Please show your support at an important public meeting on an Amendment to the Master Plan for the Hank Aaron State Trail! At their upcoming May meeting, the Natural Resource Board will consider an Amendment to the Master Plan for the Hank Aaron State Trail.  Several boundary changes are proposed for the project area of the Trail, including a boundary expansion that will increase the DNR's role in the efforts to redevelop the former Milwaukee Road Shops site at the Valley's west end.  This site, which was once home to third largest rail manufacturer and thousands of jobs, sat vacant and blighted for decades. 

Since 2002, the City of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, MVP and countless partners have been working to redevelop this site in a way that maximizes economic, ecological and community goals.   Partners are actively working to recruit companies that can provide quality jobs for area residents and to create unique public park space with trails, acres of native landscapes, riverbank improvements, and public access to the Menomonee River.  With the project more than 60% complete, it already has received national recognition.   In 2006, the project was recognized by the Sierra Club as one of the 10 Best Developments in the United States.

New urban park space is a central component to a redeveloped Valley and a strong stewardship plan is essential so that these new amenities are available for generations.  This Master Plan Amendment is an important step to put a viable long-term ownership plan in place for acres of newly created public park space.   The DNR has been an invaluable partner in re-creating an environmentally stronger Menomonee Valley.  This Master Plan Amendment is another indicator of the DNR's dedication and commitment to natural resources in southeastern Wisconsin. 

Please stop by this Thursday!  Offer your ideas and show your support of this great project.  Interested citizens who cannot attend are encouraged to call or write with questions or comments to Melissa Cook, DNR Milwaukee Service Center, 2300 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212, (414) 263-8559. Comments can also be sent via e-mail to: melissa.cook@wisconsin.gov. All comments must be received by Wednesday, May 7, 2008.