Where Have All the Roadside Wild Flowers Gone in Door County

Approximately two weeks ago in the Town of Gibraltar that includes the bristling tourist attractions in Fish Creek a very mysterious occurrence took place. Suddenly all the less-traveled roads in the Town of Gibraltar lost all the wild flowers bordering over one hundred miles of roadways. One day there were literally millions of wildflowers decorating leisurely traveled roadways and the next day they were gone. Dancing white daisies, yellow lady slippers, swaying purple columbines, yellow/orange Indian paint brush, white and yellow delicate primrose, black-eyed Susan, and swaying prairie grass and many other types of naturally growing wildflowers that annually decorate Door County roadsides suddenly disappeared. It was not magic. Instead it was accomplished by "roadside mowing machines" (aka brushing machines) that destroyed the beautiful gifts of nature by edict of the twenty-one Town and Village Boards in Door County where about 27,000 people reside, and approximately 2 million tourists visit annually.

The explanation given by the various Boards is that mowing is necessary to maintain safe roads, as if wildflowers pose potential driving hazards that cause car accidents. Removal of visually obstructive or hazardous trees and shrubs may represent potential hazards but have you ever heard of  wildflowers as obstructive road dangers. Apparently, the Gibraltar Town Board and most of other of the 20 other Village and Town Boards in Door County believe that they are hazardous and must be removed.

So now at least annually (or biannually) in June (and sometimes in Fall) as the wild flowers are in their early splendor and  yet to reach peak beauty the mowing machines descend upon them and just as a guillotine does its job, severs the flowers and foliage and all that is left adjacent to the roadways is barren soil and gravel devoid of the natural beauty that was prominent a moment before. The bikers, hikers, artists, and photographers as`well as unsuspecting tourists who travel along the more than 800 miles of relatively rural roadways in Door County following this massacre will never know what they missed. But they may wonder where all the wild flowers that they expected to see went. They should ask the Town and Village Boards that ordered the wildflower slaughter.

Of course the same Village and Town Boards spend thousands of tax-payers dollars to accomplish destruction of roadside wildflowers using large fuel-swallowing commercial brushing machines, and then spend more tax dollars to decorate the plant marigolds and other decorative flowers so that tourists are afforded some flowery sights along the sidewalks as they shop in the commercial districts. Do these Village and Town Board ever consider the natural beauty that they deliberately destroy or are they content spending tax dollars to plant annual flowers where local businesses operate as generous compensation funded by tax payers

One may argue that what the tourists do not see they will not miss. True, but doesn't that miss the point? Door county is a tourist attraction because of the natural beauty that exists including the abundant woodlands, parks, and miles of shoreline that are sought by city dwellers during vacation breaks to escape the concrete and asphalt laden congestive life they are surrounded`by the rest of the year.

The naturally growing roadside wildflowers that would grow throughout spring, summer, and into fall would enhance the experiences of all tourists and bring additional enjoyment and visual beauty to year round residents as`well. Add to this the many thousands of dollars saved by eliminating the unnecessary and destructive mowing, the outcome is a win-win result for the Towns and Villages, residents, tourists, and taxpayers while preserving the gifts of nature that we can all enjoy as`we travel along Door County roadways by car, foot, bicycle and even baby carriage. Preserve the natural beauty of Door County by eliminating the annual or biannual roadside wildflower mowing. The question: "Where have all the roadside wild flowers gone in Door County?" will become ancient history.