OBJECTIVE
The study will examine changes in land use and land values in and around the Dane County Ice Age Trail corridor in orde
r to facilitate trail planning and land acquisition.
BACKGROUND
The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail that winds through Wisconsin from the Minnesota border (near the Twin Citi
es) to Door County; it roughly follows the terminal moraine of the last Ice Age glacial advances. Approximately half of
the planned thousand-mile trail has been completed. Most of the remaining trail will require the acquisition of rights
-of-way through privately owned land. Two complicating factors, particularly in rapidly growing areas near Madison and
Milwaukee, are the losses of natural corridors to development and the rising costs of undeveloped areas.
About sixty to seventy miles of trail is planned for Dane County, including a corridor just to the west of Madison. Rap id development and rising land values in Dane County make it essential to be able to efficiently utilize limited resour ces to purchase lands before they are developed or they become too costly to buy.
TASKS:
The study will specifically attempt to: (1) categorize recent and planned developments along the corridor that potentia
lly affect the trail's natural, scenic, and recreational value; (2) analyze recent and projected changes in land values
along the corridor in order to facilitate the "targeting" of limited funds for trail acquisition and development.