Tosa Tax Payers To Pay For UW-Tosa

Now the Wauwatosa Tax Payer can join the Monarch Butterfly on the endangered species list.

Bad News From Tosa

The Wauwatosa Common Council not only let their constituents down last night, the failed everyone in Milwaukee County.

Sad, really.

Desperation from the UWM Foundation?

The profiteers that would build their strip mall and Lord only knows what else must be feeling pretty nervous about their chances. Why else would they have cranked up the hype machine a month before the Tosa Common Council's public hearing?

More at Milwaukee County First.

Also see the erudite James Rowen's thoughts on this.

Monarch Park?

The Monarch's population is at its lowest in decades, and Milwaukee County thinks now is a good time to sell of one of their major migratory stops in favor of a strip mall?

Go to the public input session being held Tuesday night and tell them that they should be trying to fix and preserve the trail, not find new ways to break their promise to preserve it.

On The Wings Of A Prayer

Here is an update on the Tosa Common Council's Development Committee meeting held last night.

Last Stand For The County Grounds

From Milwaukee County First:

We have received an urgent call to action from the Friends of the Monarch Trail and the Riverkeepers:

Our last line of participation in preserving the butterfly habitat is being “fast-tracked” through Wauwatosa .

We need as many people to attend this Economic Development meeting at

Wauwatosa City Hall ,

this Tuesday 23^rd! 8 pm.

76^th and North Ave.

Everyone please come and support us with your presence!

We will ask questions about the planning process on this land and our watchful eyes will impact their decisions.

Q Why is the habitat plan is being separated from the UWM Proposal-are we being shut out of future discussions?

Q. If this habitat plan is approved by Wauwatosa will we still be able to improve and enhance these concepts as promised by the County Board Supervisors?

The Monarch Habitat is more important than ever. Their numbers are at an all-time-low, there is devastating flooding in their overwintering sites, and the continued loss of habitat will be the demise of this once common butterfly.

See you there!

In what could be perceived as a violation of due process rights due to such short notice, the Wauwatosa Common Council will be having a committee meeting and vote on the fate of the county grounds.

Besides the very short notice and the fact that they have separated the Monarch habitat issue from the rest of the equation is only the beginning of the stink from these maneuvers.

For example, we have learned today that the planned area of development expanded from the original 850,000 square feet to 1,192,200 square feet. That is a 40% higher amount of land that they want to develop than previously stated! Does anybody really think that won’t have an effect on the habitat?

Furthermore, besides lying that they have the money for the development, UWM is also lying about the plan saying it was approved for the entire habitat to be moved eastward, and that “the butterflies will just follow along.” What a load of rubbish!

The Monarch butterflies already have had their numbers severely diminished due to the excessive logging that has occurred in their winter nesting grounds. But to make matter much, much worse, the colony was devastated by a freak winter storm that killed tens of millions of them.

Experts are concerned if they will be able to withstand another devastating blow without getting some help. Destroying one of their major migratory stops in order to build yet another hotel or strip mall is not going to give them the help they desperately need.

Please show up and let the Tosa Common Council know that their decision could have long-lasting and serious implications felt around the world, and that they should not make it in a hurry on a plan that they haven’t had a chance to do more than skim over.

What Kind of Green Is The County Board?

I guess we'll find out this week. They will chose either money green or ecofriendly green.

I think I already know the sad answer.

Two Bright Rays of Hope for the Monarchs

The story is at MCF.

Summary: The County Board's Committee on Economic and Community Development tabled the vote, for now. The UWM faculty senate voted down the master plan, finding it lacking.

But the fight goes on.

Pave Over Paradise, Put Up A Parking Lot

The developers, UWM and the County is doing their best to destroy the county grounds once and for all. Where are the promises they made?

A Grand Day At The County Grounds

What a gorgeous day it was. Ideal weather brought a lot of people to the County Grounds in the hope of seeing some Monarch butterflies.

While the Monarchs have not arrived en force yet, everyone still enjoyed themselves.

Pictures are up at Milwaukee County First.

I want to offer a special thanks to Barb and Lulu for helping MCF in making this a success.

Also, special thanks to Jay "folkbum" Bullock for providing the musical entertainment.

It was especially grand for me as I got to meet the charming and lovely Izzy and Izzy's Mom.

But I think the best part of the day is when I found out that my dear friends, Jason and Stacie, are to be married next month! Congrats, kids, and you know I'll be there for sure!

Here's a snippet of Jay singing the unofficial song of the County Grounds:

Magical Monarch Migratory Mystery Tour Today!

Just a reminder:

Moon Party Tonight!

The Monarchs Magical Migratory Mystery Tour

Moon Party

DOT's Threat To The Monarch Trail

The DOT's proposal to rebuild and expand the zoo interchange is threatening to ruin what's left of the Monarch Trail. See the details at Milwaukee County First.

James Rowen has more.

Deception Threatens The Monarchs!

I received a very disturbing email from my friends, the Friends of the Monarch Trail.

It appears that, unfortunately, but not surprisingly, UWM is not living up to their agreement to preserve the Monarch Trail.

You can find the details at Milwaukee County First.

Of Monarchs and Milkweeds

Over at Milwaukee County First*, we received an email from a concerned citizen with an alarming tale to share. With his expressed permission, I am duplicating the email here in its entirety, with only his last name and contact information redacted, to protect his privacy:

To whom this may concern:

For decades there has always been a healthy, moderately-sized stand of milkweed plants allowed to grow unhampered along the edge of the lagoon at Greenfield park, until today.

Some ignorant fool just cut down virtually every Milkweed plant during the grass mowing operation. There was no reason to do this, and I am devastated.

These milkweed plants provided a vital breeding ground food source for our Monarch butterflies which eat only Milkweed...nothing else. By cutting down these beautiful plants, you have destroyed any chance for the Monarch butterflies to lay their eggs, raise their young and produce the next generation of Monarchs destined to fly south and play a crucial part in their survival as a species.

I ask you to please educate those individuals responsible for groundskeeping activities so that they never again destroy these milkweed plants so crucial to the survival of our beautiful Monarch butterfly population which is currently under great stress as it is.

I consider Greenfield park, with its beautiful lagoon, a refuge for our precious wildlife...not just a place for humans to party. Perhaps you can see my point of view and agree to allow our beautiful Monarch butterflies to consider it a refuge too.

Thank you for your time and kind consideration.

Sincerely,

Gerald

It is alarming due to the fact that both Milwaukee County and the state's Department of Transportation are threatening to effectively destroy the Monarch Trail on the county grounds, the unique place where the Monarch Butterflies stop during their migrations. There will be sol little left for them that all places of refuge for these gems should be protected.

And speaking of the DOT, it is not too late to make your voice heard. Deadline for giving them hell, er, I mean feedback on their proposal for the zoo interchange is August 10. Contact information is:

• E-mail comments to dotdtsdsezoo@dot.wi.gov
• Faxed comments to (262) 548-5662
• Mail comments to: James Liptack, P.E.
  WisDOT, SE Transportation Region
  P.O. Box 798
  Waukesha, WI 53187-0798

Jim Liptack, Project Manager
Phone: (262) 548-8662
E-mail: james.liptack@dot.wi.gov
Web site: www.sefreeways.org

*Don't forget to go back to Milwaukee County First and join up, and maybe even donate.

Let My Pupae Go!

Over the weekend, I told you about the beautiful gift that the Ladies of the Monarchs had given me. Overnight, Friday night, the first Monarch butterfly had emerged and left us. (I later found out that the first one was female.)

Last night, the second pupae started to get ready to emerge. I stayed up too late in hopes of seeing it emerge. I finally gave up and went to bed, resigned to missing. Much to our surprise, the butterfly was still encased in his chrysalis this morning. Like a nervous father-to-be, I kept pacing around waiting for it to happen. Then it started to get later in the morning and I had to get ready to go to work.



I kept checking in on the pupae, but when I was in the other room, it popped out. I came back and found it hanging from the branch, the moisture practically visible on its wings. Knowing better, I did not touch it, as not to harm the fragile wings of the butterfly, but just watched it with a silly grin on my face.

I only had a few more minutes before I had to leave, so I transported the port and the newly emerged butterfly outside where it could sun itself and where it could be free to fly when it was ready.

I went back in and finished throwing my lunch together and, on a spur, grabbed the camera on my way out. Unfortunately, the little guy (it was a male) was rather camera shy and did not want to cooperate with my efforts to take its picture. This was the only one where it wasn't facing me, with wings closed, making it almost invisible.


Now, my wife and I are going through empty nest syndrome. We never realized how excited we were to see this small miracle of nature until it was gone.


She now wants me to go back to the Ladies of the Butterflies to see if they would allow us this boon again. I'm just happy to share in it this little bit.

My Friends, The Pupae Of Milwaukee County

My friends, the Friends of the Monarch Trail, asked me to stop by because they had a gift for me. I was finally able to get over there for a few minutes yesterday.

Those dear Ladies of the Monarchs were kind enough to give me what they call a "pupa port." This generosity was truly a gift fit for a king.

What a pupa port is is a basket with a decorative (and most twisting) stick. On said stick were two pupae, or chrysalises. When I received my gift, both pupae were the same light green color. I was told that I could tell when one was about to emerge, the chrysalis would turn a dark color.

By the time I got home from dinner and errands last night, around 9 pm, one had already become noticeably darker:


To give you and idea of how tiny these pupae are, that is my thumb next to them (and no, I do not have a monstrously large thumb):

By about 11 pm, the chrysalis was starting to become transparent. You can see the wings of the future Monarch starting to show through.



Even though I tried to stay up, I couldn't any more and went to bed about 2:30 this morning. Before retiring to my bed, I placed the basket in an old popcorn tin and laid a swatch of light muslin over the top, just in case.

This morning, my wife woke me up at 7 am, and told me to check on the pupae. I gently lifted the muslin and found the Monarch hanging from it. I gently lowered the cloth again and carried the whole thing outside.

Once outside, I again lifted the cloth off the can and let the butterfly climb on my hand. When my wife acted as its roost, I grabbed our camera and got this shot:


We left it outside so that it could sun itself and take off when it was ready. I will admit that I kept a protective eye on my new ward. A little after nine this morning, the butterfly starting to stir more than it had before, slowly batting its wings and waving it antennae. I grabbed the camera, but before I could even turn it on, the little guy (or gal) took off and flew to the east.

Now, one of our "children" has left us forever. And the other pupa seems to be getting a little darker...

They never told me I was going to have to deal with empty nest syndrome.

For more information on the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, please click here.

It's Not Too Late To Help The Monarchs

It appears the DOT, who had been threatening the Monarch Trail with their insistence on screwing up the zoo interchange, might be hearing us.

From WauwatosaNOW.com:

Residents also are voicing opinions about the project. Barb Agnew, chairwoman of the Friends of the Monarch Trail advisory board, is joining others in stating concern that the upgraded interchange will encroach on part of the County Grounds used by migrating birds and butterflies.

Agnew, a Wauwatosa florist, said the land's elevation and proximity to convergent waterways make it one of a few spots in the region where traveling monarch butterflies can rest while moving between Canada and Mexico.

"It can't be moved," she said of the habitat, and asked, "How many can we destroy before they can no longer successfully migrate?"

Carrie Cooper, an environmental planner for the DOT, is working to minimize the project's impact on the habitat.

Cooper said the planned upgrades to the interchange definitely will harm at least the southern part of the butterfly habitat but should leave the northern portion intact. Agnew and Cooper agreed this northern area is most important. In the hopes of offsetting any lost habitat, Cooper said, project designers will add native plantings favored by the butterflies.

Agnew said she's pleased the DOT is willing to cooperate.

"I am hopeful that they can be creative enough in their designing that they can either avoid (damaging the habitat) altogether, or minimize the impact they (do) have," she said.

The article goes on to say that the DOT will continue to accept emails and postal mail on the matter until July 13. That is Monday, people. So take a few minutes before going to Bastille Days or whatever your outdoor plans are and whip off a quick message to the DOT to leave the Monarch trail alone.

Comments should be submitted to:

Jim Lipstack, project manager
Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Southeast Region
141 N.W. Barstow St.
Waukesha, WI 53187

dotdtsdsezoo@dot.state.wi.us