Once again, our beautiful Blue Mounds State Park is under threat. In 2017, many of you raised your voices in support of a “silent” state park. We are asking that you once again weigh in on the need to keep this beautiful park silent and routing any snow mobiles outside of the park boundary. The Department of Natural Resources has initiated the process to update the Master Plan. Tell the DNR that snow mobiling and motorized recreation vehicles are inconsistent with the Blue Mounds experience in all seasons.
This gem of a park lies close to large population centers in southern Wisconsin and connects with the Military Ridge bike trail. Its location makes it the premier site for camping, hiking and biking in the summer and skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. It is home to a variety of animals and birds, some rare and endangered. Visitors come in all seasons to experience what the park has to offer including tremendous views from the lookouts.
The Sierra Club Four Lakes Group has taken a position in opposition to the proposal to create a new snowmobile trail through Blue Mounds State Park on the basis of our support for silent sports, concern for public safety, and the existence of snowmobile trails already nearby.
The previous proposal for a snow mobile trail in the Park, which is still being considered, included bulldozing a new snowmobile trail. It would displace an existing cross country ski trail, disrupt silent sports such as skiing, snowshoeing and hiking, and require destruction of hundreds of trees and existing wildlife habitat and potentially disrupt wildlife patterns within the park. Anecdotes from High Cliff State Park where a snowmobile trail was constructed are that the machines can be heard through out the park disrupting the experience for all silent sport lovers.
The bottom line, each state park does not need to meet the needs of every type of recreational use and motorized recreational activities like snow mobiling, with its high noise levels, are incompatible with the silent sports and biological reserves within Blue Mounds State Park.
You have until Tuesday March 26th to comment of the Blue Mounds State Park Master Plan revision. You can access the online form via the DNR website . The comment boxes in the online public input form are limited to 10,000 characters. If your answer exceeds 10,000 characters or you have further comments, you may send them to Phil Rynish, DNR Property Planner at Phillip.Rynish@wisconsin.gov