3

Description of the Ice Age Complex

Chapter One INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED

FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

INTRODUCTION

T

h i s c h a p t e r b e g i n s by providing background on the 

Ice Age Complex at Cross Plains (henceforth, “Ice Age Complex” 

or “complex”) to explain what and where it is and why the 

National Park Service (NPS) and the Wisconsin Department of 

Natural Resources (WDNR) are proposing a plan for preserving 

and interpreting it. This chapter also explains the process used 

to develop this general management plan / environmental impact 

statement (GMP/EIS), as well as the purpose of and need for a 

general management plan and the actions proposed herein.

A mere 20,000 years ago, 

two-thirds of what is today 

the state of Wisconsin lay 

under the grip of colossal ice 

sheets. The climate warmed 

and the ice sheets began to 

melt back. In their wake they 

left an impressive landscape of 

fascinating glacial landforms: 

moraines, drumlins, kames, 

kettles, eskers, outwash plains, 

meltwater channels, driftless 

(unglaciated) topography, 

glacial lake beds and islands, 

and more. These Wisconsin Ice 

Age remnants are considered 

among the world’s finest 

examples of how 

continental glaciation 

sculpts our planet. 

Located just west of Madison 

near the town of Cross Plains is 

a 1,500-acre area that contains 

an outstanding collection of 

glacial landforms, including a 

gorge carved by meltwater and 

expansive views of both driftless 

and glaciated terrain. These 

acres comprise a park called, 

for the purpose of this planning 

effort, the “Ice Age Complex at 

Cross Plains” (henceforth “Ice 

Age Complex” or “complex”) 

(see figure 1). This site, however, 

has a rich history of different 

legal designations. 

Gorge carved 

by glacial 

meltwater.

FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
4 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Snow covered gorge

Rolling landscape

The lands and landscape of the Ice Age 

Complex have been deemed nationally 

significant under two related, but distinct, 

federal designations. The elements recognized 

in both designations are parts of the singular 

concept advanced by Wisconsin citizens in 

the late 1950s and early 1960s to protect and 

showcase Wisconsin’s heritage from continental 

glaciation. Congress authorized the concept in 

two parts, at two different times, and through 

two different legislative vehicles. 

In 1964 Congress enacted legislation (Public 

Law [PL] 88-655; 78 Stat. 1087; 16 United 

States Code [USC] 469d, et seq.) directing the 

Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with 

the governor of Wisconsin in studying and 

subsequently designating an Ice Age National 

Scientific Reserve (“Ice Age Reserve” or 

“reserve”). The purpose of the Ice Age Reserve 

is “to assure protection, preservation, and 

interpretation of the nationally significant 

values of Wisconsin continental glaciation, 

including moraines, eskers, kames, kettleholes, 

drumlins, swamps, lakes, and other reminders 

of the ice age.” The continental glaciers last 

advanced and retreated over the state 

some 30,000 to 10,000 years ago. 

Congress envisioned the Ice Age Reserve as a 

network of distinct areas, each exhibiting an 

outstanding example of one type of landscape 

or landform resulting from continental 

glaciation. The legislation’s intention is that 

the reserve would be owned and managed by 

the state of Wisconsin, with the assistance and 

collaboration of the Secretary of the Interior 

(acting through the National Park Service). 

Several of the outstanding sites selected were 

already Wisconsin state parks. The legislation 

made reference to the Ice Age National Scenic 

Trail but made no provisions for it. 

When the study was completed, nine sites were 

identified to be protected and managed by the 

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 

(WDNR) as units of the Ice Age Reserve (see 

figure 2). On May 29, 1971, the Secretary of 

the Interior published an order in the Federal 

Register that formally brought the Ice Age 

Reserve into existence. 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 5

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

Figure 1: Ice Age Complex at Cross Plains
6 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Figure 2: Ice Age National Scientific Reserve and its nine units
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 7

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

As noted in Black (1974), “The Cross 

Plains area was selected for inclusion in the 

Reserve in part because it contains a typical 

portion of the Johnstown Moraine on the 

uplands and a typical proglacial stream in 

Black Earth Creek Valley, and is close to 

a center of population. More importantly 

it is the only place . . . where the terminal 

moraine rests directly on well exposed, 

weathered dolomite bedrock and where 

small marginal proglacial lakes, a marginal 

drainage way, and a subglacial drainage 

way may all be seen in a small area. The 

various glacial features associated with the 

moraine in the vicinity of Cross Plains are 

more varied and yet as definitive as one 

could hope to see, all preserved in a neat 

little package. The area is one of increasing 

urbanization, and preservation of parts of 

the front and its associated phenomena can 

only be assured in the Reserve.” 

The Wisconsin Department of Natural 

Resources purchased 100 acres of the 

Cross Plains unit of the Ice Age Reserve in 

September 1975, and an additional 60 acres 

were subsequently purchased. The Cross 

Plains unit is also designated as Cross Plains 

State Park by Wisconsin Administrative Rule. 

Congress again recognized the national 

significance of Wisconsin’s glacial landscapes 

when, on October 3, 1980, it amended the 

National Trails System Act to authorize and 

establish the Ice Age National Scenic Trail as a 

component of the National Trails System (PL 

96-370; 94 Stat. 1360; 16 USC 1244(a)(10)). 

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail meanders 

through Wisconsin for approximately 

1,200 miles from Potawatomi State Park in 

Door County to Interstate State Park in Polk 

County, generally following the terminal 

moraine and other glacial landscape features 

and connecting six of the nine units of the Ice 

Age Reserve. The Secretary of the Interior was 

assigned administrative responsibility for the 

Ice Age National Scenic Trail. 

The Secretary of the Interior delegated overall 

administrative responsibility for the Ice Age 

National Scenic Trail to the National Park 

Service. The Park Service, in cooperation 

with the Wisconsin Department of Natural 

Resources and other parties, completed a 

Comprehensive Plan for Management and 

Use of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail 

in September 1983. The National Park 

Service is responsible at the federal level for 

carrying out the provisions of the National 

Trails System Act as they relate to the Ice Age 

National Scenic Trail. The National Park 

Service carries out or facilitates trail planning, 

environmental compliance, trail development 

and management, public and private 

partner involvement, and land protection 

activities. The Park Service assists partners 

by coordinating, guiding, and assisting their 

efforts to acquire, develop, operate, protect, 

and maintain the Ice Age National Scenic Trail 

in accordance with the comprehensive plan 

and supplemental trail corridor plans and 

trailway protection strategies (land protection 

plans). The comprehensive plan identifies the 

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 

and the nonprofit Ice Age Trail Alliance as 

cooperators in the long-term effort to develop 

and manage the Ice Age National Scenic 

Trail. The Park Service serves as the primary 

liaison with other federal agencies in matters 

relating to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. 

In carrying out this role, the Park Service 

reviews and comments on federal or federally 

assisted/permitted projects and activities (such 

as highway, utility, and other development 

proposals) that may affect trail segments. 

The Wisconsin Department of Natural 

Resources is the state agency responsible 

for providing and maintaining outdoor 

recreation resources of statewide 

significance, including state parks and 

trails, in Wisconsin. Thus, the basis for the 

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ 

participation in developing and managing 

the Ice Age Reserve and Ice Age National 

Scenic Trail is the statewide significance of 

the reserve and trail and the inclusion of state 
8 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

parks, forests, trails, and recreation areas in 

the reserve and along the route of the trail. 

The state legislature formalized this role in 

1987 by passing legislation that designates 

the Ice Age National Scenic Trail as a State 

Scenic Trail. The legislation also assigns the 

responsibility to the Wisconsin Department 

of Natural Resources for coordinating the 

involvement of state agencies in the trail 

project and cooperating with the National 

Park Service and private interests in planning, 

acquiring, developing, and maintaining the 

Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The Wisconsin 

Department of Natural Resources has been 

the primary NPS partner in administering 

federal financial assistance for acquiring lands 

for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. 

The National Trails System Act authorizes 

the establishment of interpretive sites along 

national scenic trails. In fiscal year (FY) 2001 

Congress appropriated funds for the acquisition 

of specific lands, owned by James and Jane 

Wilkie, for an Ice Age National Scenic Trail 

Interpretive Site. The lands specified for 

the interpretive site happen to lie within the 

boundaries of the Cross Plains unit of the 

Ice Age Reserve. The National Park Service 

purchased the lands in 2002, subject to a life 

estate, and took full possession in early 2008.

The Wilkie farmstead includes a stone house, 

the original two-story portion of which 

dates back to the 1850s, just a few years after 

statehood in 1848. The one-story addition, 

built with stone from the same quarry as the 

original house, dates to 1952 when the Wilkies 

purchased the farm. There is also a structurally 

sound wood barn, modern garage, shed used 

as a chicken coop, and Quonset for equipment 

storage. These structures are referred to 

elsewhere in this document as the “farmstead” 

or individually as the “stone house,” “barn,” 

and so forth. The structures were evaluated for 

eligibility to be listed on the National Register 

of Historic Places, but it was determined they 

were not historically significant.

The lands that comprise the Ice Age Complex 

are managed at both a state and federal level. 

That is, the Ice Age Reserve is owned and 

managed by the state of Wisconsin, and the 

Ice Age National Scenic Trail Interpretive Site 

is owned and managed by the National Park 

Service. Additionally, the Ice Age Complex also 

includes Shoveler Sink Waterfowl Production 

Area, which is owned and managed by the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 

The involvement of both federal and state 

governments, as well as Dane County Parks, 

makes this plan to preserve and interpret the 

Ice Age Complex a true partnership effort.

Dane County has been a major partner and 

contributor toward protecting lands and 

creating and managing the Ice Age Trail. 

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail has been 

included in the Dane County Parks and 

Open Space Plan for more than 20 years. In 

support of the Ice Age Complex, in 2010, the 

county purchased 137 acres of land within 

the proposed project boundaries. This parcel 

consists of a proglacial lake that is critical to 

interpreting the story of the site. Dane County 

also intends to continue partnering on future 

land acquisition projects as budgets allow.

Overview of the 

Planning Process

Why have the National Park Service and 

Department of Natural Resources developed this 

general management plan?

The National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978

(Public Law [PL] 95-625) and the Redwood 

Amendment of 1978 (PL 95-250 Sec. 101(6)(b)) 

require the preparation and timely revision 

of general management plans for each unit of 

the national park system. NPS management 

policies require each general management 

plan to “set forth a management concept for 

the park [and] establish a role for the unit 

within the context of regional trends and plans 

for conservation, recreation, transportation, 

economic development, and other regional 

issues.” As part of the planning process, 

Congress specifically directed (at 16 United 

States Code [USC] 1a-7b) the National Park 

Service to address 

Q

A
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 9

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

measures for the preservation of the 

area’s resources

indications of types and general 

intensities of development (including 

visitor circulation and transportation 

patterns, systems, and modes) associated 

with public enjoyment and use of the 

area, including general locations, timing 

of implementation, and anticipated costs

identification of an implementation 

commitment for visitor carrying capacities 

[now called user capacity] for all areas 

of the unit

indications of potential modifications to 

the external boundaries of the unit and 

the reasons therefore

What is considered in developing general 

management plans? 

The purpose of the National Park Service, 

as stated in the Organic Act of 1916 (which 

brought the service into existence that year), 

is “to conserve the scenery and the natural 

and historic objects and the wild life therein 

[within the national parks] and to provide for 

the enjoyment of the same in such manner and 

by such means as will leave them unimpaired 

for the enjoyment of future generations.” 

These words comprise a mission statement 

for the entire system of national parks. The 

laws that established the Ice Age Reserve 

and the Ice Age National Scenic Trail include 

purpose statements that build on this mission 

statement. The Wisconsin Department of 

Natural Resources’ 1998 feasibility study 

(supporting expansion of the Cross Plains unit 

of the reserve) stated that the proposed longrange goal for the expanded reserve unit was 

“to preserve the geologic, natural, cultural, and 

scenic qualities of the Cross Plains Reserve 

unit and provide interpretive, educational, and 

low-impact recreational opportunities.” This 

general management plan translates the NPS 

mission, combined with the more directive 

purpose statements of the Ice Age Reserve, 

Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and the Cross 

Plains unit of the reserve into guidance for the 

managers of the Ice Age Complex for the next 

15 to 20 years. 

How are requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act integrated into the 

general management plan? 

This general management plan / environmental 

impact statement was developed according 

to the process outlined by the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a law passed 

in 1969 to impose analysis and public review 

requirements on federal decision makers. 

This plan follows the NEPA process by 

proposing a range of reasonable alternatives 

for managing the Ice Age Complex, evaluating 

the environmental impacts of the alternatives, 

and inviting public review of the alternatives 

and impact analysis. 

NPS Director’s Order 12: Conservation 

Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis, 

and Decisionmaking and its accompanying 

handbook lay the groundwork for how the 

National Park Services complies with the 

National Environmental Policy Act. Director’s 

Order 12 and handbook set forth a planning 

process for incorporating scientific and 

technical information and establishing a solid 

administrative record for NPS projects. 

How did public involvement inform this plan? 

Public feedback was invited at three specific 

points in the NEPA process.

1. Scoping. A newsletter was sent out, 

the website was launched, and public 

meetings were held in summer 2008 to 

gather general feedback on the scope 

of this plan. Questions were asked 

of the public about what they value 

about the Ice Age Complex and what 

problems, concerns, or opportunities 

they see. The responses to these 

questions were used to formulate 

preliminary alternatives.

Q

A

Q

A

Q

A
10 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

2. Preliminary Alternatives. A second 

newsletter was sent out, and public 

meetings were held in summer 2009 

to invite feedback on four potential 

ways that the Ice Age Complex could 

be managed. Public responses during 

this stage of the plan’s development 

influenced the results of the value 

analysis, during which the preferred 

alternative (alternative 5) was developed.

3. Draft Plan. Comments on the 

draft general management plan / 

environmental impact statement

were accepted. NPS responses to 

substantive public comments on the 

draft document were included with 

this final general management plan / 

environmental impact statement. 

More explanation of public involvement in this 

plan is included in “Chapter 5: Consultation 

and Coordination.”

Purpose of the Plan

The final general management plan provides a 

framework to assist NPS and WDNR managers 

in making decisions today and in the future. 

The alternatives proposed in this plan describe 

general paths that the National Park Service and 

Department of Natural Resources would follow 

in managing the Ice Age Complex over the next 

15 to 20 years. This general management plan / 

environmental impact statement

identifies desired conditions in different 

parts of the Ice Age Complex

identifies any necessary developments 

and support facilities to achieve the 

vision and desired conditions

ensures that the foundation for 

decision making has been developed 

in consultation with the public and 

adopted by NPS leadership after 

sufficient analysis of the benefits, 

impacts, and economic costs of 

alternative courses of action

The document addresses the three purposes 

listed above, but it does not

describe how particular programs or 

projects would be implemented or 

prioritized; these decisions are deferred 

to detailed implementation planning 

provide specific details and answers to 

all the issues facing the Ice Age Complex

provide funding commitments for 

implementation of the plan 

Need for the Plan

A general management plan is needed in order 

to establish a consistent vision for the Ice Age 

Complex that is shared by all partners in this 

project. Those partners are the National Park 

Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural 

Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Ice Age Trail Alliance, local government 

agencies, and the general public. Although 

the Department of Natural Resources’ 1998 

feasibility study (mentioned above) provided 

a rough outline for how the Ice Age Complex 

could be managed, this general management 

plan is the first plan designed to provide 

comprehensive management guidance for 

the complex. The Ice Age National Scenic 

Trail is guided by a 1983 comprehensive 

management plan, and the Ice Age Reserve is 

guided by a 1968 comprehensive management 

plan, but neither of these older overarching 

plans articulate the shared vision between the 

National Park Service, Department of Natural 

Resources, and the public on how to best 

achieve the specific purpose of the complex and 

protect its resources for future generations.

Currently, the Ice Age Complex is essentially 

undeveloped for visitor use. Given its location 

just outside the fast-growing suburbs of 

Madison, Wisconsin, and the interest in Ice 

Age geology in the region, there is potential for 

significant visitation at the complex. There is 

also potential for damage to the glacial features 

at the site without long-term planning for their 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 11

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

protection. Thus, this general management 

plan is needed because 

the management plans for related areas 

(Ice Age National Scenic Trail and 

Ice Age National Scientific Reserve) 

are outdated

there must be a consistent and shared 

vision for the complex 

there is potential for both significant 

visitation and resource damage

Foundation Statement

Each park in the national park system must 

develop a formal core mission statement that 

provides basic guidance for making decisions 

about that park. The foundation statement is 

the formal core mission statement. The core 

elements of the foundation statement are 

(1) statements of purpose and significance; 

(2) descriptions of fundamental and important 

resources and values; (3) discussion of primary 

interpretive themes; and (4) summaries of legal 

and policy requirements and special mandates 

for the site. The foundation statement helps 

ensure that park managers and stakeholders 

understand these important core elements of 

the park. 

Statements of Park Purpose

Purpose statements are the specific reasons 

for establishing a park. They are grounded 

in a thorough analysis of the park’s enabling 

legislation and legislative history, but they go 

beyond simply restating the law to document 

shared assumptions about what the law means 

in terms specific to the park. Legislative 

mandates, from which the purpose statements 

for the Ice Age Complex were derived, 

include the 1964 law establishing the Ice Age 

National Scientific Reserve (because the Ice 

Age Complex is also the Cross Plains unit of 

the reserve, as determined by a 1998 WDNR 

Feasibility Study) and the National Trails 

System Act, as amended in 1980 to include the 

Ice Age National Scenic Trail (because part of 

the Ice Age Complex is also the interpretive 

site for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail) 

(appendix A contains copies of the legislation). 

There are three purposes of the Ice Age 

Complex; those are to 

ensure protection, preservation, 

and interpretation of the nationally 

significant values of continental 

glaciation in Wisconsin, including 

moraines, eskers, kames, kettleholes, 

drumlins, swamps, lakes, and other 

reminders of the Wisconsin Ice Age

establish a superlative segment of the Ice 

Age National Scenic Trail and provide 

information and interpretation about 

the trail to the public at a significant site 

along its route

provide outdoor recreational 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

Statements of Park Significance

Significance statements describe why (within 

a national, regional, and systemwide context) 

the park’s resources and values are important 

enough to warrant national park designation. 

The significance statements are directly linked 

to the park’s purpose, are substantiated by 

data or consensus, and reflect the most 

current scientific or scholarly inquiry and 

cultural perceptions.

These are the three statements of park 

significance for the Ice Age Complex.

1. Nowhere are the marks of continental 

glaciation upon the land more 

impressive than along the Ice Age 

National Scenic Trail and in the Ice Age 

National Scientific Reserve units in 

Wisconsin. The meandering landscape 

that exhibits the marks of the glacier’s 
12 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

farthest advance is a showplace of 

moraines, kames, drumlins, erratics, 

kettle lakes, potholes, eskers, marshes, 

meltwater channels, gorges, ice-walled 

lake plains, outwash plains, and glacial 

lake beds. While many of these marks 

of the glacier’s advance can be viewed 

in the Ice Age Complex at Cross Plains, 

others are present in other units of 

the reserve. 

2. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail’s 

path of glacial features provides 

outstanding opportunities for 

recreation, education, inspiration, 

solitude, and enjoyment. 

3. The Ice Age Complex at Cross Plains 

unit is the primary site for interpreting 

the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. 

Opportunities for the public to 

experience and understand the marks 

of the glacier’s farthest advance are 

highlighted in the areas where the Ice 

Age National Scenic Trail crosses the 

reserve units, as it does in Cross Plains.

Fundamental and Other Important 

Resources and Values

The preeminent responsibility of park 

managers is ensuring the conservation and 

public enjoyment of qualities that are critical to 

achieving the park’s purpose and maintaining 

its significance. These qualities are called the 

park’s “fundamental resources and values.” 

Parks often have other resources and values that, 

while not fundamental to the parks purpose or 

significance, are nevertheless determined to be 

particularly important considerations for general 

management planning. These resources and 

values are called the park’s “other important 

resources and values.”

The fundamental resources and values for the 

Ice Age Complex include 

geological features that tell the glacial 

story of the site, such as meltwater 

channels and proglacial lake basins 

(including, but not exclusive to, the 

Cross Plains gorge); the terminal 

moraine; erratics; bedrock geology; 

driftless area features; and related 

natural biological resources, including 

vegetation created by the microclimate 

in the gorge

a continuous route for the Ice Age 

National Scenic Trail through the 

complex to provide footpath access and 

interpretive opportunities along its route

the opportunity for people, particularly 

those in the adjacent urban area, to 

experience immersion into a large natural 

landscape, providing outdoor recreation 

and education both compatible with 

and supporting conservation of natural 

resources within the complex

expansive views that provide a visual 

display of the contrast between the 

unglaciated driftless area and lands 

shaped by continental glaciation

The other important resources and values for 

the Ice Age Complex include the

Native American migration route that 

traverses the site

high concentration of open-grown 

white and burr oak representative of the 

oak savanna that has disappeared from 

more than 99.9% of its former range, 

presenting opportunities for restoration 

and management 

Primary Interpretive Themes

Primary interpretive themes describe what 

needs to be interpreted in order to provide 

people with opportunities to understand and 

appreciate the park’s purpose and significance. 

These themes are primarily derived from 

and reflect park significance, although they 

also offer perspectives on fundamental and 

important resources and values. There are five 

primary interpretive themes identified for the 

Ice Age Complex.
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 13

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

First Primary 

Interpretive Theme

The Landscape — this landscape and its features uniquely illustrate the contrast 

between unglaciated and glaciated landscapes, which demonstrates the 

dramatic earth-shaping power of glaciers. 

The subtheme derived from the first primary theme will focus on the process 

of glaciation and will compare and contrast unglaciated and glaciated 

landscapes.

Second Primary 

Interpretive Theme

People and the Land — the landscapes, both unglaciated and glaciated, have 

affected human migration, settlement patterns, land use, and values of the 

land for thousands of years. These landscapes have influenced locations of 

transportation corridors and agriculture and resource extraction and have 

inspired land stewardship and contemporary land ethics. 

The subtheme derived from the second primary theme will focus on how the 

landscape affected human interaction with the land throughout time.

Third Primary 

Interpretive Theme

Ice Age National Scenic Trail — the trail offers an opportunity to connect with 

the past while immersed in nature. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail and other 

long-distance trails provide for extended outdoor experiences of discovery. 

The third primary theme focuses on the trail itself. 

Interpretation derived from this theme would encourage visitors to use the trail 

to find their own connections with the past and nature and will relate the Ice 

Age National Scenic Trail to other long-distance trails.

Fourth Primary 

Interpretive Theme

Environmental Conditions — our glacial past provides opportunities to better 

understand changing current environmental conditions that affect the way we 

live today and might live tomorrow.

The subthemes derived from the fourth primary theme will invite reflection on 

current environmental conditions in comparison with those of ancient times. 

While global climate change will be a strong subtheme, this primary theme 

is expressed more broadly in order to be inclusive of discussions on other 

environmental conditions for which the site offers learning opportunities. For 

example, the erosive effect of glacial meltwaters on the land can be compared 

at the site to the erosive effect of surface water runoff from developed 

landscapes today.

Fifth Primary 

Interpretive Theme

Managing the Ecosystem — while natural ecosystems are dynamic, where 

communities migrate and change, human intervention can disrupt the natural 

balance. Reintroduction of natural processes is necessary to restore this balance.

Subthemes derived from the fifth primary theme will focus on the site’s 

plant and animal communities, their current condition, and their need for 

management — not only to return a sustainable natural balance but also to 

enable visitors to better view and understand the glacial landscape.
14 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Legal and Policy Requirements

Federal Laws, Policies, and Executive Orders.

The development of this general management 

plan / environmental impact statement has 

proceeded within a complex legal framework. 

This section identifies what must be done 

within the NPS-owned land at the Ice Age 

Complex to comply with federal laws and 

policies of the National Park Service. Many 

management directives are specified in laws 

and policies and are therefore not subject to 

alternative approaches. For example, there 

are federal laws and policies about managing 

environmental quality (such as the Clean Air 

Act, Endangered Species Act, and Executive 

Order 11990, “Protection of Wetlands”); laws 

governing the preservation of cultural resource 

(such as the National Historic Preservation 

Act); and laws about providing public services 

(such as the Americans with Disabilities Act) — 

to name only a few. In other words, a general 

management plan is not needed to decide, 

for instance, that it is appropriate to protect 

endangered species, control exotic species, 

protect archeological sites, conserve artifacts, 

or provide for handicap access. Laws and 

policies have already decided those and many 

other things.

Laws, Policies, and Orders Applicable Solely or 

Primarily to the National Park Service. Some 

laws, policies, and orders are applicable solely 

or primarily to the National Park Service. 

Examples include the Organic Act of 1916, 

which created the National Park Service; 

General Authorities Act of 1970; National 

Parks and Recreation Act of 1978; Redwood 

Amendment of 1978 (signed March 27, 1978), 

relating to the management of the national 

park system; and the National Parks Omnibus 

Management Act (1998). 

The NPS Organic Act of 1916 (16 USC 1) 

provides the fundamental management 

direction for all units of the national park 

system. The act states that the service thus 

established shall

promote and regulate the use 

of the Federal areas known as 

national parks, monuments, 

and reservations . . . by 

such means and measure as 

conform to the fundamental 

purpose of the said parks, 

monuments, and reservations, 

which purpose is to conserve 

the scenery and the natural 

and historic objects and the 

wild life therein and to provide 

for the enjoyment of the same 

in such manner and by such 

means as will leave them 

unimpaired for the enjoyment 

of future generations.

The National Park Service also has established 

policies that are identified and explained in a 

guidance manual entitled NPS Management 

Policies 2006, which can be found at http://

www.nps.gov/policy. 

In addition to determining the environmental 

consequences of implementing the preferred 

alternative and other alternatives, NPS 

Management Policies 2006 (section 1.4) 

requires analysis of potential effects to 

determine whether or not proposed actions 

would impair a park’s resources and values. 

The fundamental purpose of the national park 

system, established by the Organic Act and 

reaffirmed by the General Authorities Act, as 

amended, begins with a mandate to conserve 

park resources and values. NPS managers 

must always seek ways to avoid, or to minimize 

to the greatest degree practicable, adverse 

impacts on park resources and values. 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 15

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

To truly understand the implications of an 

alternative for NPS-owned and managed 

property at the Ice Age Complex, it is 

important to combine NPS and other federal 

laws, mandates, and policies (listed in table 1), 

with the management actions and zoning 

described in each alternative (presented in 

chapter 2). 

Table 1 lists some of the most pertinent NPS 

mandates and policies related to managing 

the Ice Age Complex, other federal laws and 

executive orders, and the associated desired 

conditions needed to comply with those 

policies, laws, and mandates. The alternatives 

in this general management plan address 

the desired future conditions that are not 

mandated by law and policy and must be 

determined through a planning process.
16 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Table 1: NPS Mandates and Policies

CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

Archeological sites are identified and inventoried, and their significance 

is determined and documented. 

Archeological sites are protected in an undisturbed condition, unless 

it is determined through formal processes that disturbance or natural 

deterioration is unavoidable. When disturbance or deterioration is 

unavoidable, the site is professionally documented and excavated in 

consultation with the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office, and 

the resulting artifacts, materials, and records are curated and conserved. 

Some archeological sites that can be adequately protected may be 

interpreted to the visitor.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006

NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline 

NPS Director’s Order 28A: Archeology 

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology 

and Historic Preservation 

Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement among the National Park 

Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National 

Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (2008) 

Other Federal

National Historic Preservation Act

Archeological Resources Protection Act 

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

Executive Order 13007, “Indian Sacred Sites” 

HISTORIC AND PREHISTORIC STRUCTURES

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

Historic structures are inventoried, and their significance and integrity 

are evaluated under the criteria of the National Register of Historic 

Places. The qualities that contribute to the listing or eligibility for listing 

of historic structures in the national register are protected in accordance 

with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for 

Archeology and Historic Preservation (unless it is determined through a 

formal process that disturbance or natural deterioration is unavoidable).

(Note: the only structures on land currently owned by the National 

Park Service have been evaluated and determined not eligible for the 

national register. This statement of desired conditions would apply to 

any other structures on land acquired by the Park Service.)

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006 

NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline 

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic 

Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and 

Reconstructing Historic Buildings

NPS List of Classified Structures

Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement among the National Park 

Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National 

Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (2008)

Other Federal

National Historic Preservation Act

Archeological Resources Protection Act 

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 

CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

Cultural landscape inventories are conducted to identify landscapes 

potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic 

Places and to assist in future management decisions for landscapes 

and associated resources, both cultural and natural. The content of a 

cultural landscape report provides the basis for making sound decisions 

about management, treatment, and use. The management of cultural 

landscapes focuses on preserving the landscape’s physical attributes, 

biotic systems, and use when that use contributes to its 

historical significance.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006 

NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline 

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology 

and Historic Preservation 

NPS List of Classified Structures
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 17

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

(Note: the only identified cultural landscape on land currently owned by 

the Park Service has been evaluated and determined not eligible for the 

national register. This statement of desired conditions would apply to 

any other structures on land acquired by the park service.)

National Park Service

Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement among the National Park 

Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National 

Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (2008)

Other Federal

National Historic Preservation Act

Archeological Resources Protection Act 

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

Executive Order 13007, “Indian Sacred Sites”

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

All museum collections (prehistoric and historic objects, artifacts, works 

of art, archival documents, and natural history specimens) are identified 

and inventoried, catalogued, documented, preserved, and protected, 

and a provision is made for their access to and use for exhibits, 

research, and interpretation, according to NPS standards.

The qualities that contribute to the significance of collections are 

protected in accordance with established standards.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006 

Director’s Order 24: Museum Collections Management

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology 

and Historic Preservation 

NPS Museum Handbook, Parts I–III

Other Federal

National Historic Preservation Act

Archeological Resources Protection Act 

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

SOILS

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

The National Park Service actively seeks to understand and preserve soil 

resources and to prevent, to the extent possible, the unnatural erosion, 

physical removal, or contamination of soil or its contamination of 

other resources.

Natural soil resources and processes function in as natural a condition 

as possible, except where special considerations are allowable 

under policy.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006

When soil excavation is an unavoidable part of an approved facility 

development project, the National Park Service would minimize soil 

excavation, erosion, and offsite soil migration during and after the 

development activity. 

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006

Table 1: NPS Mandates and Policies (continued)
18 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Table 1: NPS Mandates and Policies (continued)

WATER RESOURCES

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

Surface water and groundwater are protected, and water quality meets 

or is better than (exceeds) all applicable water quality standards. 

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006 

Other Federal

Clean Water Act

Executive Order 11514, “Protection and Enhancement of Environmental 

Quality”

NPS programs and facilities and NPS permitted programs and facilities 

are maintained and operated to avoid pollution of surface water and 

groundwater.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006

Other Federal

Clean Water Act

Rivers and Harbors Act

Executive Order 12088, “Federal Compliance with Pollution Control 

Standards”

NATIVE VEGETATION AND ANIMALS

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

The National Park Service strives to maintain, as part of the natural 

ecosystem, native plants and animals in the Ice Age Complex. 

Populations of native plant and animal species function in as 

natural condition as possible, except where special considerations 

are warranted.

Populations of native species that have been severely reduced or 

extirpated from the complex are restored, where feasible, 

and sustainable.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006

The management of exotic plant and animal species, including 

eradication, is conducted wherever such species threaten resources or 

public health and when control is prudent and feasible.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006 

Other Federal

Executive Order 13112, “Invasive Species”

THREATENED, ENDANGERED, AND SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

Federally and state-listed threatened and endangered species and their 

habitats are protected and sustained. 

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006 

Other Federal

Endangered Species Act

NATURAL SOUNDSCAPES

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

The natural soundscape of the Ice Age Complex is preserved to the 

greatest extent possible.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006

Where soundscapes have been degraded by unnatural sounds (noise), 

they are restored to a natural condition wherever possible.

National Park Service

NPS Management Policies 2006 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 19

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

VISITOR USE AND EXPERIENCE

VISITOR USE AND EXPERIENCE

Desired Conditions NPS and Other Federal Sources

Natural and cultural resources are conserved for the enjoyment of 

future generations. Visitors have opportunities for forms of enjoyment 

that are uniquely suited and appropriate to the resources found in the 

Ice Age Complex. No activities occur that would cause derogation of the 

values and purposes for which the park 

was established.

Visitors have opportunities to understand and appreciate the 

significance of the complex and its resources and to develop a personal 

stewardship ethic.

For all management areas, units, or other logical management divisions 

in the complex, the types and levels of visitor use are consistent with 

the desired resource and visitor experience conditions prescribed for 

those areas.

National Park Service

NPS Organic Act of 1916

National Parks and Recreation Act (PL 95-625)

NPS Management Policies 2006 

To the extent feasible, programs, services, and facilities are accessible to 

and usable by all people, including those with disabilities.

National Park Service

NPS Director’s Order 42: Accessibility for Visitors with Disabilities in NPS 

Programs, Facilities, and Services

Other Federal

Americans with Disabilities Act

Architectural Barriers Act

Laws and Policies of the State of Wisconsin.

Other laws and policies are part of the 

Department of Natural Resource’s legal and 

policy framework. Cross Plains State Park is 

designated as a state park under Chapter 27, 

Wisconsin Statutes. This designation allows 

for a broad range of recreation, education, 

and vegetative management activities to occur 

within park boundaries in accordance with the 

park’s vision and goals. The statutory authority 

to acquire and manage land within Cross 

Plains State Park is described in sections 23.09, 

23.11, 23.14, and 27.01, Wisconsin Statutes.

Wisconsin state parks are managed to ensure 

preservation of their scenic value, historical 

value, and the natural wonders they contain. 

The mission and goals of the state park system, 

as outlined in the 2008 Wisconsin State Park 

System Strategic Plan, are described below.

Wisconsin State Park System Mission —

Protect and enhance the natural and cultural 

resources of our Wisconsin State Park System 

properties while providing high quality 

recreational and educational opportunities 

and programs. 

Wisconsin State Park System Goals —

Expand the quality and quantity of sustainable, 

nature-based outdoor recreation opportunities 

and facilities available to Wisconsin State Park 

System visitors to 

actively manage, restore, enhance, 

and protect the natural, cultural, and 

scenic heritage of the Wisconsin State 

Park System

provide innovative, interpretive 

opportunities and programs that 

foster knowledge, appreciation, and 

stewardship of the state’s natural 

and cultural resources and promote 

participation in nature-based 

outdoor recreation

strengthen the Wisconsin State Park 

System facilities development program 

to better provide for customer comfort 

and safety

motivate and enable a dedicated and 

customer-focused workforce

Table 1: NPS Mandates and Policies (continued)
20 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

achieve financial strength and stability 

for the Wisconsin State Park System

attract new Wisconsin State Park System 

customers through innovative marketing 

strategies and retain current customers 

through exceptional service

improve operational effectiveness, 

planning, and decision making by 

managing and using accurate and 

reliable information

Scope of the General 

Management Plan

Issues and Concerns Addressed in this Plan

This general management plan / environmental 

impact statement addresses issues raised 

internally by the partners developing this 

plan and externally by the public. The issues 

deal with how resources should be managed, 

what types of visitor experiences should be 

encouraged or accommodated, and how the 

complex should be managed. Further, the 

issues expressed 

the need to keep the complex area 

natural and protected from encroaching 

suburban development, including 

protecting more land beyond that which 

is currently publically owned

the need to offer formal educational 

opportunities to tell the stories of the 

unique resources 

the need to offer varied opportunities 

(camping, hiking, and other low-impact 

activities) for the public to access 

the complex 

the need to address the future of 

the Wilkie structures at the core of 

the complex 

the need to engage local residents and 

partner with other groups to instill 

a sense of ownership and support 

management of the complex 

an interest in participating in specific 

activities at the complex, such as 

hunting, dog walking, horseback riding, 

snowmobiling, and mountain biking

Issues and Concerns Not Addressed 

in this Plan

This document does not address the need 

to control the deer population. While this 

is a serious issue that must be addressed, it 

is beyond the scope of this plan. It will be 

addressed in a deer management plan to be 

developed jointly by public land managing 

agencies within the complex; those agencies 

are the National Park Service, Wisconsin 

Department of Natural Resources, and 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The deer 

management plan will propose alternative 

ways of managing deer in the complex and 

determine the appropriate means after 

thorough scientific and public review.

Impact Topics

An important part of planning is seeking 

to understand the consequences of making 

one decision over another. To this end, a 

general management plan is accompanied 

by an environmental impact statement. An 

environmental impact statement identifies the 

anticipated beneficial and adverse impacts 

from possible actions on resources, visitors, 

and neighbors. Impacts are organized by topic, 

such as “impacts on the visitor experience” 

or “impacts on vegetation and soils.” Impact 

topics serve to focus the environmental 

analysis and ensure the relevance of impact 

evaluation. The impact topics included for 

analysis in this document are presented 

below, and the impact analyses for the topics 

are contained in “Chapter 4: Environmental 

Consequences.” The topics were identified 

based on federal laws and other legal 

requirements, Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) guidelines, NPS management 

policies, staff subject-matter expertise, 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 21

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

and issues and concerns expressed by the 

public early in the planning process (see 

previous section). 

This section also includes a discussion of 

impact topics that are commonly addressed 

but that are not addressed in this plan for the 

reasons given.

Impact Topics Considered and 

Analyzed in Detail. 

Soil resources — There are prime fertile soils 

in the Ice Age Complex, ranging from glacial 

till covered with a silt-loam loess cap to the 

east and unglaciated silt loams to the west. 

Development in the complex, as envisioned 

in the alternatives, would cause immediate 

soil disturbance during construction and an 

increase in impervious surfaces, resulting 

in more runoff and soil erosion. Current 

agricultural land would also be taken out of 

production under some of the alternatives. 

Therefore, this impact topic was retained 

for consideration.

Water quality — The region surrounding 

the Ice Age Complex contains one of the 

Midwest’s most important trout fishing 

streams, the Black Earth Creek. Within the 

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. This spring drains 

northward toward Black Earth Creek. In the 

center of the Ice Age Complex, south of Old 

Sauk Pass, water runoff travels north to a 

depression where it enters and flows through 

the Cross Plains gorge, eventually reaching 

Black Earth Creek. An increase in impervious 

surfaces from development in the complex, 

as envisioned in the alternatives, would result 

in more surface water runoff and impacts on 

stream and lake water quality. Additionally, an 

increase in visitor use would mean a need for 

more well-water supply, as well as a need for 

waste removal, such as a septic system. All of 

these changes to the land and land use would 

result in some level of impacts on water quality. 

Therefore, this impact topic was retained 

for consideration. 

Soundscapes — A soundscape is human 

perception of the acoustical environment. 

Acoustic resources include natural sounds 

(wind, water, wildlife, vegetation, and so 

forth) and cultural and historic sounds (such 

as battle reenactments, tribal ceremonies, 

and quiet reverence). Some of the activities 

proposed under the alternatives in this plan 

would change the soundscape at the Ice Age 

Complex, so this impact topic was retained 

for consideration. 

Vegetation and wildlife — The Organic 

Act of 1916 and NPS Management Policies 

2006 both require the National Park Service 

to protect and conserve native plants and 

vegetative communities that could be affected 

by visitors, managers, and external sources. 

There are no federally listed threatened or 

endangered plant species in the complex, 

but there is one plant (heart-leaved skullcap) 

that has been identified as rare by the 

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 

Additionally, there are some exotic (nonnative) 

and invasive species of vegetation that are 

present in the complex. The potential impacts 

from actions proposed in the alternatives, 

especially the difference in how management 

areas would be applied, would affect both 

native and exotic invasive vegetation. 

There are also no federally listed threatened 

or endangered wildlife species (or critical 

habitat for these species) in the Ice Age 

Complex, but there are four bird species 

(Henslow’s sparrow, hooded warbler, western 

meadowlark, and yellow-billed cuckoo) that 
22 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

have been identified as rare by the Wisconsin 

Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife 

would be affected by actions proposed in the 

alternatives, including the difference in levels 

of development and predicted visitation, as 

well as how management areas would be 

applied; therefore, vegetation and wildlife were 

retained as impact topics for consideration. 

Socioeconomic environment — The 

National Environmental Policy Act requires an 

examination of social and economic impacts 

caused by federal actions as part of a complete 

analysis of the potential impacts on the 

“Human Environment.” Dane County is the 

affected area for this socioeconomic analysis, 

with a focus on the local municipalities and 

towns surrounding the complex: Cross Plains, 

Middleton, Verona, and Madison. Changes 

in land use, as well as impacts on gateway 

communities, could result from actions in the 

alternatives. Therefore, this impact topic was 

retained for consideration. 

Visitor experience — One of the 

fundamental purposes of the National Park 

Service is providing for visitor enjoyment and 

understanding. Many actions proposed in this 

plan could affect patterns of visitor use and 

the type and quality of visitor experiences. 

Visitor access, orientation, and interpretation 

are elements of the visitor experience. Some 

actions in this plan could impact the visitor 

experience. Therefore, this topic has 

been analyzed.

Impacts Topics Considered but not 

Analyzed in Detail. 

Geologic resources — Geologic resources 

formed by glaciation are fundamental to the 

purposes of the Ice Age Complex. Because of 

their importance to this site, these resources 

are described at length in the affected 

environment chapter of this plan (chapter 3). 

However, because the alternatives would 

result in no foreseeable impacts on geologic 

resources, they are not described in the 

environmental consequences chapter of this 

plan (chapter 4). Geologic resource impacts 

typically considered in land use planning 

(such as impacts on the fossil record, museum 

quality minerals, and caves) were eliminated 

for all of the alternatives. Fossils are not an 

issue for this plan because fossils are poorly 

preserved in the sandstone and dolomite at the 

Ice Age Complex. 

There are no museum-quality samples of 

minerals or rock at this site. 

Impact on caves is strictly regulated by the 

federal Cave Resources Protection Act and 

section 4.8.1.2 of the NPS Management Policies 

2006. Although karst topography exists on 

the complex, as well as a sinkhole that might 

be connected to a cave system, there is no 

actual cave or human access to any cave at 

the complex. There would be no foreseeable 

impacts on major geologic features, such as the 

end moraine, former lakebed surfaces, and the 

subglacial channel (Cross Plains gorge), from 

any of the proposed alternatives other than 

related impacts associated with contamination 

of surface water (considered separately under 

water quality). 

Threatened and endangered species —

There are no federally listed threatened or 

endangered species or critical habitat for these 

species in the Ice Age Complex; therefore, 

this impact topic was not analyzed in this 

document. The potential impacts on other 

sensitive wildlife and vegetation are discussed 

in the “Vegetation and Wildlife” section of 

chapter 4. 

Wetlands and floodplains — There is one 

small (roughly 100 acres) wetland area in the 

southeast corner of the Ice Age Complex, 

in the area around Shoveler Sink and Coyle 

Pond. There are also two small (together, 

about 100 acres) floodplains in the southeast 

portion of the site (again, around Shoveler 

Sink) and the northwest portion of the site in 

the area of Black Earth Creek. Construction 

near wetlands and floodplains might affect 

how they function. There are two elements 

proposed in the alternatives that could affect 

wetlands and floodplains; those elements 

are building a picnic area near Black Earth 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 23

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

Creek and building a trail in this same area. 

The extent of these impacts, however, is too 

speculative to state at this point. Both of these 

projects would be subject to implementation 

plans, which would fully analyze their 

environmental impacts. Otherwise, none of 

the activities in the proposed alternatives 

in this plan would impact the functioning 

of wetlands or floodplains. Therefore, this 

impact topic was not analyzed in detail. 

Cultural resources — The National 

Environmental Policy Act requires that any 

federal undertaking be examined for its potential 

to affect cultural resources. Cultural resources 

are aspects of a cultural system that are valued 

by or significantly representative of a culture 

or that contain significant information about a 

culture. A cultural resource may be a tangible 

entity or a cultural practice. Cultural resources 

are characterized as archeological resources, 

cultural landscapes, historic structures, museum 

collections, and ethnographic resources for NPS 

management purposes. The following describes 

the various types of cultural resources:

•	 Archeological Resources. According 

to NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural 

Resource Management Guideline, 

archeological resources are the physical 

evidences of past human activity. 

Archeological resources may represent 

both prehistoric and historic time 

periods, and they are found above and 

below ground and under water. Native 

American occupation of southern 

Wisconsin began around the end of 

the Pleistocene epoch, when groups 

of hunter gatherers moved into the 

area after the retreat of the last glacial 

advance. Archeologists have established 

a basic broad chronology of cultural 

traditions in the region as follows:

These traditions are distinguished 

by differences in settlement and 

subsistence patterns, changes in 

styles and design of stone tools, the 

appearance of ceramic technology, and 

the construction and design of earthen 

mounds. Early Paleoindian sites are 

generally limited to surface finds of 

fluted points. The general absence of 

Early Archaic sites may be connected 

to the Altithermal Climatic episode. 

During the Late Archaic Tradition 

seasonal movements from wintering 

sites within rock shelters and interior 

valleys to summer encampments 

along rivers became established as a 

way of life. The Woodland Tradition is 

marked by the appearance of ceramics. 

The Mississippian/Oneota Tradition 

is characterized by the development 

of villages that contained increasingly 

larger populations dependent 

on agriculture.

Throughout the Historic Period, 

southern Wisconsin was continually 

occupied by various Native American 

nations including the Sauk, Ho-Chunk 

(formerly Winnebago), Ioway, Illini, 

and Potawatomi. The first EuroAmerican settlers reached the Cross 

Plains area in the 1830s. At that time, 

the village of White Crow, a Ho-Chunk 

chief, was located in what is now 

the town of Cross Plains near Black 

Earth Creek. The town received its 

name from two military roads—one 

from Galena to Fort Winnebago, 

and the other from Prairie du Chien 

to Green Bay — crossing on a plain 

or piece of prairie land, about the 

middle of the town, and hence the 

name “Cross Plains.” Subsequently, 

the Madison-Mineral Point stage road Paleoindian Tradition, ca. 12,000–8,000 

Before Present (B.P.) 

Archaic Tradition, ca. 8,000–2,500 B.P. 

Woodland Tradition, ca. 2,500–700 B.P. 

Mississippian/Oneota Tradition, 

ca. 800–350 B.P. Early Historic, 

350-150 B.P. Late Historic, 

150 B.P.- Modern Era.

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan
24 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

was important shipping route and 

contributed to the town’s growth 

along with the Chicago-MilwaukeeSt. Paul railroad.

A number of sites have been reported 

in the vicinity of the Ice Age Complex 

at Cross Plains. These sites represent 

a range of cultural traditions including 

Late Archaic (campsite/village), 

Woodland (mounds, burial sites), and 

Euro-American (cabin/homestead, 

farmstead, cemetery, historic debris 

scatter). Additional sites of unknown 

pre-historic affiliation have been 

recorded including rock shelters, 

campsites/villages, isolated finds, 

quarries, workshop sites, and lithic 

scatter. These sites appear to be 

located primarily along watercourses, 

particularly Black Earth Creek, and the 

bluffs adjacent to them. A significant 

number of sites, many associated with 

the Ho-Chunk village of White Crow, 

are found in Cross Plains along Black 

Earth Creek approximately 1.75 miles 

NW of the complex’s proposed 

northern boundary.

Very few archeological investigations 

have taken place within the Ice Age 

Complex at Cross Plains to date. 

During the development of the two 

parking areas at the US Fish and 

Wildlife Service’s Shoveler’s Sink 

property, archeological surveys were 

completed and no significant resources 

were identified. A site described as a 

‘military well’ has been reported in the 

land owned by the Wisconsin DNR 

west of the NPS-owned property 

within the Complex.

Archeological surveys and/or 

monitoring would precede any ground 

disturbance of unsurveyed lands. 

Archeological resources eligible for or 

listed in the national register would be 

avoided during construction activities. 

If previously unknown archeological 

resources were discovered during 

construction, all work in the 

immediate vicinity of the discovery 

would be halted until the resources 

are identified and documented. If 

the resources cannot be preserved in 

their original location, an appropriate 

mitigation strategy would be developed 

in consultation with the state historic 

preservation officer and, as necessary, 

American Indian tribes. In the unlikely 

event that human remains, funerary 

objects, sacred objects, or objects of 

cultural patrimony are discovered 

during construction, provisions 

outlined in the Native American 

Graves Protection and Repatriation 

Act of 1990 (25 USC 3001) would 

be followed. If non-Indian human 

remains were discovered, standard 

reporting procedures to the proper 

authorities would be followed, as 

would all applicable federal, state, and 

local laws. Therefore, archeological 

resources is dismissed as an 

impact topic.

•	 Cultural Landscapes. According to 

NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural 

Resource Management Guideline, a 

cultural landscape is “a reflection of 

human adaptation and use of natural 

resources and is often expressed in 

the way land is organized and divided, 

patterns of settlement, land use, 

systems of circulation, and the types of 

structures that are built. The character 

of a cultural landscape is defined both 

by physical materials, such as roads, 

buildings, walls, and vegetation, and 

by use reflecting cultural values and 

traditions.” As noted below under 

“Historic Structures,” the Wisconsin 

state historic preservation officer has 

determined that the structures on 

the Wilkie farmstead, as well as the 

farmstead’s associated landscape, 

are not eligible for listing in the 

national register. A Native American 
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 25

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

migration route that traverses the 

complex has not been evaluated as a 

cultural landscape, but there would be 

negligible, if any, ground disturbance 

under the proposed alternatives 

within the pathway of this route, and 

the topography and views and vistas 

of the pathway would be unaffected. 

Therefore, cultural landscapes was 

dismissed as an impact topic. 

•	 Historic Structures. According to 

NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural 

Resource Management Guideline, a 

historic structure is a constructed 

work, consciously created to serve 

some human activity that is either 

listed in or eligible to be listed in 

the National Register of Historic 

Places. Historic structures are usually 

immovable, although some have been 

relocated, and others are mobile by 

design. Historic structures include 

buildings and monuments, dams, 

millraces and canals, nautical vessels, 

bridges, tunnels and roads, railroad 

locomotives, rolling stock and track, 

stockades and fences, defensive 

works, temple mounds and kivas, 

ruins of all structural types, and 

outdoor sculpture. 

The only existing structures on Ice 

Age Complex lands are on the Wilkie 

farmstead (residence, bank barn with 

an attached silo, garage, hog-chicken 

house, Quonset hut, silage crib, well 

house, and windmill foundation). The 

Wisconsin state historic preservation 

officer has determined that the Wilkie 

farmstead structures and associated 

landscape are not eligible for listing 

in the national register. Therefore, 

historic structures was dismissed as an 

impact topic.

•	 Museum Collections. According to 

NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural 

Resource Management Guideline, 

museum collections are prehistoric 

and historic objects, artifacts, works 

of art, archival material, and naturalhistory specimens collected according 

to a rational scheme and maintained 

so they can be preserved, studied, and 

interpreted for public benefit. There 

are currently no museum collections 

for the complex. The site development 

plan for the NPS-owned area at the 

core of the complex would provide 

for appropriate collections storage, 

if needed. Any museum collections 

would be acquired, accessioned and 

cataloged, preserved, protected, 

and made available for access and 

use according to NPS standards 

and guidelines. Therefore, museum 

collections was dismissed as an 

impact topic.

•	 Ethnographic Resources. According 

to NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural 

Resource Management Guideline, 

ethnographic resources are any “site, 

structure, object, landscape, or natural 

resource feature assigned traditional 

legendary, religious, subsistence, 

or other significance in the cultural 

system of a group traditionally 

associated with it.” Ethnographic 

resources are associated with cultural 

practices, beliefs, the sense of purpose, 

or existence of a living community that 

is rooted in that community’s history 

or is important in maintaining its 

cultural identity and development as 

an ethnically distinctive people. 
26 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Lac du Flambeau Band 

of Lake Superior Chippewa

Lac Courte Oreilles Band 

of Lake Superior Chippewa

Sac and Fox Tribe 

of the Mississippi in Iowa

Stockbridge Munsee Community 

of Wisconsin

Ho-Chunk Nation

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

The tribes were requested to respond 

with any issues or concerns and 

were notified of upcoming public 

meetings. Each of the planning 

newsletters were also mailed to the 

tribes. No concerns were expressed 

during the scoping process, and no 

requests for meetings were received. 

As noted above under “Cultural 

Landscapes,” there would be 

negligible, if any, ground disturbance 

to the Native America migration 

route that traverses the complex, and 

the topography and views and vistas 

of the pathway would be unaffected; 

thus, ethnographic resources was 

dismissed as an impact topic. 

A copy of this general management 

plan / environmental impact 

statement was sent to each tribe 

for review and comment. The 

National Park Service would 

continue to recognize the past and 

present existence of peoples in the 

region and the traces of their use 

as an important part of the cultural 

environment, and if subsequent 

issues or concerns were identified, 

appropriate consultations would 

be undertaken. 

There would be no impacts on archeological 

resources, cultural landscapes, historic 

structures, museum collections, and 

ethnographic resources from actions under the 

proposed alternatives; therefore, these impact 

topics were dismissed from analysis. 

Park operations — The Ice Age Complex 

is currently undeveloped for visitor use. 

Currently, park operations are limited 

to vegetation management, Ice Age Trail 

construction as land and/or access are 

acquired, and minimal signage installation. 

Each action alternative has been designed 

with the support infrastructure necessary to 

implement the vision of the alternative. Thus, 

each alternative would have adequate park 

operations support, and this impact topic was 

not analyzed further. 

Environmental justice — Executive Order 

12898 requires that each federal agency shall 

make achieving environmental justice part 

of its mission by identifying and addressing, 

as appropriate, “disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or environmental 

effects” of its programs, policies, and 

During scoping the tribes traditionally 

associated with Ice Age Complex lands 

were apprised by letter of the GMP 

planning process; those tribes are 

Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma

Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri 

in Kansas and Nebraska

Bad River Band 

of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa

Oneida Tribe of Indians in Wisconsin

Red Cliff Band 

of Lake Superior Chippewa

St. Croix Chippewa Indians 

of Wisconsin

Forest County Potawatomi Community 

of Wisconsin

Sokaogon Chippewa Community, 

Mole Lake Band
FINAL GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 27

Chapter One Introduction and Purpose and Need for a General Management Plan

activities on minority populations and lowincome populations. None of the proposed 

alternatives would result in disproportionately 

high or adverse human health or environmental 

effects on minority populations and lowincome populations; thus, this impact topic 

was not analyzed in this document. 

Air quality, carbon footprint, natural or 

depletable resources, energy requirements, 

and conservation potential — Proposed 

activities in the alternatives that would 

cause air pollution tend to contribute to 

carbon loading, energy use, and through the 

use of fossil fuels, to depletion of natural 

resources. Therefore, these impact topics were 

considered together in this analysis. 

The city of Madison and Dane County 

generally meet federal air quality standards, 

and during most days, outdoor air quality is 

ranked as “good.” At times, however, levels 

of fine particulate matter do not meet federal 

standards. Emissions of the criteria pollutants 

(measured by the Clean Air Act) that could 

result from actions proposed in the alternatives 

would come from tailpipe emissions from 

visitor and staff vehicles and construction 

equipment. Emissions of carbon dioxide would 

be associated with vehicle traffic (emissions 

in the immediate area) and the power needs 

of onsite buildings (emissions at the site of 

power generation from carbon-based fuels). 

Whenever feasible, the National Park Service 

strives to maximize the use of renewable 

resources and energy and therefore minimize 

the use of depletable resources. However, it is 

not possible with today’s technologies to costeffectively avoid all use of depletable resources 

in building and operating facilities. Some of 

the alternatives proposed in this plan include a 

varying level of construction and would impact 

natural or depletable resources and energy 

to a varying extent. While the alternatives in 

this plan would contribute to these impacts to 

some extent, their incremental contributions 

to air quality (locally) and to carbon footprint 

and resources and energy depletion (globally) 

would be extremely small. These impact topics 

were not analyzed in detail. 

Relationship of Other 

Planning Efforts to this 

General Management Plan

There are two local planning efforts underway 

that could affect or be affected by this plan. 

The managers of the Ice Age Complex are 

coordinating with the teams developing the 

plans described below. 

U.S. Highway 14 Access Study

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation 

(WDOT) is currently studying the best way 

to improve access to U.S. Highway 14, which 

forms the northern boundary of the complex. 

As of this writing, the idea in WDOT’s draft 

plan is to move one access point east and build 

a frontage road parallel to U.S. Highway 14 on 

the south side of the highway. There would need 

to be further consultation with the Wisconsin 

Department of Transportation in order to ensure 

adequate access to the site, while minimizing 

adverse impacts from highway developments. 

Bike Path Along U.S. Highway 14

There have been local efforts in recent years 

to build a bike path along the section of 

U.S. Highway 14 that forms the northern 

boundary of the Ice Age Complex to provide a 

connection through the town of Cross Plains 

from the city of Middleton to the town of 

Mazomanie. The preferred alternative in this 

draft document is zoned to accommodate this 

bike path. 

Town of Cross Plains Comprehensive Plan

The recently completed Town of Cross Plains 

Comprehensive Plan (TCP 2009) could influence 

the future of the Ice Age Complex. This plan 

seeks to preserve the productive farmlands in 

the town for continued agricultural use, protect 

farm operations from conflict with incompatible 

uses, protect the natural environment, control 

development, maintain the rural character, and 

avoid significant expenditure of public funds 

for urban development.
28 ICE AGE COMPLEX AT CROSS PLAINS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE AND NEED FOR A GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Village of Cross Plains Comprehensive Plan

Another plan that could influence the future 

of the Ice Age Complex is the recently 

completed Village of Cross Plains 

Comprehensive Plan (VCP 2008). This plan 

zoned the land in the Ice Age Complex in 

three ways: agricultural/rural; woodlands/open 

space; and on lots that currently have private 

homes, single family/exurban. This zoning is 

consistent with the alternatives proposed in 

this general management plan / environmental 

impact statement.

Dane County Parks and Open Space Plan

The Dane County Parks and Open Space 

Plan is updated every five years and seeks to 

identify significant cultural, historical, and 

natural resources that should be considered 

for possible protection, preservation, or 

restoration. Through these continued planning 

efforts, Dane County may consider a future 

transfer of ownership and/or management 

responsibilities to the most suitable agency. 

Next Steps in the 

Planning Process

Following distribution of the draft general 

management plan / environmental impact 

statement, a 60-day public review and comment 

period was conducted, after which the NPS 

planning team evaluated comments from other 

federal agencies, organizations, businesses, and 

individuals regarding this plan. Appropriate 

changes were incorporated into this final general 

management plan / environmental impact 

statement. This final document includes letters 

from governmental agencies and tribes (if 

applicable); any substantive comments on the 

draft document; and NPS responses to those 

comments. Following distribution of this final 

plan and a 30-day no-action period, a “record 

of decision” may be prepared that would 

document the NPS selection of an alternative 

for implementation. Once it is signed, the plan 

would then be implemented as funding and 

staffing allows. 

Implementation of the Plan

The approval of this plan does not guarantee 

that the funding and staffing needed to 

implement the plan would be forthcoming. 

The implementation of the approved plan 

would depend on future funding, and it 

could also be affected by factors such as 

changes in NPS staffing, visitor use patterns, 

and unanticipated environmental changes. 

NPS funding levels and servicewide priorities, 

partnership funds, time, and effort would also 

influence the plan’s implementation. 

Full implementation could be many years in the 

future. Once the general management plan 

has been approved, additional feasibility studies 

and more detailed planning, environmental 

documentation, and consultations would be 

completed, as appropriate, before certain actions 

in the selected alternative could be carried out. 

Future program and implementation plans, 

describing specific actions that managers intend 

to undertake and accomplish in the park, would 

tier from the desired conditions and long-term 

goals set forth in this general management plan / 

environmental impact statement. 

Wisconsin State 

Property Designation

The general management plan will be for the 

development and management of Cross Plains 

State Park and Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. 

Under the preferred alternative, the state’s acreage 

goal is 1,701 acres. This is the total acreage inside 

the proposed boundary for publically protected 

land. Currently, the following are the public 

ownership acres within the site: 

State ownership (2011): 294 acres

NPS ownership (2011): 157 acres

USFWS ownership (2010): 160 acres

Dane County ownership (2010): 131 acres

State Statutory Authority: The authority to 

acquire and manage land for the Cross Plains 

State Park and Ice Age National Scientific 

Reserve is described in sections 23.09, 23.11, 

23.14, and 27.01, Wis. Stats.