A ramble down Nautilus Point Park greenway

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A greenway runs north from Nautilus Point Park, opposite Oakwood Village on Madison's West Side.  It surrounds and protects a small stream that runs between Island Drive and Nautilus Drive.  There's a sign saying it's a "Conservation Park," but it's not listed on the City's website as any of the conservation parks.

On May 17, I took a short ramble down the greenway, along the stream.  It's tough going--there's no path, sometimes the banks to the stream are steep, and you have to climb over fallen logs.

But I was rewarded with many wild animal tracks.



...and a few woodland wild flowers, like this trillium.

Coyote track, the size of a mid-sized dog's.  Coyotes use greenways, streams, and lakeshores to travel about town unseen.

This stream suffers from the ills of most urban streams--too little flow when it's not raining, and too much when it does rain.  This causes bank erosion during rain, plus lack of vegetation and wildlife from the dry times.



Hiking back to my car parked on Masthead Dr., I could see some magnificent oaks bordering the greenway.

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This greenway has infestations of garlic mustard and buckthorn.
See all the photos here.