John Marsland, Land-use of Madison, WI
My hometown of Madison, Wisconsin has had a dynamic and vibrant land use history leading to
today’s novel ecological and societal outcomes. Before European settlement, the Ho-Chunk and
Menominee tribes inhabited the Madison area building roots of hunting and agriculture in a deep
respect for the land they lived. Around 1630, French and English settlers began trading
with the Ho-Chunk and formed a positive relationship.
Following the American Revolution, the Ho-Chunk were loyal to the English and strongly
resisted any settlements in the Wisconsin area but were forcibly removed in the 1830s following
several conflicts. The new settlers cleared forests and established a primarily wheat and corn
agricultural industry.
In 1848 with the founding of UW-Madison and Wisconsin as a whole, Madison became an important
cultural center with the University providing a framework for increased population growth and
advancements in industry and research while maintaining a strong agricultural industry.
In the late 1800s to early 1900s, manufacturing, logging, and brewing industries grew rapidly causing
the Madison economy to thrive but also bringing with it consequences for the Madison ecology due to
deforestation and large industrial pollution in the area.
https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/exhibits/madison/index.asp
As Madison grew through the 1900s, the rising population led to expansion into previous farmland for
the creation of residential, commercial, and industrial regions. This required drainage of wetlands,
channelization of the streams, and a general reduction of the
environment surrounding the city.
All of this growth in economy and culture brought Madison today to be a center for incredible industry
and research through the rapid development of the surrounding landscape from natural landscape into
the urbanized land seen today.
Despite efforts to preserve the surrounding environment, a few ecological problems have arisen.
One such issue is the eutrophication of the Madison lakes following water runoff from the urban
and agricultural areas into the water leading to intense algal blooms and degradation of the lake
ecosystems. Pesticide use, industrial pollutants, and stormwater runoff of the city centers
have caused a rampant introduction of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous into the lake causing
the conversion of the ecosystem into one dominated by algae.
Additionally, the Madison environments face declining biodiversity due to the transformation of
the landscape into urban/suburban areas. Efforts are being made to remedy this through conservation
efforts like the arboretum and many protected green spaces to try to rebuild those habitats and
populations that have been slowly removed.
In these ways, Madison has had a very dynamic history of human and ecological interactions
beginning with European settlement leading to an ecological decline from industrialization in agriculture,
manufacturing, and logging and finally reaching the peak of societal activity seen now with booming
industries and research combined with efforts to protect the nature that surrounds the beautiful city.
Sources:
Wisconsin Historical Society
https://isthmus.com/news/cover-story/steve-carpenter-sounds-a-warning-for-lake-mendota/
One thing I didn't realize until put in the context of your post was how soon after the beginning of settlement and removal of the native population of the area UW was founded. It seems strange to me that even when Madison had very little population, there was a desire to found a place for post secondary education. Was the point of the institution to help study the land and exploit the resources of the area?
ReplyDeleteOne of my focuses of study at UW has been limnology, so I have gotten up close and personal with some of the lakes' ecological issues that you described in this post. It was very well-communicated, and I love the extra awareness for keeping our lakes healthy!
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting! I am particularly interested in your point about the lakes. I knew about the algal blooms, but I did not know it was because of runoff. Do you know of any efforts they have taken to fix this problem?
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how a university brought so much life to the town. Just thinking about how Madison was prior to UW-Madison gives me chills - no student life, no crowds on State street, no union terrace. I'd absolutely love to go see how it was before and compare to how it is today. I bet many UW grads contributed largely to the growing economy of Madison and Wisconsin as a whole back in the day!
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