Open House Conversation on the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway

Join us for an informational Open House on the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway efforts to receive the National Park Service's coveted National Heritage Area (NHA) designation.  This is a  collaborative effort by the Friends of the Fox and the east Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to protect and enhance the abundant resources and unique history of the Fox and Lower Wisconsin rivers.  The project will increase the awareness of the cultural, historical and recreational resources this 280 mile waterway offers.

The National Heritage Area (NHA) concept was created in 1984, with the goal of preserving our national history and resources, and telling a unique story about American history. There are currently 49 NHAs, though none are located in Wisconsin. Unlike a National Park, a NHA is not managed by the National Park Service, and no land exchanges are made. Instead, the NHA designation serves as a structure for residents, non-profit organizations and businesses to work together on education and conservation of the historic resources of the area.

The proposed Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway NHA includes approximately 1,400 square miles of land in 15 counties in central and southeastern Wisconsin, including Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green Lake, Iowa, Marquette, Outagamie, Richland, Sauk, Waushara, and Winnebago counties. This area was chosen to tell the story of Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet and their voyage in 1673 from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River, the results of which helped establish European settlements in the Mississippi River Corridor.

National Heritage Areas can only be designated through an act of Congress; accordingly, like other acts of Congress, the bill introduced must pass the House and Senate and be signed by President Obama.

The Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway will be a parkway with the purpose of highlighting and enhancing the unique heritage of the State of Wisconsin by exemplifying and promoting the cultural, historical, recreational and natural resources of this river corridor.  The planned lineal parkway will compliment numerous other scattered multi-purpose parks, historic sites, tourist attractions and wildlife areas creating a single system of sites.

The boundaries follow the Marquette and Joliet route of discovery and incorporate the Lower Fox, the Upper Fox, and the Lower Wisconsin rivers. Establishing the Heritage Parkway will tie the current landscape with the history which brought us to it and allows for that history to come alive. It will allow residents and visitors to roam the area by power boat, canoe or kayak along the water trail, by foot or wheel along the many walking and biking trails, or by car on a driving tour. As they roam they will encounter pieces of the many stories that have occurred here. 

Heritage Parkway Focus Areas
History
Health and Recreation
Increased Public Awareness
Environmental Stewardship

For additional information on these efforts please visit  
http://www.friendsofthefox.org/friendsofthefox/community++projects/fox-wi+heritage+parkway.asp

Information obtained from  http://www.friendsofthefox.org/ and the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway Brochure.