A long-anticipated goal was checked off the Friends’ list in the fall of 2016 when a rustic boardwalk was completed leading into the south end of the Bog. Volunteers spent several workdays assembling sections in the UWM Field Station workshop. In mid-October, they muscled the sections along newly-laid boardwalk as a trail was pushed out from the shore, through dense cattails, to a small bay of Mud Lake. The trail was dedicated on a snowy day in December. Thanks to all the volunteers who worked to make the boardwalk happen.
The boardwalk allows access to Mud Lake for kayakers and canoeists and includes tie-ups for hunters’ boats during the waterfowl hunting season.
Since that work, one of the supports at the very end of the grounded, non-floating, portion of the walk sank causing one part of the platform to become submerged. In June of 2024 FOCB volunteers repaired the last portion of the boardwalk to fix that problem. New supports were constructed and installed to bring the grounded platform back to a position on the wetland mat that could support its weight. The end of the northern boat storage area was also repositioned to mate with the slightly relocated boardwalk.
