Pheasant Branch Conservancy

(Pheasant Branch Hill Group)

     

This group consists of 4 conical and 1 linear mounds. The hill they're located on offers a commanding view of the Pheasant Branch

Creek and surrounding wetlands, and Lake Mendota and the City of Madison in the background. The group is described by

archeologists as being in decent condition, although one can't see it - all the mounds are covered in thick brush and shrubbery.

According to the non-profit group Friends of Pheasant Branch and others involved in the conservancy, cleaning up the mounds

and making them available for viewing is in plans for future years. To find the mounds, look for the highest hill in the northern part

of the Conservancy, maintained by the Dane County (southern part belongs to the city of Middleton). The trail leads up to the top

and circles the mound cluster.

There used to be another cluster of mounds nearby, called Pheasant Branch Grove Group, but it fell victim to agriculture and

development in past decades, before mounds were afforded state protection.