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Amenities: Natural Management Plan Overview:
• Original Nature Center - built in 1974 The Core Zone for Retzer covers 110.4 acres of sedge
• Nature Center Expansion including the meadow, fen, prairie, oak savanna, and hayfield, which
Waukesha School District’s Charles Z. serves as nesting ground for Bobolinks and Henslow’s
Horwitz Planetarium opened in 2005 Sparrows. The sedge meadows and fens are remnant areas
• Observation deck with Brown’s Fen being the largest high-quality remnant
• Boardwalks wetland on site. The other areas border our tiny creek on
• Picnic tables
• Exhibit areas the west side of the property in a meandering strip. The
• 700-gallon fresh-water native game- savannas have some ground layer left but most succumbed
fish aquarium to livestock and buckthorn. With management, some
• Gift shop native plants have migrated here from adjacent areas or
• Vending machines flourished once invasive shrubs were controlled. The
• Room rentals with kitchen facilities ground layer of the Legacy Forest is in good shape and the
• Restrooms oaks are young. It will complement our other savannas
• Planetarium well, both in acreage and as a seed source.
• Restored native plant communities
• Wildlife habitat areas The 1941 aerial photography shows the agricultural history
• Nature trails the land. The Retzers began to reclaim the land by planting
• Accessible Adventure Trail: Local pines and flowers to help add diversity and cover. Those
plants, birds and animals are efforts are apparent today, as Retzer Nature Center has
highlighted at 30 interpretive stops become a home for a number of the county’s wildlife.
along the 800-foot paved trail. Braille
signage, additional trail guides and
audio MP3 players are available. Areas of high public use, especially alongside trails, will
• Hiking trail system receive management as required to accommodate center
• Butterfly garden patrons. This includes activities such as spraying poison ivy
• Children’s Garden or removal of leaning limbs or trees. Since this is home to
• Rain gardens the Environmental Learning Center, a majority of the wild
• Composting demonstration acreage is managed to encourage the natural communities
• Prairie nurseries that were present before the plow. This gives center
• 110-space parking lot with overflow visitors an idea of what the land looked like prior to the
th
parking for special events mid-19 century.
• 76 acres of rentable farmland
• 278-foot deep well Invasive species that challenge the management of the
• Signage Core Zone include Black Locust, Buckthorn, Canada Thistle,
• Legacy Forest Garlic Mustard, Honeysuckle, Japanese Hedge Parsley,
• Maintenance Barn Purple Loosestrife and Reed Canary Grass. The goal is to
• Geothermal Heating/Cooling monitor, maintain and improve the ecological quality of the
Activities: Core Zone through selective control of exotic/invasive
• Environmental education species while encouraging the introduction and growth of
• Natural land management native plant species.
• Specialty workshops
• Ecology consulting
• Recreational activities
• Water education resource center
• Native plant and seed sales
• Bird seed sale
• Snowshoe rentals
• Seasonal events
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