Committee approves driveway use at Cherokee Marsh for AmFam Championship; neighbors, conservationists raise access and ecological concerns

The Madison Finance Committee voted unanimously April 28 to approve a driveway-use agreement allowing the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation to use parking lots in Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park North Unit during the American Family Insurance Championship.

Why it matters: Neighbors and conservation advocates warned that limiting vehicle access to a park with little transit service would create barriers for many visitors, risk ecological disturbance and set a precedent for commercial use of protected conservation land.

Public concerns and testimony Nicholas Davies, a registrant, said Cherokee Marsh North has virtually no transit service and that “walk in and bike in access will be maintained and that’s going to work fine for some visitors but not others.” He urged keeping a…