PEOPLE, DUCKS, AND WATER: COMBINING NATURAL RESOURCE
AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION TO DESCRIBE A REGION

Alice Hagen1, Dr. Donald Field2, and Dr. Paul Voss1
1Department of Rural Sociology - Applied Population Laboratory, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, 1450 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706;  2College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden
Drive, Room A143, Madison, WI 53706

A group of researchers from different academic fields at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison have begun to analyze a number of geographic regions in
order to better understand and describe their social, economic, and ecological
characteristics.  Most of these regions are defined by "natural" phenomena, such
as wildlife refuges or watersheds. Our goal is to merge, in a meaningful way,
information on the social fabric of these regions with biophysical data. With
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and on-going research, we
have assigned social attributes to these biological regions, creating a social data
layer to accompany the rich, existing biophysical data.  We then begin to identify
particular social demographic contexts and link them to particular land-use
patterns over time.  For our study, we chose Pool 8 of the Mississippi River as our
geographic region.  Pool 8 is a portion of the Mississippi River flowing along the
boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Situated in the Driftless Region of
southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota, the pool is the section of
river bounded on the north end by lock and dam 7 and on the south end by lock
and dam 8.  The majority of Pool 8 is a segment of the Upper Mississippi National
Wildlife Refuge.  The four counties, which intersect the "physical" Pool 8, make
up the "demographic" Pool 8.  Minnesota's Houston and Winona and Wisconsin's
La Crosse and Vernon counties comprise demographic Pool 8.  This four-county
region is primarily rural, but includes a number of small cities and villages along
with the larger cities of Winona and La Crosse.  La Crosse is of particular interest
because, with the addition of the adjacent city of Onalaska, it is by far the largest
urban area within the region and abuts the Mississippi River and Pool 8.  This
close proximity of a large city and a wildlife refuge produces interesting
interactions of people and nature.  We will look at variables such as population
density, poverty, educational attainment, and commuting to describe the region
and gauge its level of social capital.  This demographic information has been
obtained from the 1990 U.S. Census.  The level of social capital is then compared
with levels of economic and ecological capital in order to plan for the future.  We
have received all of our natural resource information from the U.S. Geological
Survey-Biological Resources Division at he Upper Mississippi Science Center. 
Understanding the linkages between the social and biophysical databases will
begin to enable land use managers and planners to make informed decisions about
long term ramifications of various social structures on the area's ecosystem. 
Broadening the approach of local practitioners to encompass the linked conceptual
areas that comprise ecosystem management will have very positive effects on
local planning efforts that attempt to harmonize economic development with
protection of biodiversity, protection of rural open space, and protected area
management.  It is hoped that such an approach will facilitate the opportunity for
local citizens to maximize and optimize use of local land resources as well as
move towards a multi-community planning effort for a region's land base.

Keywords:  Pool 8, demography, resource management, human population, social
capital


Alice Hagen, 1450 Linden Drive, Room 316D, Madison, WI 53706,
608-263-2898, 608-262-6022, ahagen@ssc.wisc.edu

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