Field trips
Saturday, November 3 | 12:45–4 p.m.
There are no extra fees to attend these field trips, they are included with your conference registration.
When you register for the conference, you will be given an opportunity to indicate your intention (but not absolute commitment) to participate in one of the following excursions; or, you can choose not to attend a field trip.
LA CROSSE URBAN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY:
In this walking tour of La Crosse, we will explore its late 19th–century l role as a lumber port and rail river crossing, then a 20th–century manufacturing, health, education, and beer-making center. Highlights include Prairie-style homes, and the still-thriving Syrian-Lebanese community.
BLUFFS, FORESTS, WETLANDS, AND PRAIRIES —
CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION:
We will visit ecologically important marsh lands, oak savannas, forests, and/or “goat prairies,” including sites where the Mississippi Valley Conservancy is restoring landscapes to benefit raptors, native plants, and other wildlife. If the weather cooperates and there is sufficient interest, we may take a bike ride through the Brice Prairie Conservation Area.
DRIFTLESS REGION —
GEOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE:
We will visit sites highlighting the picturesque geomorphology of the Driftless (or “Coulee”) Region of southwestern Wisconsin. The human settlement and land use–Amish farms, pioneering organic cooperatives, and (in the adjacent Central Plain) cranberry farms–will be featured as well.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER:
We will get to know the mighty river as a product of human and natural actions. Highlights will include a tour of Lock and Dam 7, a visit to the new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service visitor center at Brice Prairie (and a short hike, if weather permits), an overlook above the bluffs, and a visit to a local trout stream.