75

Affected 

Environment

T

h i s c h a p t e r d e s c r i b e s the existing environment 

of the Ice Age Complex and the surrounding region. 

It focuses on the park resources, uses, and facility and 

socioeconomic characteristics that could potentially be affected 

by each of the alternatives. 

Chapter Three

Early morning 

dew drops.

FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Geologic and Soil Resources

The Ice Age Complex at Cross 

Plains (“Ice Age Complex” 

or “complex”) straddles two 

distinctly different landscapes. 

The northern and eastern 

edges were covered by glaciers 

during the Late Wisconsin 

glaciation, which began 25,000 

to 30,000 years ago. Excellent 

examples of end moraine, 

ice marginal and subglacial 

channels, glacial outwash, 

and ice marginal lakes are 

within the boundaries. The 

remainder of the complex is 

in the driftless area and was 

apparently never glaciated. 

Its hills and valleys are a 

product of millions of years of 

hillslope and stream erosion 

on sedimentary bedrock that 

consists of sandstone 

and dolomite. The soils 

in this area consist 

of weathered 

bedrock covered 

by windblown silt 

called loess. 

At some time in the past, 

solution of the dolomite 

resulted in the formation of 

cave passages that likely run 

beneath the area. A collapse of 

over-lying sandstone into one 

of these caves has resulted in 

at least two sinkholes. One of 

sinkholes now drains water 

from Shoveler Pond into this 

likely cave system during the 

spring when water levels 

are high. 

During the Late Wisconsin 

glaciation, this erosional 

landscape was modified by 

torrents of glacial meltwater 

that flowed down Black 

Earth Creek valley and lesser 

amounts that flowed from the 

ice margin along what is now 

Timber Lane and Old Sauk 

Pass Road. This water flowed 

northward along the ice margin 

before draining into the Black 

Earth Creek valley, first along 

the ice edge and later beneath 

the ice in what is now called 

Cross Plains gorge. 
76 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER THREE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

Bedrock Geology

The bedrock in the Ice Age Complex is 

all sedimentary and consists primarily of 

sandstone and dolomite of Paleozoic age. 

Figure 10 shows the distribution of bedrock 

units at the complex. Figure 11 portrays a 

north-south cross section though the complex 

showing the sedimentary rock units. Cambrian 

sandstone does not crop out at the surface, but 

it is close to the surface in Black Earth Creek 

valley. There are small surface outcrops of the 

remaining rock units at the complex, and not 

all of these have been mapped. There are no 

other large outcrops. 

All of the remaining sedimentary rocks 

exposed at the Ice Age Complex are 

Ordovician age. The oldest rock unit exposed 

in outcrop is dolomite of the Prairie du Chien 

Group. The best exposures are along the 

walls of Cross Plains gorge and along steep 

slopes facing Black Earth Creek. Fossils called 

“stromatolites” dominate the rocks deposited 

during this time, but they are rare and are not 

an important part of the resource. 

Figure 11 shows that sand and gravel cover 

the bedrock units in most valley bottoms and 

under the Johnstown moraine, so rock is not 

mapped there. Because most of the contacts 

are covered, this map portrays the likely 

distribution of rocks, but it should not be 

used for site-specific purposes without drilling 

or further research. 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 77

Chapter Three Affected Environment

Figure 10: Distribution of near-surface bedrock units at the Ice Age Complex

Notes: 

a. Only three units occur near the surface beneath windblown silt (loess).

b. PL is Platteville dolomite, SP is St. Peter sandstone, P du C is Prairie du Chien dolomite.
78 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER THREE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

Figure 11: North-south cross-section through the Ice Age Complex

The materials above the bedrock are too 

thin to show on figure 11. Contacts between 

bedrock units are mostly projected into the 

cross-section from logs of wells located south, 

east, and west of the complex. Because most 

of the contacts are covered, this cross section 

portrays the likely distribution of rocks but 

should not be used for site-specific purposes 

without drilling or other further research. 

In particular, the bottom contact of the St. 

Peter sandstone is quite variable over short 

distances, and its thickness varies considerably. 

The Prairie du Chien dolomite is overlain 

by the St. Peter sandstone. Although most of 

the sandstone was deposited in the shallow 

ocean, part of the St. Peter sandstone consists 

of wind blown sand. All of it is made up of 

well-rounded, quite pure quartz sand. St. Peter 

sandstone is the surface rock in much of the 

central part of the Ice Age Complex. It is well 

exposed at the sinkhole near the northeastern 

edge of the Shoveler Pond (“h1” on figure 12). 

It is also exposed along the trail just south of 

the Wilkie farm buildings. St. Peter sandstone 

contains some trace fossils, such as worm 

burrows, but they are not seen in the small 

outcrops at the Ice Age Complex. Fossils are 

not an important part of this resource.

Figure 12 shows that several shallow lakes were 

present when the ice was at the Johnstown 

moraine. L1 is the highest; L2 was just slightly 

lower and was damned by ice in the present 

position of Old Sauk Road; and L3 was 

substantially lower than L1 and L 2. Possible 

sinkholes are depicted by h1 and h2. 

Platteville dolomite of the Sinnipee Group was 

deposited in the sea about 450 million years 

ago. It is well exposed in the Wingra Stone 

quarry north of Mineral Point Road and the 

road cut on Mineral Point Road. There are low 

exposures of it elsewhere. Corals, mollusks, 

and brachiopods are common, especially 

farther west in the driftless area. They are 

very difficult to find in the dolomite at the 

complex, and they are not an important part 

of the resource. The Platteville dolomite is the 

youngest bedrock in the Ice Age Complex. 

Many of the surrounding hills that are part of 

the viewscape, especially those to the west, 

are capped with the even younger Galena 

dolomite. West Blue Mound, the highest hill 

that can be seen from the Ice Age Complex, is 

capped by even younger Silurian dolomite.
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 79

Chapter Three Affected Environment

Figure 12: Detailed map of glacial and related deposits in the Ice Age Complex

Notes: 

C = colluvium d is a drainage ways 

M is the Johnstown moraine A is alluvial fan

D is driftless area O is outwash 

R is thick till not in moraine S is steep slope controlled by bedrock with patchy till cover

There is also colluvium at the base of most steep slopes, but it is too narrow to map at this scale
80 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER THREE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

The remaining geologic and soil resources 

result from earth surface processes such as 

weathering, erosion, and glaciation.

Karst Topography. Karst topography develops 

when limestone bedrock is eroded and 

dissolved by surface and groundwater. Caves 

and caverns are common in limestone, and 

a common surface expression of karst is the 

sinkhole, or sink. A sinkhole forms where 

surface water finds a path down into the 

limestone. Solution of the limestone takes 

place, slowly enlarging the opening and 

allowing more water to pass through. In some 

cases a sinkhole can form rapidly when the 

roof of the cave collapses. 

Shoveler Sink drains into a sinkhole at times of 

high water. It has no other outlet. The location 

of the sinkhole is shown as h1 on figure 12. 

The land around the sinkhole appears to have 

been modified by human activity. There is 

another depression north of the h1 sinkhole. 

This might be a sinkhole, or it might be an 

abandoned small quarry that was mined at 

some time in the past. When viewed in 2009, 

there was no evidence of water entering the 

ground through this depression.

When the glacier was present just to the east, 

it is possible that these sinkholes were actually 

springs where groundwater discharged. Water 

under pressure would have been forced 

through the groundwater system, and would 

have been able to come to the surface outside 

the ice-covered area. There were likely also 

springs discharging glacial melt water into 

the upper part of the Sugar River basin at the 

southwest edge of the Ice Age Complex.

Glacial Deposits. The most recent glaciation, the 

late Wisconsin Glaciation, began in Wisconsin 

about 30,000 calendar years ago. Ice from 

Canada, north of the eastern part of the Lake 

Superior basin, advanced southwestward down 

the Green Bay–Lake Winnebago lowland. This 

lobe of ice is called the Green Bay lobe, and 

its maximum extent lies along the eastern and 

northern edges of the Ice Age Complex. 

Johnstown Moraine. Moraines are ridges of 

glacial debris. They form wherever sand and 

gravel and till are piled up either on or adjacent 

to a glacier. End moraines are those that form 

at the edge (end) of the glacier as debris is 

carried to the ice margin and released as the 

glacier ice melts. The moraine at the outer edge 

of the southern Green Bay lobe is called the 

Johnstown moraine. 

In much of southern Wisconsin, moraines are 

only about 50 feet high and 0.25 to 0.5 mile 

wide. The best place to see the moraine at 

the Ice Age Complex is northwest of the 

intersection of Cleveland Road and Old Sauk 

Pass. There is a single crested ridge up to 50 feet 

high. There are scattered erratics on the surface. 

Glacial Lakes. Glacial lakes are also called 

ice-dammed lakes. When the glacier sat at 

the Johnstown moraine, the climate was very 

cold, and there was permafrost in front of 

and beneath the glacier edge. Meltwater was 

probably only produced on warm days for 

a month or two in summer. Water that was 

produced by melting was dammed between 

the glacier and the hills of the driftless 

area landscape to the west in several small 

basins at the Ice Age Complex. Lake L1 on 

figure 12 had the highest level. There is still 

silty lake sediment at least up to an elevation 

of 1,150 feet and perhaps slightly higher. A 

narrow band of outwash sand separates the 

finer silty lake sediment from the till in the 

Johnstown moraine. Lake L2 seems to have 

been just slightly lower than Lake L1. Water 

from Lake L2 drained through a drainage way 

into Lake L3. 

It appears that Lake L3 drained through an 

ice-marginal channel along the ice edge across 

the ridge north of Old Sauk Pass and into Black 

Earth Creek valley before Cross Plains gorge 

was cut. At some point, perhaps when climate 

warmed enough to allow melting at the bottom 

of the glacier near its edge, water found its way 

under the ice and down the steep slope on the 

side of Black Earth Creek valley. It was this flow 

of water that eroded Cross Plains gorge.
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 81

Chapter Three Affected Environment

Lake L4 formed in a north-flowing tributary 

valley of Black Earth Creek between the glacier 

edge and the Driftless Area upland. It could 

have been dammed directly by the ice, or it 

could have been dammed by the accumulating 

outwash in Black Earth Creek valley. 

Cross Plains Gorge and Black Earth Creek Valley.

Cross Plains gorge is a submarginal chute, a 

type of channel that carries water from the 

ice edge down under the ice. Its location 

was probably determined by a pre-existing 

weakness or opening in the ice such as a 

crevasse. The water in Lake L3 (on figure 12) 

was about 200 feet higher than the Black Earth 

Creek valley, and water would naturally take 

the steepest path available to the bottom of the 

valley. Once water made its way beneath the 

ice to the bottom of Black Earth Creek valley, 

water under high pressure and flowing rapidly 

cut the deep gorge that we see today. Black 

Earth Creek valley now has outwash sand and 

gravel over 200 feet thick that was deposited by 

braided streams flowing beneath and in front 

of the glacier.

Soils

Tens of millions of years of erosion by 

rainwash on slopes and by streams produced 

most of the hills and valleys in the landscape 

today. Soils on bedrock in the driftless area are 

of two main origins. Weathering of sandstone 

produced quartz sand, and weathering of 

dolomite produced a clayey residuum that 

is distinctly different. Over both of these 

weathering products, windblown silt, called 

loess, was deposited during the last glaciation. 

In general, soils in the unglaciated part of the 

Ice Age Complex are thin silt loams that are 

susceptible to erosion on steep slopes. Soils are 

thicker near the base of slopes.

Soils on the moraine are also silt loam soils 

for the most part. In places where the loess 

cover is thin, rocks from the underlying till 

show through. Soils on the former lake beds 

(refer to figure 12) are silty and sandy with few 

stones. In its comprehensive plan (VCP 2008), 

the village of Cross Plains commented on the 

productive nature of these soils: “Dane County 

is one of the most productive agricultural 

counties in Wisconsin.” At the same time, the 

comprehensive plan notes that “the County is 

in the third most threatened farm area in the 

country.” One of the reasons for this threat is 

the rapid pace of development that removes 

productive soils from cultivation (VCP 2008, 

p. 17). 

Water Quality

The region surrounding the Ice Age Complex 

contains one of the Midwest’s most important 

trout fishing streams, the Black Earth Creek. 

This small spring-fed stream runs from the 

terminal moraine near Cross Plains, northwest 

to the Wisconsin River, traversing a number of 

scenic hill-and-valley landscapes along the way. 

The creek and its surrounding lands provide 

a number of recreational opportunities such 

as fishing, hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country 

skiing, and horseback riding. Because of its 

high recreational and ecological value, the 

creek was named as one of Wisconsin’s “Land 

Legacy” areas, which are regions of the state 

that are important in meeting the state’s 

recreation and conservation needs. Within 

the proposed complex, the glacier originally 

impounded four proglacial lakes. Today, 

the southernmost proglacial lake has been 

divided in two by County Trunk S (Mineral 

Point Road) and consists of two water-filled 

basins: Coyle Pond and Shoveler Sink. The 

other proglacial lakes are dry and filled with 

agricultural crops. There are a few intermittent 

streams that bisect the complex. One follows 

a deep ravine on the south side of the former 

Wilkie property before emptying onto the 

former McNutt property at the western edge 

of the proposed site. There is at least one 

spring north of Old Sauk Pass that has been 

partially developed to include a stock tank. 

The spring drains northward toward Black 

Earth Creek. In the center of the complex, 

south of Old Sauk Pass, water runoff travels 

north to a depression where it enters and flows 

through the gorge, eventually reaching Black 

Earth Creek. 
82 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER THREE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

Nearly all of the Ice Age Complex is a 

groundwater recharge area, meaning surface 

water goes into the groundwater system. 

However, much of the precipitation that falls 

on the uplands runs off on the surface. Some 

of that water flows northward to Black Earth 

Creek, some southward to the Sugar River, 

and some eastward to the Yahara River basin. 

Because the walls and the floor of Cross Plains 

gorge are steep, precipitation that falls there 

does not remain in the gorge, but instead 

flows northward towards Black Earth Creek. 

Shoveler Sink and Coyle Pond sit on the 

surface water divide between these basins. 

Soundscapes

There is abundant natural quiet within most of 

the complex given its isolation from road noise 

and from an urban center. While there are 

farms throughout the site, they are small farms, 

not large agricultural operations, and generate 

little unnatural sound. As one moves from the 

center of the complex towards its northern 

and eastern edges along U.S. Highway 14 and 

Timber Lane, natural quiet dissipates and road 

noises begin to dominate. Similarly, the sound 

of traffic from the two roads (Old Sauk Pass 

and Mineral Point Road) that traverse the site 

becomes louder the closer one moves towards 

those roads. This sound assessment is based 

on experience of the team members writing 

this plan; a formal sound inventory has not 

been conducted at the complex.

Vegetation and Wildlife

The Wisconsin Department of Natural 

Resources notes that the Ice Age Complex 

comprises three ecological landscapes: 

Western Coulee and Ridges, Central Sand 

Hills, and Southeast Glacial Plains. Although 

this combination of landscapes in the complex 

indicates a variety of native vegetation, 

southern dry-mesic forest dominated the 

site before European settlement.

The southern dry-mesic forest is prominently 

red and white oak, with shagbark hickory, 

black cherry, white oak, and basswood as 

canopy associates. Disturbance history and 

landscape position have allowed variability 

within the areas of southern dry-mesic forest. 

This variability includes areas dominated by 

large white oak, some greater than 24 inches 

in diameter, and open grown; some areas 

dominated by red oak with white birch and 

big-tooth aspen as canopy associates; and 

other areas with a very widely spaced canopy 

and a dense tall shrub layer composed mostly 

of common buckthorn and prickly ash. 

The southern mesic forest can be found in the 

narrow bottoms of steep ravines. This forest 

is characterized by a canopy of sugar maple 

with basswood and ironwood as associates. 

The shrub layer has a moderate cover, with 

eastern prickly gooseberry as a common 

species. The forest ground layer has many 

species that bloom in the spring and include 

wild ginger, sharp-lobed hepatica, jack-inthe-pulpit, mayapple, and bloodroot. Spring 

ephemerals are also present, although not 

abundant. Shoveler Sink is currently fringed 

by reed canary grass with some sedges and 

smartweeds. Many of the uplands have been 

planted into prairie with big bluestem and 

switch grass, as well as smooth brome grass for 

hay and pasturing. Many of the open fields in 

the Ice Age Complex are cropped for corn and 

soybeans or remain as old fields.

There is one rare plant in the Ice Age 

Complex: the heart-leaved skullcap (Scutellaria 

ovata). This plant prefers dry-mesic forests 

and flowers from early June to late July. 

The heart-leaved skullcap has been 

given “special concern” status by 

the state, wherein a problem 

with the species abundance 

or distribution is suspected 

but not yet proved. The 

main purpose of this 

category is to focus 

attention on certain 

species before they 

become threatened 

or endangered. 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 83

Chapter Three Affected Environment

Because oak openings, also called “oak 

savanna,” are so rare today in comparison 

to their large historic range, restoring oak 

openings has been given special attention 

in recent years. The Board of Regents at the 

University of Wisconsin has noted that “In 

the 1800s, oak savanna (or oak openings) 

once covered more than 5,000,000 acres in 

Wisconsin . . . now, only a few thousand 

[acres] of this native landscape remain” 

(UW 2001). The Ice Age Complex historically 

contained oak openings. In the absence of 

fire, many of the historic oak openings have 

converted to closed-canopy forests. According 

to Wisconsin’s Natural Heritage Inventory 

Program, “the presence of several areas with 

open-grown and semi-open-grown oaks and 

some residual savanna ground layer species 

such as Tinker’s weed, indicates that there is a 

possibility of restoring the critically imperiled 

globally rare oak opening natural community 

within the project area” (WDNR et al. 2006). 

Some invasive plants are well-established 

within the Ice Age Complex, including 

common buckthorn, Tatarian honeysuckle, 

prickly ash, and reed canary grass. Other 

invasive plants that occur and present 

possible future threats to diversity include 

garlic mustard, winged burning-bush, star-ofBethlehem, multiflora rose, Asian bittersweet, 

Japanese barberry, and common burdock. 

Numerous other invasive species are present in 

the old field and planted prairie areas.

There are two species of birds that are listed 

as “threatened” on a state level in the Ice Age 

Complex and two species that have a special 

concern status. The threatened birds are 

Henslow’s sparrow, which prefers old fields, 

open grasslands, wet meadows, unmowed 

highway right-of-ways, undisturbed pastures, 

timothy hay fields, and fallow land grown up to 

tall weeds; and the Hooded warbler, which is 

found in large upland forest tracts in southern 

Wisconsin, where they occur in pockets 

of dense understory near small or partial 

canopy openings. The breeding season for the 

Henslow’s sparrow extends from mid-May 

through mid-July. The breeding season for the 

hooded warbler starts a bit later (in late May) 

and also extends through mid-July.

The two birds of special concern are the 

western meadowlark and the yellow-billed 

cuckoo. The western meadowlark inhabits 

pastures and small grain fields, as well as 

other short, open grasslands and agriculture 

fields, including hayfields. The yellow-billed 

cuckoo prefers open deciduous woodlands 

with dense shrubby undergrowth, especially 

along the backwaters of a major river or slowmoving creek. 

The WDNR staff have observed the redheaded woodpecker, a “species of greatest 

conservation need,” in the walnut grove 

bordering the south side of Old Sauk Pass. 

This presence indicates that red-headed 

woodpeckers would be expected to nest in 

cavity trees if oak opening is restored.

Shoveler Sink, a remnant glacial depression, 

provides excellent habitat for migratory birds 

such as waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, and 

waterbirds seeking a freshwater pond, marsh, 

and grassland. An online checklist program 

(“eBird”) for recreational and professional bird 

watchers highlights this important resource, 

in that at least 17 species of waterfowl have 

been observed using the pond. Waterbirds 

recorded include several species of herons and 

large numbers of geese and cranes that stage 

there (eBird 2008). The presence of food and 

water are two important resources present at 

Shoveler Sink that allow for large numbers of 

individuals from many species to accumulate 

during migration. The pond provides floating 

and submerged plants in the open water zone 

and is surrounded by an emergent zone that 

includes cattails, smartweed, and arrowheads 

whose tubers provide important food for 

migrating waterfowl and geese. 
84 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER THREE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

Shoveler Sink is also an important area for 

breeding amphibians, which in turn, makes 

it very attractive for waterbirds such as 

herons and cranes. Stresses to migratory 

birds include habitat destruction and habitat 

alteration (Duncan 2002). Many similar 

ponds and depressions have been filled for 

agriculture and development, both of which 

could threaten the viability of this valuable 

resource. As this depression is maintained 

through direct precipitation and runoff 

from the surrounding landscape, nutrient 

runoff could pose an indirect threat if not 

monitored closely.

The grasslands surrounding Shoveler Sink, as 

well as the old agricultural fields in the complex, 

such as the former McNutt lands, support 

several conservative grassland obligate species 

like Henslow’s sparrow (8–10 nesting pairs 

in 2008); eastern meadowlark; one western 

meadowlark; several bobolink; and dickcissel. 

Socioeconomics

The Ice Age Complex is located in the town of 

Cross Plains, Wisconsin, about 10 miles west 

of the center of Madison (figure 13). 

Figure 13: Map of Dane County and the Ice Age Complex
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 85

Chapter Three Affected Environment

This area is increasing in population. The 

population in the town of Cross Plains grew 

by 7.5% in the 1990s to about 1,320. Over the 

life of this plan, the Wisconsin Department of 

Administration projects that the population will 

continue to grow to 1,742, a 16.6% increase. 

The village of Cross Plains grew from 2,362 

to 3,084 in the 1990s — a 23% increase. This 

growth makes the village of Cross Plains 

among the fastest growing communities 

in Dane County (other communities are 

Middleton and Madison). The county 

had a population in 2000 of 426,526 and is 

also a fast-growing area. Dane County is 

estimated to have a population of 505,385 

by 2030. In comparison, the 2030 estimate 

for the village of Cross Plains is 3,654. Note 

that these growth projections are from the 

Wisconsin Department of Administration, 

but the village of Cross Plains used a different 

method (acceptable levels of residential 

development) in its recent comprehensive plan 

(VCP 2008) to come up with a projection for 

the village of Cross Plains of 6,084 by 2030. 

Extrapolating this method to the overall Dane 

County population, the projection for Dane 

County would be 841,478. Therefore, using 

this alternate estimating method, population 

growth could be even stronger. 

Today, the median age of the town of Cross 

Plains is closer to middle-aged, with the 

average age at about 40 years, slightly higher 

than Dane County. The population of the 

village of Cross Plains is relatively young (40% 

are between ages of 20 and 44) and relatively 

well-educated (60% have attended at least 

some college in comparison to 50% statewide) 

(VCP 2008, p. 9). 

Like many local governments around the 

country, Cross Plains has been struggling 

in recent years to increase tax revenues and 

retain open space. There has been pressure to 

develop the lands that comprise the complex 

in order to increase property tax revenue, but 

at the same time, there is tremendous support 

for keeping these lands free from development. 

The vision stated in the Village of Cross Plains 

Comprehensive Plan includes these sentences: 

“The rich natural resources of the village 

and surrounding countryside and the Black 

Earth Creek in particular will continue to be 

a defining feature of the community due to 

careful preservation efforts” and “Though 

ties with Madison will strengthen, the 

village will retain its character and identity.” 

Among the specific goals of the comprehensive 

plan are to “limit conversion of farmland” and 

“safeguard against increased future erosion.” 

Although land use is typically a separate 

consideration in a socioeconomic analysis, 

impacts on land use would be the same because 

all of the GMP/EIS alternatives would change 

how land is used in essentially the same way. 

Each of the alternatives proposes working 

with private owners of all of the land in the 

complex to protect it from incompatible uses, 

such as dense development, either by publically 

acquiring the land or by employing another 

land protection tool, such as the purchase of an 

easement. All of the alternatives would change 

land use in this way, and their impacts on land 

use do not differ (see chapter 4 for impacts that 

could result from each alternative).

Visitor Experience

NPS Management Policies 2006 state that the 

enjoyment of park resources and values is part of 

the fundamental purpose of all parks and that the 

National Park Service is committed to providing 

appropriate, high-quality opportunities for 

visitors to enjoy the parks. Because many forms 

of recreation can take place outside a national 

park setting, the National Park Service seeks to

provide opportunities for forms of 

enjoyment that are uniquely suited and 

appropriate to the superlative natural and 

cultural resources found in a particular unit

defer to local, state, and other federal 

agencies; private industry; and 

nongovernmental organizations to meet 

the broader spectrum of recreational 

needs and demands that are not 

dependent on a national park setting
86 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER THREE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

Unless mandated by statute, the 

National Park Service will not allow 

visitors to conduct activities that

would create an unsafe 

or unhealthful environment for 

other visitors or employees

are contrary to the purposes for 

which the park was established

would unreasonably interfere with 

the atmosphere of peace and 

tranquility, or the natural soundscape 

maintained in wilderness and natural, 

historic, or commemorative locations 

within the park; NPS interpretive, 

visitor service, administrative, or 

other activities; NPS concessioner or 

contractor operations or services; or 

other existing, appropriate park uses

Part of the purpose of the Ice Age Complex is 

to “provide outdoor recreation and educational 

opportunities in support of and compatible 

with the conservation and enjoyment of the 

nationally significant scenic, historic, natural, 

and cultural resources within the Complex.” 

Each of the action alternatives proposed in this 

document are designed to meet the purpose of 

the complex but in different ways. The impact 

analysis presented in chapter 4 estimates 

impacts on the ability of visitors to experience 

Ice Age resources under each alternative.