Great horned owls take issue with Stritch plan

Great horned owls have been residents of the Seminary Woods for many, many years. Each spring a pair of owls nests high in the canopy before the trees leaf out, and, to the delight of binoculared onlookers, produce two or more offspring. To survive and feed their young, the owls rely on their keen sight and hearing as they hunt by night in the woods and adjoining prairie. During winter months just before dark, those walking in the vicinity often hear and enjoy owl mating calls. The owls are now worried that they will lose their happy home to development. They may not be able to survive the loss of food, the noise, the lights, and altered landscape. Many other longtime woods and prairie wildlife residents share their concerns.

Cardinal Stritch University is planning to purchase the Cousins Center and adjoining We Energies property to establish a 129-acre campus on the south shore of Lake Michigan. The plan calls for the construction of 10 new buildings, an elaborate sports complex, an 800-car parking structure, and a 558-space parking lot to accommodate 1,800 students and 420 faculty and staff. The We Energies prairie planting is targeted for conversion into a sports stadium, ball playing fields, and parking lots.

Until recently it was expected that this land would remain undeveloped. For many years the Friends of St. Francis Green Space has strongly endorsed the preservation of the We Energies property as a green space companion to the Seminary Woods. In 2002-03 they were joined by a number of other organizations who wrote letters to We Energies to encourage them to forever protect this land. Since that time it was understood that the remediated We Energies land would remain as an undisturbed buffer to the woods. In addition, since the remediation, the community has come to appreciate what this prairie offers in its own right, a unique habitat teeming with life that is an asset to the quality of life for the neighborhood.

It is understood by knowledgeable naturalists that the We Energies property is an essential sister environment to the Seminary Woods. The protection of the woods necessarily goes hand in hand with the protection of the adjoining prairie. The habitat is co-mingled. A reduction in one has detrimental consequences for the other. The great horned owls who nest in the woods hunt in the prairie. Without food supplied by the prairie, the owls will leave the woods.

The protection of the woods is not a simple matter of leaving its boundaries intact. The woods is a habitat, not a piece of property. To adequately protect the woods, the surrounding area must also be protected. Given this fact, it becomes clear that the woods can be destroyed without cutting down a single tree.

Unfortunately, the Stritch plan as presently conceived greatly alters the existing landscape and threatens the extirpation of one of the last remaining natural environments in Milwaukee County. This is a shocking proposal from an institution that pays homage to Franciscan values.

St. Francis is well known as the patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment. He once asked villagers to feed rather than kill a hungry wolf that had been killing the villagers’ sheep. Surely St. Francis would choose to protect one of the last few natural habitats remaining in Milwaukee County that features an important migratory bird flyway, the endangered bluestem goldenrod, and the rare nodding ladies tresses orchid. He would certainly choose to celebrate rather than disturb a uniquely precious environment that is already fragile and fragmented.

The Great Lakes governors have voiced their concern for increased urbanization in areas near the Great Lakes. The city of St Francis has recently seen a major housing development along its portion of the lakeshore. Placing a college campus along the south shore further compounds the problem of population pressure on Lake Michigan. While Cardinal Stritch says it wants to preserve the rich views to Lake Michigan, it is surely more important to preserve the quality and integrity of the lake itself.

If Cardinal Stritch builds its south shore campus as proposed, the influx of thousands of people with their accompanying activities and increased traffic will necessarily disturb the present ambiance of the area. The Seminary Woods and prairie will no longer be a place for quiet contemplation and communion with nature, our primary source of creativity, inspiration, solace, healing, and refreshment. If Cardinal Stritch truly respects creation, they will forgo their proposed ambitious development plans for this fragile environment and seek to build their worthy institution in a more appropriate location.

Cardinal Stritch makes a number of questionable claims for its expansion along the south shore. It views its plan as an economic engine for St. Francis. In fact, in these difficult economic times the economic benefit will be long in coming. Many universities are now struggling with losses in their endowments. Stritch needs to raise $150-$200 million to implement its proposal. College costs have risen to the extent that the average student leaves college with a debt of $40,000-$60,000. Even then, in our present economy, many college graduates are unable to find employment.

At a time when many students are forgoing higher education or turning to community colleges to cope with financial limitations, it is unlikely that Cardinal Stritch will be able to attract the funding and enrollment it envisions in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the trickle-down economic advantage of employment and added businesses is unlikely to compensate for the increased demand for costly public services that rely on property taxes in St. Francis. Consequently, the proposed expansion could turn out to be more of an economic millstone than an engine.

The value of a college town is extolled. While this seems desirable for the 1,800 Cardinal Stritch students, college campuses are characteristically separate and distinct from the communities in which they are located. This frequently creates divisions between students and “townies.”

It is said that having a university in St. Francis will enhance its prestige. While this may be true, the impact is limited. On the other hand, the status of St. Francis would increase dramatically and forever if it chose instead to preserve the Seminary Woods and Prairie as a community asset-one that contributes immeasurably to the quality of life in this urban community.

There are compelling reasons to oppose the Stritch plan. Outstanding among these are the quality-of-life and environmental issues indicated above: protection of wildlife habitat, water quality and retention, flood control, and the protection of rare and endangered species. In the last analysis the need to preserve one of the county’s last remaining natural areas far outweighs the benefits to be derived from locating a college campus on this site. The increased hardscape, traffic congestion, noise, pollution, and population pressure are at odds with this ecologically fragile area. Surely there are more appropriate and more cost-effective sites available to Cardinal Stritch than the Seminary Woods and Prairie.

A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 5 at 7pm at the St. Francis City Hall, 4235 S. Nicholson Ave., to discuss the zoning change needed for Cardinal Stritch to proceed with its development plan. All concerned parties, from St. Francis and beyond, are welcome to make statements at the hearing. The great horned owls and the other woods and prairie residents have not been invited to the hearing. Please speak for them.