Moses Creek Wetland Restoration EarthCache
Moses Creek Wetland Restoration
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
IMPORTANT! YOU MUST ANSWER THE QUESTIONS TO GET CREDIT FOR THIS CACHE The purpose of this earthcache is to follow the story of a small wetland and creek through prehistory and history to its recent restoration, and be able to interpret the landscape for clues about it its geology and hydrology at five waypoints.
Moses Creek Wetland Restoration
Wetland formation, circa 25,000 B.C. – 1860 A.D.
Central Wisconsin’s rich wetlands are a legacy of our last ice age, the Second Wisconsonian, which advanced over North America 25,000 years ago and retreated approximately 12,000 years ago. As the ice sheet advanced, it scoured the earth, grinding up rock, flattening the landscape and disrupting drainage patterns. When the ice sheet began to thaw, the landscape was covered with sheets of flowing meltwater. As the ice retreated farther north, the meltwater collected in the poorly drained basins underlain with impervious bedrock. First, they were open pools. For millennia, vegetation flourished in and around the pools. Decaying vegetation sank to the bottom and, over thousands of years, built up into an organic (plant derived) muck soil. But even if wetlands are drained and plowed, the soil profile reveals the soil’s wet genesis. A highly organic A horizon (surface layer) is the clearest indicator, but agriculture and erosion could have disturbed and diminished this. The lower B2 and B3 mineralized horizons will be “gleyed,” which refers to a recognizable grayish mottled color due to reduction of the soil’s mineral components under saturated conditions (no oxygen=no oxidation). Look at the example of a wetland, or hydric, soil profile in the photo gallery.
The history of Mosey’s or Moses Creek 1860 - 2009
“Moses” Creek originates in wetlands north of Jordan road, west of Willow Springs Drive. 100 years ago it flowed through farmland owned by Mike Mosey. Everyone called it Mosey’s creek, and is labeled as such on old maps and in old newspaper articles.
In 1956, the Wisconsin State University-Stevens Point had begun purchasing farmland and pasture on the north end of campus for future expansion. When the University developed the residence hall and athletic field complex bounded by Maria Drive, Fourth Avenue, Isadore Street, and Michigan Avenue in the 1960’s, someone mistakenly labeled the creek “Moses” Creek. Descendants of Mr. Mosey have protested, but the altered name has prevailed.
Back then, University planners felt that an open creek running through campus would be a nuisance and safety hazard, so a segment was buried underground . You can watch the creek flow into a culvert near the corner of Minnesota and Maria. The part that flowed west of campus had already been buried in a seven foot storm sewer since the 1930’s to alleviate flooding problems. A March 25, 1920 newspaper article referred to flooding and wet basements in “the northeast part of the city…along the slough and what is known as Mosey’s Creek.” Oddly, the water had to be pumped UP to enter the Wisconsin River (next to the Riverfront Arts Center on Crosby Avenue) In the 1980’s, the city’s storm sewers were reworked and upgraded, and the creek’s water is now diverted to below the dam, near Wisconsin Avenue.
The northern part of the University’s land had not been developed. Trees had sprouted in the abandoned fields and grew into the forest we see today. In 1974, planning began to develop this natural area as Schmeeckle Reserve, named after Professor Fred Schmeeckle, who founded the University’s conservation program. In 1976, in cooperation with Sentry Insurance, Lake Joanis was created-- a beautiful, though artificial, addition. Farmers had long ago drained the natural wetlands and straightened Mosey’s Creek to improve their farms. For over 70 years, this stretch of the creek was confined in a steep-sided, unattractive ditch (See photo gallery, “1938 Air Photo” and “Burying a Creek.”)
Restoring a Wetland, 2010 and beyond
The restoration of Moses Creek came about thanks to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Wisconsin's environmental protection laws. Whenever highway construction destroys a wetland, the DOT is required by law to restore historical wetland elsewhere within the watershed. DOT wetland scientists consult soil types, hydrological studies, plant surveys, archaeological surveys, historical records, maps and more to evaluate places like Moses Creek where natural wetlands had been destroyed in the past. The Moses Creek wetland mitigation site was chosen to compensate for wetland impacts from the rerouting of US HWY 10, Hwy B, WI Hwy 34 project. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, owner of the land, was happy to cooperate.
The US Army Corps of Engineers graded and excavated “scrapes” to lower the elevation to expose the water table and restored natural meanders to the creek channel. Invasive alien species were removed. The area was seeded with native riparian emergent and riparian plant species to as closely as possible recreate natural communities. Trees and shrubs were planted and fenced to protect them against wildlife damage until established.
Benefits of a restored wetland are many. A wetland provides flood protection and improved water quality, wildlife habitat, opportunities for scientific research, environmental education and recreation. The new-old Moses Creek wetland was not very pretty at its completion in the spring of 2011, but it has been exciting to watch it flourish and change as nature takes its course.
To log this cache, you will need to answer questions about what you see at 5 waypoints along the trail. You will need to read the cache description for some of the information. Clicking on the photo links below will also help. Please email your answers to us.
Trail Entrance:
1) What animal is illustrated on the gate?
2) Look at the stones along the culvert - do you think these were quarried, or were they shaped by glaciers? Why?
Waypoint 2:
3) Look at the trees around you—these are upland species. A soil scientist or hydrologist would know that the underlying soil is well-drained simply by seeing which trees thrive here. Identify one or more of these trees.
Waypoint 3:
4) As you face the map, you will see a tree in front of you. It is a tamarack. Judging from its location, is it an upland species, or one that likes getting its “feet” wet? If you could dig a trench here, you would expose a soil profile. What color would you expect the B horizons to be? Re-read the cache description to help you with your answer.
5) Along the trail, you will see tree tips that have exposed the soil. Soil is classified by texture, which refers to the size of particles – clay, silt, and sand -- that it contains. Which particle size seems to be most abundant in this area? Why do you think there is so much of it? (hint: what was going on 12,000 years ago?) **
Waypoint 4: (We think you will enjoy walking along the trail and the boardwalk to get here, but if time is short, you can drive there)
6) Upstream, across the street to the north, the creek flows through private property. Is that stream bed a natural shape? How can you tell?
We thank Ron Zimmerman, former director of Schmeeckle Reserve, for permission to create this cache; wetland biologist Janet Smith, former North Central Regional Environmental Coordinator for WISDOT, and Tim Siebert of the Portage County Historical Society for their enthusiasm and assistance.
If you want to learn more about the fascinating history and science of the Moses Creek Watershed, go to Schmeeckle Reserve’s very detailed website: (visit link)
**If you visit in winter or when the vegetation is thick, some questions may be difficult to answer. As an alternative, just tell us some interesting geological fact you learned from the linked website.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)