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Muskego honors longtime conservation coordinator Tom Zagar; introduces Matt Smith as new conservation coordinator
Summary
Committee members praised Tom Zagar’s decades of conservation work — including urban forestry planning, DNR stewardship land acquisitions and habitat restorations — and welcomed Matt Smith, who described plans for weekly park assessments, volunteer recruitment, species monitoring and water-quality surveys.
The Muskego City Parks and Conservation Committee on May 11 honored Tom Zagar for decades of service and introduced Matt Smith as the city’s conservation coordinator.
Alderman Schrader summarized Zagar’s record, noting his work on the city’s first urban forestry plan, the 2001 conservation plan and multiple DNR stewardship-grant acquisitions. "All these monumental achievements have 1 thing in common. They are the lasting legacy of Tom Zagar," Schrader said.
Zagar, who was recognized for habitat restoration projects, tree-planting programs and mentoring scout projects, thanked the committee and said he will continue to volunteer with local events. "I had a lot of fun working here the last few years," he said.
New conservation coordinator’s priorities Matt Smith, the newly introduced conservation coordinator, said he has completed assessments of about 10 parks, created GIS maps and built a geodatabase to track property boundaries, invasive species and ecological condition. He told the committee he plans weekly site assessments, expanded volunteer engagement and more public-facing monitoring work, including bird surveys using eBird and expanded water-quality monitoring to measure dissolved oxygen in Big Lake.
Smith said the baseline data will inform invasive-species management, grant applications and prioritization for ecological restoration. "I'm gonna continue conducting assessments. I've assessed 10 parks so far," Smith said, adding that staff will compile reports and integrate findings into the parks and conservation plan.
Next steps Smith and staff said monitoring results and draft assessments will be shared with the committee and the public as the parks and conservation plan moves toward public review and council consideration.
