “Years ago, Sauk County implemented a fee-based use for the boat launches and the townships didn’t. For instance, in Lake Red Stone, there are three boat launches, Sauk County having one of them. We implemented this parking fee, which is actually called an entrance fee. What that did was reduce the use of our park and put an extra load on the township’s launches. The township started considering that ‘We need to do the same. If the county is going to do it, we should also do it.’ Which makes sense.”
The township thought it wasn’t a good idea to have another fee, because of multiple stickers that someone would need on your window when you are launching.
Stieve noted that Sauk County and the two townships worked out an agreement, where Sauk County would operate their entrance fee program, and they would get a percentage of the revenue, effectively creating a shared revenue system. “It seems to be working just fine. We have a good relationship with the townships,” Stieve said.
With Sauk County recently taking over possession and management from the state of White Mound Park, the park continues to be the only county park that offers camping. Stieve acknowledged that it is not out of the question for the county to consider adding additional campgrounds in the future.
With Sauk county’s recent partnership with the Hocak (Ho-Chunk) Nation celebrating Indigenous People’s Day, Stieve said that the county looks forward to keeping that partnership going in whatever the parks do in the future.
“We always want to keep Hocak as a potential partner. We already unofficially do that with two of our smaller properties. We have the Yellow Thunder Memorial Park, that is our responsibility to maintain the site where Chief Yellow Thunder’s burial marker is. I take that seriously that this is a very important person in American history, and certainly an important person in the Ho-Chunk Nation. It is our responsibility to take care of that historical area and I want to give it the respect it needs and deserves,” Stieve said.
In addition, the county also manages and maintains the Man Mound Effigy Park located east of Baraboo, on Man Mound Road. “We are working closely with the Ho-Chunk Nation, and have spoken with a lot of effigy managers in the Midwest, specifically Effigy Mounds National Monument, and spoken with Bill Quackenbush (Hocak Department of Heritage Preservation), trying to figure out what is the best method for maintaining an effigy mound. They (Hocak) have a deep connection to the land, he said.
Stieve has also spoken to horticulturists, arborists, and turf grass specialists, and stressed he tries to get as many opinions as possible for the mound’s preservation.
Stieve said, “I have a strong background, working with the parks for over 20 years, managing turf and trees and have a good understanding on how to manage that. But the more information I can get, the better. There is no best policy, best practice out there for managing an effigy mound, because they are not all over the country. There are not millions of them out there left.”
Another challenge Stieve said the county faces, is every property is different. He shared that every property needs to be looked at differently because the soil structure is different, and the use is different. “There are so many variables that you have to look at every single property differently, and give it its own unique approach to maintaining it. That’s what we are working on right now- like what is the best thing we can do for Man Mound Park.”
He said county land managers have to be very diversified in what they know. “You don’t know what’s all of a sudden going to happen. In our case, you need to understand dams. We also need to have staff that understands forestry. We also need to have staff that understands what a federally protected burial ground is and what you can do with it. You have to work with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) responsibilities. You have to have a very broad background. It’s not just parks and recreation. It goes way out there.”
He continued, “You have to understand the marketing, you have to understand demographics and understanding the people who want to use your parks or may not want to use your parks. You have to understand the county government and the politics. You have to understand that Sauk County would like to get more young people moving to Sauk County. County parks is an important part of encouraging and providing a place where young people do want to live, or keeping the young people who were born in Sauk County in Sauk County and providing them good recreational outdoor spaces to use will help keep them here.”
Though Devil’s Lake State Park South of Baraboo is managed by the state, Stieve said the county does have a relationship with the state in managing the Great Sauk Trail. A part of a former railroad of Union Pacific, the trail parallels the Wisconsin River through the communities of Prairie du Sac and Sauk City, and extends through the heart of the Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area. Used by bicyclists, walkers, and joggers alike, it is currently a state trail that is managed by Sauk County.
Stieve also said he works with different groups within the DNR (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources), whether its real estate, wildlife management, or water quality. “We work with the DNR all the time. We work with the fisheries people a lot with the bodies of water we manage, including the body of water at White Mound. They play a big part in that.”
With White Mound having been a state property up until a couple of years ago, a decision was made to build a new facility. “When the county was deciding whether to put a new building up at White Mound, one of the things I saw that building doing, is giving the different municipalities, different groups, a place to come together. I want to have educational sessions at White Mound, whether it’s getting to know the Hocak Nation, getting to know the nature conservancy, getting to know different groups within the county, but the DNR is also using this building for different projects,” Stieve said.
Stieve feels the White Mound transition from state to county is a great example of the county and the state working together for a positive cause for the state.
As for Sauk County Parks future, Stieve said, “There are so many things we want to do. There is so much we know we can do. We are hampered by being small. There are only three full-time employees to get everything done that we want to see get done. Everyone has their own niche of what they want to see done. La Valle might want more attention at their property. The Man Mound may think we should be doing this. They are all right. All of the people that want this stuff, what they want to see done is not out of the question. They are good things that they are suggesting. I’d love to be able to get everything done. Government doesn’t work as fast as private industries. If I want to purchase something at a certain money level, I can’t just go out and buy it. I have to go through the whole process, which I’m not faulting, but it slows things down. There is a lot of opinions that then get shared and people don’t always agree so that slows things down. All of these people around the county that have wants, they want this added, or that improved, whatever it is, most of the time they are very legitimate and I would love to carry through with all of those things.”
He noted that the residents of Sauk can help the process by involving themselves with the whole political process. “Staying in touch with your representatives, whether it’s very local, state, or federal, it’s very important to stay active.”
Stieve said that he wants to meet many requests of the parks system, but finds himself triaging projects in order to address projects that absolutely need to be done. He is always asking himself, ‘what is a safety concern for Sauk County residents and the people who visit Sauk County’?
With Stieve’s and his staff’s continued hard work and dedication, along with resident support, there is no doubt Sauk County will continue to offer quality recreation, land management, conservation, preservation, and safety.
Visit the Sauk Count Parks and Recreation web page at https://www.co.sauk.wi.us/parksandrecreation
