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History of the Region Download
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Before proposing a conservation plan for a given site it is important to understand the historical context of the region in which the site exists. The purpose of this section is to give the reader a historical overview of the ecological and human processes which have created the current status of the site.
Depending on the specific, unique features of the site it may be appropriate to break this section into subsections. Appropriate subsections may include:
 • Geology
• Human settlement
• Land Use & Development
Questions to Answer:
When writing this section, answer the following questions:
• Does
the region in which the site lies have any unique geological, aquatic,
or other
natural
features that have come to define its landscape?
• How has this region’s native features contributed to its settlement?
• What, if any, industries has this region supported?
• How has the population of this region grown over the years?
• How has the land been used or developed over the years?
• What is the attitude among local residents regarding local natural resources and
past conservation efforts?
• What local politics may effect conservation efforts?
Resources:
U.S. Census Bureau
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (search for your local municipality or unique land feature)
Great Lakes Environmental Directory
Economic profiles for Southeastern Wisconsin
Pre-settlement vegetation
1990 population density
2000 population density
2000 per capita income
2000 % of houses that are seasonal
2000 % unemployment
Local Chamber of Commerce website
Local city website
Local county website
Local newspaper archives
Example:
Geology
The Red Banks-Gilson Creek area lies within the once-glaciated portion of Wisconsin and contains highly unique geologic features. Dolomites and shales underlie the glacial deposits that blanket virtually the entire landscape in Brown County.
The dolomite Niagara Escarpment is the major bedrock feature – approximately 69% of Brown County lies within the Niagara Escarpment, which runs from the northeast to the southwest part of the county. The Niagara Escarpment is the steep face of a 650-mile sickle-shaped cuesta (bedrock ridge) that runs from New York to southeastern Wisconsin. A series of dolomite cliffs in Brown County provide critical habitat for rare terrestrial snails, bats and specialized plants.
The Red Banks site in particular is perched on top and at the edge of the Niagara Escarpment and is characterized by areas of exposed bedrock and very thin soils. The primary glacial landform is lakeplain.
Human settlement
The Gilson Creek and Red Banks area is in the Towns of Scott and Green Bay, located just east of the City of Green Bay, in the northeast corner of Brown County. Since the time of the glaciers, which receded roughly 10,000 years ago, the Green Bay region has supported several Native American cultures with its rich fisheries, waterfowl, wild rice, forests and water. Archeological evidence shows these early people inhabited the Red Banks area on Green Bay’s east shore as far back as 7000 BC.
In the 1700s and early 1800s the Green Bay area, with its ideal location, became a center for the fur trade. Logging was also a big industry in the 1800s until the land was cleared, marking the beginning of the region’s agricultural business – an industry that is still an important economic factor in the area today.
Inland from Green Bay, along the Fox River (which feeds into Green Bay), the Fox River Valley experienced great success with paper production. However, by 1927 the Wisconsin State Board of Health reported that raw sewage, oil slicks, wastes from canning factories and paper mills, and dead fish floated along the Fox River’s surface and lower Green Bay.
At one time, Green Bay supported the largest commercial fishery in Wisconsin, but due to overfishing, competition from exotics, and the dumping of toxic PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) into the Lower Fox River, emptying into Green Bay, the fishing industry in the area was ruined.
Today, the Fox River Valley is still the largest paper production industry in the world, but before 1979 when they were banned, PCBs were still being used by paper mills as a vehicle for holding and delivering ink in carbonless copy paper. Much of this copy paper was recycled and reprocessed, releasing an estimated 50,000 kilograms of PCBs to the Fox River and Green Bay via the mills’ wastewater discharges. The widespread effects of PCBs on fish and wildlife in the region include walleyes with tumors, frogs with deformed spines and the decline of bald eagles. PCBs also harm humans – they are thought to cause cancer and a variety of other health problems.
A comprehensive cleanup plan for the Fox River and Green Bay is currently being developed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed plan, if implemented, will result in the cleanup of sediments that will lead directly to the protection of human health and the environment. However, the final project could take more than 10 years to complete.
Land Use & Development
A high concentration of urban development can be found in and around the City of Green Bay, with the majority of shoreline in Brown County also developed. Brown County, according to 2003 estimates, has a population of 233,888, with a population density of 429 people per square mile – over four times the average density of the state. It is also an area of high growth, experiencing a 16.5% increase in population in the 1990s, compared to a 9.6% increase in the state. The Green Bay Metropolitan area has consistently grown faster than both the Wisconsin and national averages and had the fastest rate of population growth among Wisconsin's Metropolitan areas between 1990 and 2000.
Red Banks, with its close proximity to the City of Green Bay, is feeling the pressure from excessive residential development. As agriculture becomes less economically viable, there is concern that the open farmland in eastern Brown County could be purchased and developed.
Other areas of Brown County contain small forest patches, agricultural lands, low density housing and quarry operations of differing sizes.
Please contact Karen Bassler at karen [at] gatheringwaters.org or
608-251-9131 x12 with any questions about site conservation planning.
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