Historic Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest park reopened after being closed for 10 years
When federal budget cuts to the United States Forest Service closed Green Lake Park about a decade ago, the decision never sat well with the people of nearby Mountain in Oconto County.
Now they're celebrating as the park reopens, thanks to the work of local volunteers and the activism of the Mountain Historical Society.
Green Lake Park is part of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, located just south of the small Northwoods town at 13322 Highway 32. It's a small park, just five acres, with access to the 25-acre Green Lake. It offers a natural sand beach and a pavilion that was built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers in 1937.
The pavilion features a tall stone hearth where the CCC crews would meet their families there to picnic and talk in front of a fire. After the park opened it, became a popular picnicking spot, meeting place and swimming hole for families living in the area. It wasn't long for the park to become a special place in many people's hearts, said Brenda Carey-Mielke, president of the Mountain Historical Society and a supervisor on the town board.
Residents knew that local Forest Service representatives wanted to keep the park open. The cost-cutting decision, and others across the country, were made in Washington D.C., Carey-Mielke said.
Gradually the park suffered from neglect and disrepair. Storm-blown trees leaned dangerously, and the park was declared off limits for people to use.
"That was very hard for a lot of people ... being told that we couldn't use the property," Carey-Mielke said. "That got our fighting spirit up."
But the Forest Service bureaucracy stuck to the decision, until Carey-Mielke and another leader of the Mountain Historical Society discovered that the shelter and the nearby swimming beach was listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996. Using that fact as a lever, she said, allowed the Mountain Historical Society and the Forest Service to come to an agreement that has reopened the park this year.
Under the agreement, the Forest Service will retain ownership of the land, but the Historical Society will take over the maintenance and operation of the park. Already squads of volunteers have helped clean up the property and remove the downed trees.
"It will be a good partnership," Carey-Mielke said. "They are the landowners, we are the caretakers."
The Historical Society is in the midst of raising money for a variety of projects, including cleaning up and restoring the beach; building a new parking lot and boat ramp; creating accessible walking paths; and preserving the pavilion.
"That first day that we had volunteers come out, I was just so overwhelmed with joy and happiness," Carey-Mielke said. "This is what I'm talking about when I talk about the Mountain spirit."
U.S. Forest Service and Mountain Historical Society officials will celebrate their agreement and Green Lake Park's reopening from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on May 25 at the park.
You can help upgrade and preserve Green Lake Park
There will be a donation box placed at the park, with proceeds used to help maintain Green Lake Park. People can also donate online at mountainhistoricalsociety.org/green-lake-park-restoration-project.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Mountain Historical Society reopens historic Green Lake Park
