Environmental Corridors Report Approved by WI DNR

The Dane County Water Quality Plan now includes an updated Environmental Corridors Report. The revised report includes updated background information, ensures consistency with current data and practices, and introduces new details on Voluntary Environmental Corridors—first introduced as Stewardship Areas in the 2050 Regional Development Framework.

Following approval by the Wisconsin DNR, CARPC staff will now begin reviewing the Environmental Corridor Policies and Criteria to ensure alignment with the updated report.

Heritage Oak Seedlings for Sale

CARPC Environmental Resources Planner Matt Noone gathered thousands of acorns in the fall of 2020 from heritage oaks—250+ year old trees—located within eight miles of the Capitol. These acorns were nurtured into seedlings at the Wilson Nursery in Boscobel and are now ready to find a home in your yard.

Heartwood Tree Company is offering these oak seedlings for $15 each, with 100% of the proceeds dedicated to purchasing additional trees for planting projects at Devil's Lake State Park and Blue Mounds State Park.

Open Data Portal Refresh

We've done some spring cleaning—updating our Open Data Portal to make it easier to explore and interact with regional data. You can still view and download maps and datasets, but now with improved navigation and new features:

• Five thematic categories for easier browsing: water quality, land use & development, historical data, tree canopy, and citizen science
• A searchable map gallery to find datasets by keyword
• Featured datasets for quick access to key resources

We’ve also updated the CARPC Data Explorer, which brings all our open data into one interactive map. Users can toggle layers on and off, adjust transparency, reorder layers, and click on features for more details.

A map showing current estimated environmental corridors (dark green) overlaid with 1964 corridors from the Philip Lewis Landscape Resource Inventory (brown).

Starkweather Creek Monitoring Neighborhood Open House

Salt (chloride) monitoring and reduction efforts have been underway in the Starkweather Creek watershed since 2020.

Join CARPC and WI Salt Wise staff on Wednesday, April 16 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. to learn about the monitoring program and trends firsthand. Participants will go home with the tools to support local monitoring and smart salting efforts.

Temperatures Rise —

And So Do Salt Levels

Our snow and ice have disappeared—but what washed away isn’t just water. The road salt applied throughout the winter is now flowing into our lakes, streams, and even drinking water.

​During melting events on February 24 and 26, our monitoring of Starkweather Creek revealed significant chloride spikes. Near East Towne Mall, chloride levels reached 424 mg/L, surpassing both the Wisconsin DNR's chronic toxicity limit of 395 mg/L and the federal toxicity threshold of 230 mg/L. ​

Join the RoundTrip Spring Roll Challenge

The MPO's RoundTrip program is hosting its annual Spring Roll Challenge! This free challenge makes it easy to celebrate sustainable transportation—just create a RoundTrip account and log any trip you take by biking, walking/rolling, taking the bus, carpooling, or vanpooling throughout April.

Log at least three round trips per week or 15 total for the month to enter weekly and grand prize drawings. Plus, the first 50 participants to log a trip get free Ian’s Pizza and two Metro Transit rides! It’s an easy, fun way to go green for Earth Month, save money, and feel great!

MARCH COMMISSION MEETING SUMMARY