POYNETTE — The howl of a wolf is a rare sound in most of southern Wisconsin.Â
Not here, in the confines of the MacKenzie Environmental Center.
It was during the lunch hour that we began walking the grounds just north of Madison to take in the center's captive wildlife, which includes a white-tail deer, a few bison, a barred owl, pair of red fox, an eagle, turkey vulture and cackling raven.
But the clear star of the center is a lone wolf who is not afraid to approach its fence or to point its nose up and belt out a series of howls, four to six seconds apart.
For Don Lucke, a longtime member of the Friends of MacKenzie, the wolf enclosure provides an opportunity that, like the state's wolf population itself, is being threatened.
"This is the gem of MacKenzie. It would be heartbreaking not to have it here," Lucke said. "They're just lovely animals."
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The wolf's days, and those of the other animals here, may be numbered.
The state Department of Natural Resources, which owns and operates the 287-acre property, is proposing four potential alternative plans for the environmental center that would do away with the wildlife exhibits and alter or scrap other programming.
The proposals are part of the draft vision of the Central Sand Hills Region Master Plan, designed to lay out management objectives for more than 60 state-owned properties. They include Devil's Lake and Hartman Creek state parks and a number of fishery, wetland, wildlife and natural areas and marshes. At Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, the DNR is trying to determine how to deal with overcrowding and where to build a new interpretive, educational and visitor center.
At Hartman Creek State Park near Waupaca, some members of the community want expanded opportunities for mountain biking, horseback riding, camping and hiking.
But proposed changes to MacKenzie by the DNR are more involved and are being floated as a way to address funding issues and concerns over the need for $5 million to upgrade the wildlife exhibits and another $5 million for roads, parking lots and buildings, many of which require "substantial repair and upgrades due to a backlog of deferred maintenance," the DNR says in its report on the property.
Up to 60,000 people a year use the center, including 10,000 people who typically go through the wildlife exhibit each year. However, many of the animals are over 10 years old and approaching their life expectancy. Multiple enclosures have no residents.
Volunteers put in 5K+ hours a year
Of the MacKenzie Center's $400,000 budget, just a third, $130,000, comes from user fees and donations. DNR funds cover the rest. The facility employs two to three year-round educators, three to four wildlife technicians and three to four operations staff who repair and oversee the center's vast grounds and facilities. In addition to paid staff, almost 200 volunteers contribute over 5,000 hours of work a year, from educational programming to property and habitat maintenance, and helping with major events such as the annual maple syrup production program.Â
"The (DNR) has limited funds to support the operations of budget-negative properties, and continued subsidization of the center at current levels is not fiscally sustainable," the DNR wrote.
All of the DNR's four alternatives for the property would do away with the wildlife center with only one of the alternatives maintaining the educational programming at the center. A second alternative plan would maintain existing day-use activities and continue to host major events like the maple syrup program but would move educational programming to a different DNR property like Devil's Lake State Park.
The third alternative would convert the property to a training facility for programs related to hunting, trapping and fishing in an effort to get more people involved in the sports. The fourth alternative plan would focus on a training facility for other outdoor recreation activities. Those could include camping and wilderness survival skills; mountain biking; UTV, ATV and snowmobile classes; orienteering; and scavenging for wild foods.
"Depending on the future uses of the property, it is likely that some new buildings may be needed, some existing buildings may need to be renovated and others may need to be removed," the DNR wrote in its draft vision document. "It is also possible the (DNR) may not be the best entity to manage the property to meet certain goals."
Friends group isn't impressed
But for members of the Friends of MacKenzie, none of the four alternatives are acceptable. The closest the DNR comes is the first alternative, which the Friends group, founded in 1976, would like to see modified to include keeping the wildlife exhibits, all of which are animals native to Wisconsin. The Friends have also raised more than $200,000 to fund improvements to the wildlife center and believe that more public and private money can be raised. The Friends would also like to see more outdoor education classes for youth, an increase in user fees to help cover more of the costs and a funding increase from state lawmakers.
"We want to see these kids get the opportunity to come out and enjoy the outdoors for a day and learn about nature, and photosynthesis and get an appreciation of what the DNR is all about, and yet the DNR wants to shut it all down," said Reggie Finn, who lives in nearby Rio and is vice president of the Friends. "It's the most mystifying thing to me."
What is now the MacKenzie Environmental Center began in the 1930s, when Harley MacKenzie purchased land outside Poynette under his authority as director of the Wisconsin Conservation Department, the precursor to the DNR. The 500-acre property included the State Fur and Game Farm, which raised fur-bearing animals for their pelts and game birds, including ring-necked pheasants, for hunting.
The property was divided in the 1960s, with one-half focused on raising pheasants and the other half designated for outdoor education. Dormitories and the main lodge building were built in 1975. The animals once housed along the road were moved in the 1980s to their current location, behind the maple sugar cook shack, a cabin housing a small logging museum and the Friends group's clubhouse constructed in 2007.Â
From 2006 to 2013, the MacKenzie Center was jointly managed as a partnership between the DNR, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and Friends of MacKenzie. But in 2014, after a heated debate about the property's future and a proposed shooting range, the DNR assumed full operation of the center and rejected a proposal from the Wildlife Federation to manage the property.
For Lucke, who has been active with the Friends group since 2010, the combination of exhibits, events, educational programs and nature offered at MacKenzie is unique and would be missed by the thousands of school children who come to the facility each year. Improvements to the wildlife center and bringing back other animals such as coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions would bring more people to the center and help enhance the center's educational efforts.
"The bottom line is that we feel a real commitment to the facility and the kids," Lucke said. "We feel a real connection to this place because we've done so much work around here."
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
All of the DNR's four alternatives for the property would do away with the wildlife center with only one of the alternatives maintaining the educational programming at the center.