A Five-Year Management Plan for the Cherokee Marsh South Unit

Paul Quinlan, conservation resources supervisor at Madison Parks, has (with his colleagues and input from the Friends) completed a comprehensive five-year Habitat Management Plan for the South Unit of Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park. The document updates an earlier management plan from 2018.

A similar plan for the North Unit was completed in September 2025 and for the Mendota Unit in February 2024. These plans document the status of the parks' habitat and species and lay out the anticipated conservation work and costs for the next five years. Quinlan notes that, while these plans are important guides for actions to be taken, there is also flexibility to respond to threats and opportunities.

The plan describes the natural communities in the park, ecological threats, conservation goals, management considerations, the role of the Friends of Cherokee Marsh, management history, management units within the park, habitat management objectives and timelines, opportunities for special initiatives, species monitoring and evaluation, and budget. The narrative is supplemented by appendices of maps, observed species lists, the Madison Parks Natural Areas Monitoring Goals document, and a data summary of vegetation surveys at the park.

Some of the rarer species living in the South Unit are documented in the report with photographs taken by volunteers Jan Axelson (river otters), Arlene Koziol (redheaded woodpeckers), and Katie Schilling Pollock (Blanding's turtle).

Find the South Unit plan here.

You can find the North Unit plan here.