Former DNR Secretary Meyer to Represent Urban Open Space Foundation on East Rail Corridor Committee


George Meyer, former Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, will represent the Urban Open Space Foundation on the City’s East Rail Corridor Plan Advisory Committee (ERCPAC). The Common Council, at its bi-monthly meeting last night, approved Mayor Sue Bauman’s nomination of Meyer.

Meyer (UW Law ’72) served as DNR Secretary from 1993 until 2001, and he continues to serve as president of the Environmental Council of States and vice-president of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Meyer was instrumental in developing the Community Open Space Partnership with DNR and the Urban Open Space Foundation; the Partnership is working to create a state-wide agenda for open space in urbanized areas and a network for implementation.

In December, the ERCPAC unanimously approved general recommendations on land use in the East Rail Corridor. The Common Council is scheduled to take up the ERCPAC’s recommendations in early March. Following these recommendations, the ERCPAC is charged with the next phase of planning: addressing specific issues concerning housing, economic redevelopment, transportation, and green space in the East Rail Corridor.


Meyer will be taking the Urban Open Space Foundation seat on the ERCPAC formerly occupied by David Mollenhoff, a well-known Madison historian and long-time champion of a park for the East Rail Corridor. Mollenhoff stepped down after becoming executive director of Dane County Habitat for Humanity.


The Urban Open Space Foundation is an urban conservation land trust that invests in the health of Wisconsin’s communities – preserving and enhancing critical neighborhood lands and waters through acquisition, citizen-based stewardship, education, and technical assistance.