(Narrator) WILDLIFE COMES NATURALLY TO
HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
WHY DOES IT COME HERE?
WHY DOES IT THRIVE HERE?
SIT BACK AND WE'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT
HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
A UNIQUE PLACE WITH ABUNDANT AND DIVERSE WILDLIFE.
A PLACE WHERE WILDLIFE COMES FIRST.
(GEESE HONKING)
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE SIGHT OF WATERFOWL
STREAMING ACROSS THE SKY...
TALKING THEIR WAY SOUTH...
TO INDICATE THAT FALL HAS TRULY ARRIVED.
AND THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE TO VIEW
THIS STIRRING SEASONAL RITUAL
THAN AT HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IN WISCONSIN.
BETWEEN SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER,
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GEESE
AND DUCKS MAKE A TEMPORARY STOPOVER AT THIS REFUGE.
CREATING ONE OF THE GREATEST CONGREGATIONS OF WATERFOWL IN THE MIDWEST.
THE GEESE THAT VISIT HORICON MARSH
ARE A SUBSPECIES OF CANADA GEESE CALLED "INTERIOR" CANADA GEESE.
WEIGHING SEVEN TO TEN POUNDS,
THESE GEESE ARE SMALLER THAN THE GIANT CANADA GEESE
THAT HAVE BECOME A FAMILIAR SIGHT IN SOME URBAN PARKS
AND GOLF COURSES.
THE INTERIOR GEESE UNDERTAKE IMPRESSIVE 1,200-MILE MIGRATIONS
BETWEEN BREEDING GROUNDS NEAR CANADA'S HUDSON BAY
AND WINTERING GROUNDS ON THE LOWER OHIO RIVER VALLEY AREA.
HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
PROVIDES A PLACE FOR THE BIRDS TO REST AND REFUEL
IN THE MIDDLE OF THESE LONG MIGRATORY JOURNEYS.
AT NIGHT, GEESE REST ON THE OPEN WATERS OF THE MARSH.
AT DAWN, MANY FLY OFF TO NEARBY FIELDS TO FORAGE.
SO THE BEST TIMES FOR VIEWING GEESE ON THE REFUGE
ARE IN THE EARLY MORNING OR EVENING,
ESPECIALLY ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 49.
BUT GEESE ARE ONLY ONE OF OVER 220 SPECIES
OF BIRDS THAT CALL THE REFUGE HOME.
HORICON REFUGE WAS CREATED SPECIFICALLY
FOR THE CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY WATERFOWL,
ESPECIALLY REDHEAD DUCKS.
MORE REDHEADS NEST HERE
THAN ANYPLACE ELSE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
HORICON IS A HAVEN FOR WILDLIFE.
MAMMALS LIVE IN SURROUNDING UPLANDS,
AS WELL AS THE MARSH ITSELF.
THOUGH RARELY SEEN, THE PLAYFUL, FISH-EATING RIVER OTTER
FINDS A PERFECT HOME IN THIS LARGE, PROTECTED WETLAND.
MUSKRATS ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE COMMONLY OBSERVED.
THAT'S BECAUSE THE MARSH IS FULL OF THE MUSKRAT'S FAVORITE
FOOD AND HOUSE MATERIAL--
CATTAILS.
CATTAILS FLOURISH IN AREAS LIKE THE HORICON REFUGE.
IN FACT, THE 32,000-ACRE HORICON MARSH
IS THE LARGEST FRESHWATER CATTAIL MARSH IN THE U.S.
BUT CATTAILS CAN BE A MIXED BLESSING,
BECAUSE THEY READILY TAKE OVER AND BECOME TOO THICK
TO BENEFIT A DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE.
HOWEVER, AS MUSKRATS FEED AND BUILD THEIR DOME-SHAPED HOUSES,
THEY HELP OPEN UP DENSE STANDS OF CATTAILS
AND CREATE SMALL OPEN-WATER AREAS IN THE MARSH
WHERE DUCKS CAN REST AND FEED.
AND THIS PROVIDES ACCESS INTO CATTAILS
FOR SOME NESTING DUCKS AND OTHER MARSH BIRDS.
TODAY, HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
IS AN UNDISTURBED SANCTUARY FOR WATERFOWL AND WILDLIFE.
BUT PEOPLE ALMOST DESTROYED THIS WETLAND
BEFORE JOINING TOGETHER TO PROTECT IT.
THE MARSH LIES IN A 14-MILE-LONG BASIN,
GOUGED OUT DURING THE LAST ICE AGE BY MASSIVE GLACIERS.
BRIMMING WITH BIRDS AND WILDLIFE,
THE MARSH WAS A MAGNET FOR NATIVE PEOPLE,
WHO LIVED AND HUNTED HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
WITH LITTLE NEGATIVE IMPACT UPON THE LAND.
SOME OF THE FEW REMAINING TRACES OF EARLY HUMAN LIFE
ARE CURIOUS EARTHEN MOUNDS,
CONSTRUCTED BETWEEN 700 AND 1200 A.D.
MADE IN ANIMAL AND GEOMETRIC SHAPES,
THESE SACRED MOUNDS WERE THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN USED FOR BURIAL
AS WELL AS CEREMONIES.
SEVERAL NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES LIVED NEAR THE MARSH
WHEN THE FIRST EUROPEAN SETTLERS ARRIVED,
MAINLY THE HO-CHUNK,
POTOWATOMI (POT-A-WOT-A-MEE)
AND MENOMONEE. (ME-NOM-A-NEE)
LIKE NATIVE PEOPLE BEFORE THEM,
EUROPEAN SETTLERS WERE DRAWN BY THE PRISTINE,
WILDLIFE-RICH WATERS OF THE MARSH
AND THE ROCK RIVER.
PIONEERS NAMED THE PLACE "HORICON,"
A MOHICAN WORD MEANING "PURE, CLEAN WATER."
BUT UNLIKE NATIVE AMERICANS,
THE NEW SETTLERS LOOKED AT THE WILD MARSH
AND IMAGINED WAYS TO "TAME" IT AND PROFIT FROM IT.
THE FIRST MANIPULATION CAME IN 1846.
SETTLERS DAMMED THE MARSH'S SOUTH END
TO PROVIDE POWER FOR MILLS,
CREATING THE LARGEST ARTIFICIAL LAKE IN THE WORLD.
THE DAM WAS REMOVED IN 1869
AND AS THE WATER RECEDED AND WATERFOWL RETURNED,
PEOPLE SAW ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY.
IN 1883, TWO EXCLUSIVE SHOOTING CLUBS
WERE ESTABLISHED ON THE MARSH.
IN AN EARLY ATTEMPT TO "CONSERVE" WATERFOWL,
THE SHOOTING CLUBS IMPOSED RULES ON THEIR MEMBERS
THAT WERE MINOR BY TODAY'S STANDARDS.
AND THERE WERE NO RESTRICTIONS ON MARKET HUNTERS.
WHO SUPPLIED SUCCULENT DUCKS
TO BIG-CITY RESTAURANTS BY THE BARRELFUL.
BY THE EARLY 1900S,
OVERHUNTING AND INCREASINGLY DRY CONDITIONS
DEVASTATED WILDLIFE POPULATIONS,
AND THE MARSH LOST MUCH OF ITS WILDLIFE.
BUT SOON ANOTHER SCHEME EMERGED.
DEVELOPERS DECIDED TO DRAIN THE MARSH
AND TURN IT INTO A HUGE "MUCK FARM."
IN 1910, THEY USED A HUGE STEAM-POWERED DREDGE
TO DIG MANY DITCHES THROUGH THE MARSH--
SCARS THAT CAN STILL BE SEEN TODAY.
ONE CONSERVATIONIST LATER COMPARED
THE DITCHING AND DRAINING TO
"A VAMPIRE STREAM WHICH BLED THE MARSH WHITE."
HE SAID "IT SHRED THE ROCK RIVER TO RIBBONS."
BUT THIS ILL-CONCEIVED PLAN ALSO FAILED.
THE RIVER-FED MARSH COULD NOT BE COMPLETELY DRAINED.
AND, THE EXPOSED PEAT PROVED MORE FLAMMABLE THAN FERTILE.
ONCE AGAIN, A RICH NATURAL ECOSYSTEM HAD BEEN DEVASTATED,
WITH NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT.
THE EARLY 1900S, HOWEVER,
MARKED THE DAWNING OF THE AMERICAN CONSERVATION MOVEMENT
AND A CHANGING ATTITUDE TOWARD THE VALUE OF WILD PLACES.
IN THE 1920S,
THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA,
A GROUP WITH STRONG ROOTS IN THE MIDWEST,
LAUNCHED A HIGH-PROFILE CRUSADE
TO RECLAIM HORICON MARSH.
LED BY
THE LEAGUE AND OTHER CONSERVATIONISTS
GATHERED MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SIGNATURES
ON A PETITION TO BUILD A DAM TO RESTORE THE MARSH.
THE STATE LEGISLATURE RESPONDED IN 1927,
APPROVING FUNDS FOR A NEW DAM TO RESTORE THE MARSH'S WATER LEVEL
AND FOR INITIAL LAND PURCHASES.
HUNTER-SUPPORTED FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
PROVIDED THE MONEY TO PURCHASE THE REMAINDER OF THE MARSH.
IN 1941, HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WAS ESTABLISHED
AND IS MANAGED BY THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.
THE SOUTHERN ONE-THIRD IS MANAGED BY
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES.
ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS PRISTINE, HORICON MARSH
STILL BEARS THE SCARS OF PAST EFFORTS TO EXPLOIT IT.
AND TODAY, REFUGE STAFF DEVOTE MUCH OF THEIR TIME
TO IMPROVING THE MARSH'S WILDLIFE HABITAT.
STAFF MANIPULATE WATER LEVELS
TO PROVIDE A VARIETY OF WETLAND CONDITIONS
WHICH BENEFIT MANY BIRDS.
ONE BIG THREAT TO WETLAND HEALTH IS POSED BY PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE.
EUROPEAN SETTLERS BROUGHT THIS PLANT TO THE U.S. IN THE 1800S.
THIS FAST-GROWING PLANT CHOKES OUT NATIVE PLANTS
THAT WILDLIFE RELY ON FOR FOOD AND SHELTER.
TO KEEP LOOSESTRIFE IN CHECK,
REFUGE STAFF HAVE RELEASED POPULATIONS
OF ONE OF THE PLANT'S NATURAL ENEMIES--
A EUROPEAN LEAF-EATING BEETLE.
THE BEETLE'S FEED EXCLUSIVELY ON LOOSESTRIFE
AND KEEP IT IN CHECK.
LIKE LOOSESTRIFE, CARP ARE NOT DESIRABLE OR WELCOME
ON HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
CARP WERE INTRODUCED BY EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS IN THE LATE 1800S
AND ARE A PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY UPROOT PLANTS AND STIR UP MUD.
THE MUDDY WATERS CREATE A POOR ENVIRONMENT FOR GAME FISH
AND REDUCE THE GROWTH OF THE UNDERWATER PLANTS
THAT FUEL THE MARSH FOOD CHAIN.
REFUGE STAFF WORK
TO REDUCE CARP POPULATIONS IN MANY WAYS.
STAFF ALSO CONDUCT PRESCRIBED BURNS
TO IMPROVE WILDLIFE HABITAT.
THE PRAIRIE GRASSES PROVIDE FOOD AND COVER
TO MANY WILDLIFE SPECIES.
ALL OF THESE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
HELP MAKE THE REFUGE A BETTER PLACE FOR WILDLIFE AND PEOPLE.
HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IS PART OF
THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM,
MANAGED BY THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.
THIS SYSTEM INCLUDES
MORE THAN 535 NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
AND SPANS OVER 94 MILLION ACRES OF LAND.
THE SYSTEM WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1903
TO PROVIDE A HAVEN FOR AMERICA'S WILDLIFE.
AMERICA'S REFUGE SYSTEM IS THE ONLY NETWORK OF FEDERAL LANDS
SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED TO WILDLIFE
AND HABITAT CONSERVATION.
WHILE REFUGES ARE FOR WILDLIFE FIRST,
THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES
FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY THE AREA'S SIGHTS AND SOUNDS.
MORE THAN 35 MILLION PEOPLE
VISIT AMERICA'S REFUGE SYSTEM EACH YEAR,
AND ABOUT 500,000 VISIT HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
HORICON MARSH IS NOT ONLY A LOCAL TREASURE
BUT ALSO A WETLAND OF INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE
AND A GLOBALLY IMPORTANT BIRD AREA.
HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
IS READY AND WAITING TO WELCOME YOU.
WHILE AT THE VISITOR CENTER, SEE THE EXHIBITS...
OR PARTICIPATE IN ACTIVITIES AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION BARN.
TAKE A DRIVE ON SEVEN MILES OF PEACEFUL INTERIOR ROADS,
INCLUDING A 3-MILE AUTO TOUR ROUTE.
WATCH WILDLIFE FROM MANY VIEWING AREAS,
INCLUDING A FLOATING BOARDWALK.
YOU CAN ENJOY SEVERAL HIKING TRAILS,
OR GO BICYCLING...
FISHING...
SNOWSHOEING...
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING...
OR WILDLIFE TRACKING.
YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT SOME AREAS ARE OPEN SEASONALLY
FOR THE PROTECTION OF WILDLIFE.
HUNTING IS ALLOWED ON THE REFUGE FOR DEER AND SMALL GAME.
HOWEVER, HORICON REFUGE IS A BIRD SANCTUARY,
AND WATERFOWL HUNTING IS NOT PERMITTED,
EXCEPT FOR A SPECIAL YOUTH HUNT HELD ONCE A YEAR.
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, REFUGE STAFF OFFER EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL TOURS FOR GROUPS,
RANGING FROM PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN TO SENIORS.
GUIDED BIRD TOURS, BIRD FESTIVALS,
AND GOOSE TALKS HELP ROUND OUT THE CALENDAR OF EVENTS.
HORICON REFUGE RELIES ON VOLUNTEERS
TO HELP CARRY OUT THE REFUGE'S PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.
THEY DO EVERYTHING FROM MAINTAINING BLUEBIRD BOXES,
TO STAFFING INFORMATION DESKS
AND KEEPING THE REFUGE CLEAN.
THERE'S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!
THERE ARE PLENTY OF REASONS
TO VISIT HORICON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
HERE YOU CAN FIND A SEA OF CATTAILS,
A KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOR,
A RAFT OF DUCKS,
AND THE SOUL-STIRRING SOUND OF "GOOSE MUSIC."
AND YOU MIGHT ALSO FIND SOMETHING
YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE LOOKING FOR...
A SENSE OF PEACE...
AN EXPERIENCE OF SOLITUDE...
AND A FEELING OF BEING EVER MORE CLOSELY
CONNECTED TO THE LAND.
PLEASE TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
ABOUT THIS SPECIAL PLACE,
WHERE WILDLIFE COMES FIRST.