The following year, Jim was retained by Door
County to research and document County resource areas as a prelude to
incorporation into the proposed new County Land Use Plan. The result of this effort by Jim was an extensive
listing of all of the resource areas of the county, along with reccommendations
for their permanent protection. The
Zimmerman Resource Maps were an integral part of the resource material
furnished by the county, and were made available to the towns for utilization by
DCEC and others. The Zimmerman Maps which DCEC has on display at functions and
which are becoming available here on-line, were assembled from the individual
sheets and are, at this time, the only assembled copies of these unique,
detailed documents from the field research of Jim and Libby
Zimmerman.
In the five years that Jim Zim worked for DCEC,
much was accomplished in protection of County resources ranging from; Europe
Lake's north ponds, to the Sourhtern Door Sandhill Pineries, from the Lake
Michigan spawning areas to the Dwarf Lake Iris protection.
The unfortunate and untimely death of Jim
Zimmerman ended his life-long dedication to preserving the resources of Door
County and left a void that has not been filled. Jerry Viste, Exeuctive Director
of DCEC, recalls, "One brisk fall day Jim and I were out exploring, Jim with his
wool cap pulled nearly over his eyes, camera and binoculars always ready,
explaning how the Hungry Settlement Marsh was formed... that this was an unusual
floating bog with a whole multitude of exotic plants and life forms living here.
Jim says,' I find something new and fascinating every time I come here'. I took
several pictures of Jim in one of his favorite areas of exploration."
