United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Soils Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content





2007 NCSS National Conference

“Soil Survey — Future Directions in Soil Health and Supporting Productive Lands”

Tours

Southwest Wisconsin Soil Landscapes Tour

Photo of southwest Wisconsin landscape.

June 4, 2007
8:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Cost of the Tour is included in the registration
Limited seating, priority to conference participants, must pre-register
$60.00 per guest
Lunch and evening meal included

Objectives:

  • Introduction to Southwest Wisconsin history
  • Land management in southwestern Wisconsin
  • Benchmark Soil Landscapes
Time Activity
8:00 AM Load bus at the Inn on the Park.
9:00 AM Stop #1 -- Goat Prairie site. Known as the “Wisconsin Desert”, Spring Green is a place where forest meets bluff, and bluff levels off into plains and dunes. It is located in the unglaciated region of the state.
10:00 AM Stop #2 -- North Plain Cheese Factory tour. Cheese making in the Cedar Grove Cheese Factory begins at 10:00 PM, when 100,000 pounds of milk arrive. By late the next morning, it will become 10,000 pounds of cheese. The Cedar Grove Cheese Factory is 102 years old.
11:20 AM Stop #3 -- WGNHS Water Table Monitoring Study in Gov Dodge State Park.
12:50 PM Stop #4 -- Steep Stony Update Tour of Map Units in Gov Dodge Park. Look at the steep backslopes map units of the coulee region. Discussions of bedrock, forestry, and update of map units for this driftless region.
2:10 PM Stop #5 -- Roundtree Study. A look at the physical properties and a discussion of the chemical properties of a foundation series mapped in this region. View a slope progression of soil profiles.
4:00 PM Stop #6 -- Blue Mound State Park overview of geology and soils. It is the tallest hill in Southern Wisconsin, furthest point north for Niagara Dolomite. Blue Mounds stands hundreds of feet above the surrounding countryside.
5:00 PM Arrive at Lake Mendota Park for cookout at 5:30.
7:00 PM Leave Lake Mendota Park.
7:30 PM Return to Inn on the Park.

< Back to NCSS 2007 National Conference Index