“Green Bay panel discusses Quality of Door county life” from the October 7, 1969 Door County Advocate
COME UP AND SEE US is the invitation extended by Carl Scholz, at map, to UW-Green Bay personnel. From left are Norbert Schachtner, Dr. Keith White, Frederic Sargent, dean of the college of environmental sciences, Gordon Bubolz and Miss Barbara Klick. Schachtner, Scholz and Miss Klick spoke at the morning session. —Advocate
Green Bay panel discusses Quality of Door county life
By KETA STEEBS
Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder—but too often the beholder beholds only what he wants to see. To the casual visitor our “Delicious Kingdom” may seem uncorrupted by blight but consider this: In the last short decade—
The osprey—once abundant—is a rare sight!
The eagle—never plentiful—is non-existent!
The lake trout has given way to carp, smelt and the lamprey.
Swampland formerly filled with hardwood is now filled with brush and poor quality cedar!
Timberland—once crowded with abundant game—is each winter covered with snowmobilers determinedly tracking whatever scattered survivors remain.
Even the air—Door county’s widely touted fresh air—shows traces of carbon dioxide, sulphur and gas imported from near-by factories.
Because of this and other factors, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay held an environmental science committee meeting Thursday to determine what steps should be taken to preserve our 477 square miles of land.
Participating in the panel discussion were a dozen men (and one woman) representing various county agencies. The meeting, held on campus, was the second of a series held to investigate the environmental problems of 12 northeastern Wisconsin counties. Shawano county had its say first, Door was second and Waupaca is slated for the third “hearing.”
Gordon Bubolz, chairman of the environmental science committee opened the meeting by saying the only thing impossible in this scientific age is people. He added that nature’s offerings are a “great gift of God to mankind; it’s up to mankind to preserve it.”
Bubolz commended the university on its foresight in getting the individual counties involved in facing their problems squarely and attempting to find solutions.
Dr. Keith White, associate professor of plant ecology at the UW-GB, frankly stated that most of the university faculty are strangers to our area and need help in determining the priority of problems. “We would like to set up a student advisory committee and train students to understand the dramatic changes which constantly take place in our environment,” he said.
Door county’s environment was briefly discussed by Carl Scholz, chairman of the sub-committee’s planning document. Scholz, administrator of Sevastopol high school, is instrumental in adding nature study programs and conservation studies to the Sevastopol curriculum. The “quality* rather than “quantity” of our surroundings is the important factor, said Scholz. “Homo sapiens, hard as they are trying, simply cannot exist in a waste land.”
Once we learn to scientifically dispose of our refuse (Japan makes building bricks from garbage) we will have taken a giant step toward the preservation of our land.”
An overview of the county was presented by Norbert Schachtner, chairman and agricultural agent of the University extension. This bitter-sweet presentation included a showing of slides—first picturing the pristine beauty of as yet unspoiled stretches of beach and woodland, then switching to garbage dumps, a potpourri of road signs, congested trailer camps, tinder-row developments and highway litter.
Schachtner closed his thought-provoking review by quoting an Advocate editorial which warned of causing people to say “It’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.”
The state of our water supply (most wells are unsafe some of the time—some all of the time) was given by Philip Woerfel, Door county sanitarian. Woerfel mentioned that since the sanitary ordinance was passed in 1967 the situation has improved but some areas just don’t have the proper soil suitable for housing individual wells. Sister Bay, for example, definitely needs a municipal sewage and water system for that reason.
Our soil is a “duke’s mixture” of sand, clay, limestone and shale, according to Ray Hoague, Door county SCS planner. He and Don Rosenbrook, Door county planner, gave a comprehensive outline of the problems brought about by poor drainage, erosion and worn out land. Other abuses cited were substandard development, mixed land uses and overcrowding of buildings on small, shoreline lots.
Even our air came in for its share of discussion when Barbara Klick, home economics agent for the county, and Dr. Clifford Ehlers, Door county horticultural agent, informed their astonished audience that this county does indeed have an air pollution problem—not a serious one now—but one that is sufficient to cause growing concern. Air pollution tests, conducted by the experimental station, show foreign substances (gases from near-by cities) in the air enough to damage the white pine crop and cause some irritation to humans.
Dr. Frederick Sargent II, dean of the college of environmental sciences, remarked wryly that it’s strange Door county should be concerned about air pollution because Green Bay with all its industry still doesn’t think it has any.
Door county’s biology and ecology were discussed by Roy Lukes, president and naturalist of the Ridges Sanctuary, Everett Roberts, vocational agricultural instructor at Sevastopol high school, and Harry Porter, Door county forester. All three men stressed the necessity of conserving our resources and emphasized that the study of ecology should begin in grade school.
A brief inventory of Door county’s resources was given by Herbert Robillard, manager of the Door county ASC office; followed by a bibliography of environmental information by Scholz.
Miss Klick, hostess for the event, was in charge of the apple, apple juice and cherry juice “hospitality table “—courtesy of Wisconsin Foods Corp. and the University of Wisconsin Peninsular Experimental Station.
Unfortunately for the seminar’s participants most of the apples were consumed by students (and the janitor) before they had a chance to enjoy them.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[Door County has 481.9 square miles of land: https://data.census.gov/profile/Door_County,_Wisconsin?g=050XX00US55029 ]
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