Mike is a Baraboo native and longtime conservationist, ecologist and historian. Retired from WI DNR, he continues his conservation work with organizations and landowners in the Baraboo Hills, Lower Wisconsin Riverway and former Badger Army Ammunition Plant (especially Maa Wákącąk) —studying the effects of land management on wildlife populations. Mike was a founding member of the Badger History Group in 1998. As its first chair, he served on the Badger Reuse Committee, organized the photographic exhibition Inside the Fence, and co-produced the videodocumentary Powder to the People. He is now BHG president, committed to its mission: To collect, preserve and share the histories of the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant and the Sauk prairie. We help each other learn from the past, engage with the present, and guide our shared future.
Mike provided the content for the Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance’s interpretive app Explore the Badger Lands, which integrates human and natural history, including the geology of this fascinating landscape. He has led 100s of Wisconsin field trips on various topics for organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, WDNR and Natural Resources Foundation and loves co-leading at the former BAAP with landowners and other stakeholders.
