Lake Marion WRM Presentation

Lake Marion

In February, the 2010 Water Resources Management (WRM) practicum, presented their Lake Marion project to the University of Wisconsin-Madison community. It was a modification of a presentation given in Mazomanie, WI - the location of the work. Below is a section of the presentation I gave as an overview of the community input and participatory processes we used throughout the project. More information about the project can be found on the 2010 WRM Website with the rest of the UW Presentation Videos



The Mazomanie project focused on achieving six goals for the community as a plan to maintain and improve the quality of Lake Marion and to restore the Black Earth Creek Corridor adjacent to Lake Marion. The purpose of the project is to provide the Village of Mazomanie and other project stakeholders planning recommendations based upon environmental science and the interests of the community.

(A) Help preserve Lake Marion as a valued recreational and cultural resource for the project stakeholders.
(B) Assess current environmental conditions of Lake Marion, the Black Earth Creek, and the surrounding area.
(C) Evaluate strategies for maintaining and improving Lake Marion in the event of dam removal.
(D) Develop conceptual planning recommendations for the restoration of the Black Earth Creek Corridor.
(E) Work with project stakeholders to gather their input and visions to incorporate into planning recommendations for the restoration and enhancement of Lake Marion and the Black Earth Creek Corridor.
(F) Develop conceptual layouts for a trail network linking community open space within the project boundaries.

The WRM Group

I have been a member of the WRM practicum since the Fall of 2009 when I arrived at UW to do my master's in community design in the Department of Landscape Architecture. The bulk of my research for my master's thesis has focuses on the interaction between the WRM students and the community, studying how this interaction affects the design and decision-making processes. This research has been chosen to be presented at the Death + Life of Social Factors: A Conference Reexamining Behavioral and Cultural Research in Environmental Design at the University of California-Berkeley and the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management here in Madison, WI. Although it was unplanned when I started in 2009, I finally 'officially' joined the WRM program this past fall. I have started taking my first courses this semester to fulfill the requirements of this second master's degree.