White River Property Canoe Trip!

The job of preserving special places is not always a picnic, but on
its best days it can be just that. On May 28 members of the Bayfield
Regional Conservancy board and friends of the White River launched a
flotilla of canoes for a  half-day paddle to inspect the parcel of
land BRC is acquiring there. The property, currently known as the Walker property but formerly known
as the old Hanson Farm, straddles the river in the Town of Delta and will be
held by BRC until it can be sold to the Wisconsin DNR.

 The day, which began with a group breakfast at the always tasty Delta
Diner,  was as fine as May can offer, with uncluttered blue skies,
warm air and even occasional breezes for cooling and mosquito control.
Host Bill Heart, accompanied by Roger Dreher and his home-built
birchbark canoe, led director Ellen Kwiatkowski and board members
Karin Kozie (with family), Shari Eggleson (with friend) Grandon Harris
(with camera) and Dennis McCann from the Pikes Bridge put-in to the
Sutherland Bridge take-out, a route graced with spring wildflowers and
abundant bird activity.

 After a few hours of paddling the group beached on the onetime farm
and enjoyed lunch under the shade of a tall pine while Heart explained
the property's former lives and expressed thanks for its coming
protections. There was more bird-watching and a bit of whimsical
imagining - perhaps a BRC music festival on the spacious grassland
along the river. Troutstock, anyone? Tickfest? No decision was reached
before it was time to get back on the water and head for the
Sutherland Bridge. On that note, the identities of those who tipped
their boat and suffered a White River dunking are really nobody else's
business.

-Dennis McCann

Photos by Grandon Harris