It's been a busy couple of weeks eventhough "In Wisconsin" hasn't been on the air. This week, we return to our regular Thursday at 7:30p time slot.

In Wisconsin Reporter Jo Garrett visits Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center, a downtown oasis for birds migrating north. You will discover how this urban jewel has been reclaimed from drug dealers and criminals by birdwatchers and citizen scientists.

We also have a QUEST report by In Wisconsin Reporter Andy Soth as he looks at Wisconsin's first great scientist. Increase Lapham was a self-taught renaissance man who dabbled in botany, archaeology, forestry and climatology. Discover how his influence is still being felt in the state two hundred years after his birth.

You won't want to miss the teen musicians in the statewide Bolz Young Artist Competition. For several months, they have been auditioning but only four remained standing on the stage of Overture Hall in Madison. This week you'll meet cellist Elliott Yang of New Berlin. With the arrival of spring you can also discover a very urban section of Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Janesville through the camera lens of videographer Mike Eicher.

In Wisconsin airs 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24 on Wisconsin Public Television. The program also will air at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 27 on Milwaukee's MPTV and on WDSE-TV in Duluth at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 27.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 7:30 p.m. Wisconsin Public Television

After you eat all that turkey, stuffing and desert turn on the tube for a feast for your eyes.

This week "In Wisconsin" reports on the historic work of Camp Madison's Civilian Conservation Corps. The University of Wisconsin Arboretum is the site of the nation's first restored prairie. This prairie restoration is the vision of Aldo Leopold and built by members of the Camp Madison CCC.

Plus new information about the largest DNR deer research study in Wisconsin history. In Wisconsin Reporter Frederica Freyberg looks at how the DNR is responding to hunter complaints.

And In Wisconsin Reporter Andy Soth goes in search of Increase Lapham as Andy kicks-off a new initiative titled "Quest. Named Wisconsin's first great scientist, Lapham was a self-taught renaissance man who dabbled in botany, archaeology, forestry and climatology. Discover how two hundred years after his birth Lapham's influence is still being felt in the state.

"Quest" is a project that delves into issues about Wisconsin's environment. For more information, visit QuestWisconsin.org on the Web.

Well, the winds are wailing today. A big 'ole windstorm that Madison.com calls "The Big Blow of 2010" is barreling through.

"The peak wind gust so far as of 8:20 a.m. was 68 miles per hour in Kenosha, with wind gusts hitting 44 mph at the Dane County Regional Airport, the Weather Service said."

I had an interview yesterday and boy am I glad that we inched our way, by a day, around the "Big Blow". Most of my interviews take place outside and it gives a person an appreciation for the amount of sound in our lives. We are conditioned to traffic noise, planes, loud music, car horns, lawn mowers. It's all part of the soundtrack, unless of course, you're doing an interview outside. Then it is a problem.

So although we missed the "Big Blow" the day was not without sound obstacles. We had to break for a bit when 100+ Canada Geese honked their way overhead. They do not go quietly. It was deafening. A lovely sound, but not one we wanted on the soundtrack.

I understand why Hollywood folks shoot on soundstages. Control, control. However, "I break for geese" is fine by me.

Have you ever used the 511 highway travel alert system? My family and I traveled by car to Colorado this holiday break. On our return trip, we were in the thick of the blizzard conditions that gripped our through travel states like Nebraska and Iowa. Interstate 80 was closed in several spots, so as we tried to navigate our way, we dialed 511 constantly. Each state operates this system and it is updated with road closures, traffic incidents and weather conditions as often as a couple times an hour. It is a very useful service that's also available on the web. I will say that it was so heavily utilized when we were dialing it was often busy. It also had the glitch of bouncing you to another state's road conditions if your route was close to a state line. All in all though, it sure beats knowing the road ahead is closed before finding yourself at a road closed barrier without notice.

Okay, okay. So last week this time I praised Madison's snow clearing efforts. Today, the city's mayor says he's calling for a top to bottom review of those efforts. It's true the side streets were passable following the big snow storm, because city officials decided to plow those rather than concentrate on clearing the main arteries down to the pavement, according to the city. They say they did that to make sure emergency vehicles could get through to residential areas. What that resulted in, as anyone who was trying to get from point A to point B all the way through last week found, were main roads that were rutted, snow-packed, icy and slow, slow, slow going. Witness traffic back-ups of literally hours. According to people outside Madison and Dane County, other municipalities didn't have these problems. So, the people in charge will study their methods and presumably prevent these problems next time.