State Parks of Wisconsin 



II. STATE PARKS FOR WISCONSIN 



If other States have found it desirable and advantageous to have 

 State Parks, why should not Wisconsin? Has the State nothing 

 worthy of preservation? Is Wisconsin too poor? Does it not ex- 

 pect increase of population. 



Has Wisconsin nothing worth while — a State with an area of 

 35,000,000 acres; a coast line of 500 miles, parts of it rivalling in 

 picturesqueness and beauty the coast of Maine; with precipitous and 

 romantic bluffs on the banks of rivers and lakes ; with an inland lake 

 much larger than Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire; with 2,000 

 or more minor lakes ; with some still remaining illustrations of the 

 original heavy forests of oak, maple and hickory, pine, hemlock and 

 spruce ; with hills, peaks and ridges comparable to the Berkshires; 

 and with unmatched and unique river scenery, culminating in the 

 bluffs of the Mississippi and the Dells of the Wisconsin. Wiscon- 

 sin, surrounded by prairie States and States monotonous in topog- 

 raphy, has in its beautiful and refreshing scenery and in its invigorat- 

 ing climate, resources that it can ill afford to neglect. 



Is Wisconsin too poor — a State that has a property valuation of 

 over $2,478,561,786.00 and no bonded indebtedness; that has 

 $400,000,000 invested in manufacturing; that spends over a half 



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