Pheasant Branch

Recent Events

On March 2, 2000, the Conservancy Lands Commission of the City of Middleton held a public informational meeting. The purpose was to obtain input on a trail planned for construction this year in the southwest portion of the Pheasant Branch Conservancy, along a sewer interceptor corridor. (For information on the conservancy see the Background below.)

The original proposal called for making the sewer corrider into a bike trail. This trail would be part of the "Greenway Trail": it will start at the Black Earth Creek headwaters off of RT 14, run east through Middleton, then north and east to Cherokee Marsh. If you have the Madison Bike map, you'll notice that there are no "green" routes which connect Middleton and Cherokee Marsh.
The Greenway trail was originally planned to go through the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and Dane County's Belfontaine Conservancy. The trail would roughly parallel Pheasant Branch road here, and then turn northeast to eventually cross Balzer road near CTH Q. The plans also included a loop around the Pheasant Branch Conservancy.

The Friends of Pheasant Branch , a local environmental advocacy group, opposed the bicycle accommodations as being incompatible with the conservancy's mission. They proposed to accommodate the bicycle users of the Greenway Trail on Pheasant Branch Road (PBR) and have these users follow Pheasant Branch all the way to Balzer Road (both these roads are quiet country roads, and planned to stay that way (for now)).

Several bikies were present at the meeting, including representatives of BTA and BFW. We essentially agreed with the Friends, in that our goal was better access *to* the Conservancy, not *through* the park. They argued strongly that a grass surface trail would be best for the ecology of the area, and would serve adequately for hiking and skiing.
One of the few voices in favor of routing bikes through the conservancy was a representative of the Middleton Conservancy Condominiums, because an expanded Pheasant Branch road would encroach on their property. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't sympathisize with him. A man fron the Orchid Heights neighborhood, a residential area to the east conservancy, wanted a connection through the park, to PBR. Those homes are 'landlocked' by CTH Q.

Later, I got this note from Tom Bernthal, from the Friends of Pheasant Branch:

The Conservancy Committee last night voted unanimously for a grassed/woodchipped trail. Prior to the hearing they were going to vote for a hardened trail. Their change of mind seems to be largely due to your testimony and their realization that a hard surface through the Conservancy was not necessarily going to meet your need or desires. If it had just been the Friends opposed they probably would have voted for the hard surface. Thanks so much for coming and speaking out!

What we lost

The proposed trail would have connected PBR to the traffic light at the intersection of Century Ave and Branch Street. Branch Street is the nearest bike-friendly road, and is separated from PBR by some 600 feet along Century. The trail would also have provide off-road bicyling for the PBR portion of the Greenway, making it more accessible for those who wish avoid all road bicycling.

A paved east-west connector would greatly serve the Orchid Heights neighborhood. Perhaps this could be done through the county park, without adversly the ecology.

Some of these losses could be offset if Century Ave were made more bike-friendly.

What we gained

We now have allies to help us preserve PBR as an urban escape route.

What's Next

A member of the Middleton Public Works commission stated that, contrary to what I've heard elsewhere, they have no plans to do anything toPBR. We need to get PBR designated as an official designated part of the County Bike plan, and then get it resurface into a widened 2-lane road, before Middleton starts feeling the pressure to turn it into a 4-lane highway to Sprawl-land, especially with the revival of the 'North Beltline' idea.

Background

The Pheasant Branch watershed is an area north-west of Lake Mendota. Pheasant Branch creek flows into the lake through a wetland containing several springs. This area includes the Pheasant Branch Conservancy, a nature preserve owned by the city of Middleton, roughly bounded by Century Ave. (CTH M) on the south, Pheasant Branch road on the west, and CTH Q on the east. Just north is a county park (variously known as the Pheasant Branch Creek Conservancy, the Belle Fontaine property, and the Frederick property) , a former farm which is being restored to native vegetation.
For more information, see

Pheasant Branch road is an important urban escape route for bicyclists. Many of the urban escape routes are being lost to development, such as the expansion of Old Sauk Road to four lanes. Here is a bicyling trip cue sheet (a nice easy spring tour!) that highlights the geographical and environmental characteristics of the Pheasant Branch Creek watershed:
Pheasant Branch cue sheet

Here are some technical water quality studies on Pheasant Branch Creek.

  • USGS
  • A Report From The North Fork Pheasant Branch Watershed Committee, done by UW geology department.
  • EPA

    by Darin Burleigh
    with input from Peter Taglia and George Perkins.
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