| Coordinates: | 43.0414°N -89.4307°W | ||||||||||||
| Type: | Arboretum | ||||||||||||
| Operator: | University of Wisconsin–Madison | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 1207 Seminole Hwy., Madison, Wisconsin | ||||||||||||
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The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its 1260acres in Madison, Wisconsin (located about four miles from the main campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison), the Arboretum also manages of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021, in recognition for its role as a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration.[1]
In 1911, landscape architect John Nolen proposed an arboretum for Madison based on Boston's Arnold Arboretum.[2] The UW Arboretum was founded on April 26, 1932, when the University Board of Regents accepted the deeds to 6 parcels, 246 acres of land on the southwestern end of Madison's Lake Wingra, creating the "University of Wisconsin Forest Preserve Arboretum and Wildlife Refuge". The acreage at the time was mostly farmland fields and pastures.
In 1932, G. William Longenecker was hired by the Board of Regents to work with the Arboretumand be on the Arboretum Committee, which was formed by Ed Gilbert. In 1933, Longenecker was named Arboretum Executive Director, and he served in this capacity until he retired in 1967.[3] Longenecker Horticultural Gardens would be named after him in 1967, and a stone bench placed, honoring his 34 years of service as the Arboretum's Executive Director. He was also the first Head of the University of Wisconsin Landscape Architecture Department.
Aldo Leopold was named Research Director of the Arboretum in 1933 and also was the first professor of game management in the U.S. He was also the first chair of the Department of Game Management at the University of Wisconsin. Leopold and other members of the first Arboretum Committee, especially Professor Norman C. Fassett of the Botany Department, proposed a research agenda around re-establishing "original Wisconsin" landscape and plant communities, particularly those that predated European settlement, such as tallgrass prairie and oak savanna.[4]
Between 1935 and 1941, crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps provided most of the labor to accomplish this task under the supervision of Ted Sperry, an ecologist and prairie plant root specialist who had studied with Arthur G. Vestal at the University of Illinois. Such work would eventually become known as ecological restoration. Some of the first tall-grass prairie restorations in the United States took place at the Arboretum. In 2020, Curtis Pond was rehabilitated, and an invasive prairie plant was removed.[5]
In addition to its long-standing commitment to ecological restoration, the Arboretum also features traditional horticultural collections of labeled plants arranged in garden-like displays.
Today the Arboretum manages the oldest restored tall grass prairie in the nation along with an extensive collection of restored ecosystems that are referred to as "ecological communities": woodlands, savannas, prairies, wetlands, springs, and the Lake Wingra shoreline.
In 1994, Ed Hasselkus became the volunteer curator for the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens. In 2022, Ed and Betty Hasselkus endowed the curator position for the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens. In July, the curator position was named the Ed Hasselkus curator of the Longenecker Horcultural Gardens
More than 300 species of native plants that once dominated the landscape of southern Wisconsin have been restored to the arboretum's prairies and savannas.
The Native Americans who inhabited Wisconsin built multiple groups of effigy mounds in what is now the Arboretum. Two groups of mounds, both located along McCaffrey Drive, are accessible to visitors. The first group includes panther- and bird-shaped effigies along with a number of linear and conical mounds. The second group, in the Gallistel Woods area, consists of a panther effigy and two linear mounds. A third group of linear mounds is in the eastern portion of the Arboretum but is inaccessible by trail.[9] Charles E. Brown of the Wisconsin Historical Society was responsible for restoring the publicly accessible mound groups.[10]
In addition to being a research facility, the Arboretum is also a leisure destination for local residents and tourists. It includes 20 miles of hiking trails, 3 miles of biking roads, 10 miles of ski/snowshoe routes. The Arboretum is open to the public daily without charge.
. John Nolen. Madison: A Model City. Boston, MA. 1911. 70.