From Glacier to Refuge

From Glacier to Refuge. . , Carved out by the Green Bay lobe of the Wisconsin glacier more than 10,000 years ago, Horicon Marsh has had a rich and colorful history. , , This vast marsh, bordered on the east by the Niagara Escarpment, was a food source that drew Native Americans, such as the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi, and eventually European immigrants to its rich waters. Soon after the European colonization, the marsh underwent drastic changes, some of which are still evident today. , , Dam, Ditch, and Drain , The first of many changes began during the 1800s, when uplands were cleared for farming and a dam was built on the Rock River, transforming the marsh in to Lake Horicon. When the dam was removed in 1869, the lake reverted to marsh and, once again, attracted large numbers of waterfowl. Horicon Marsh became widely known for hunting and underwent a 30-year period of minimally regulated market hunting. Two private hunting clubs leased and managed most of the marsh for waterfowl hunting until the early 1900s. Club members implemented some of the earliest hunting regulations in an attempt to decrease the effects of market hunting and ensure future populations of waterfowl. , , More changes came in 1904. During an era when many people viewed wetlands as wasteland, the marsh was ditched and dredged in an attempt to drain the land for muck farming. In time, however, farming proved impossible, and the land, dry and desolate, often burst into spontaneous peat fires that lasted for days and sometimes weeks. , , Rally for Restoration , Disheartened by the condition of this great marsh, Louis "Curley" Radke rallied citizen groups to campaign to restore the marsh. In 1927, their efforts resulted in the establishment of the 10,000-acre Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area. This area is made up of the southern third of Horicon Marsh and is managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. , , The remainder of the marsh was purchased by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the protection and preservation of migratory waterfowl and established the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in 1941. This 21,000-acre refuge encompasses the northern two-thirds of the 32,000-acre Horicon Marsh. , , Left image captions: Steamboat (M. Winter) on Lake Horicon (top); Put gun used by market hunters (middle); Steam-powered barge-mounted dredge (bottom). , , Top right image caption: Radke and citizen groups. , , Bottom image captions: Ducks released on Horicon Marsh (left); Drainage ditch (right).