Logo for the new Myrick Eco-Park Zoo in La Crosse, WI - courtesy graphic

Roger Gordon and Doug Aloisi from Genoa NFH and Pam Thiel and Heidi Keuler from La Crosse FRO are currently working with Fred Kusch and other members from Friends of the Upper Mississippi Fishery Services (FUMFS) on an exhibit for the new Myrick Eco-Park.

This new zoo is currently being designed in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Phase 1 of the project will be completed in 2009.  The Eco-Park will be created in the same area that Myrick Park currently stands. 

Myrick Eco-Park will feature animals indigenous to North America and reflective of Wisconsin, as well as have an educational center.

The FUMFS group hopes to have an exhibit in the nature center that will show how much of a national treasure the Mississippi River is. 

Members of the Friends group hope to tell the past, present, and future story of the “Mighty Miss” and entice the public into working with FUMFS, preserving the river’s valuable assets. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife employees helped the friends group with brainstorming ideas of interactive displays and learning activities.   Some of these ideas include working with mussels, fish, invertebrates and learning how human practices have impacted these resources, both positive and negative. 

Members of this project hope to raise money for the exhibit during a banquet that will be held this October.