“For many of us, water simply flows from a faucet, and we think little about it beyond this point of contact. We have lost a sense of respect for the wild river, for the complex workings of a wetland, for the intricate web of life that water supports.”
– Sandra Postel, Freshwater Conservationist and Author

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, Groundswell purchased 69 acres of wetlands south of McFarland in the Town of Dunn. Landowners Ken and Eileen Brost have understood and respected these wetlands for many years, and their commitment to conservation will leave a lasting legacy.

The property is adjacent to Lower Mud Lake State Fishery Area south of McFarland along Hwy. 51 and helps fill in the project boundary for Dane County’s Lower Mud Lake Natural Resource Area. Groundswell will manage the property consistent with the adjacent state land to increase public recreation opportunities and provide permanent habitat for ducks and other wildlife.

Funding to purchase the property came from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Dane County Conservation Fund, Town of Dunn, and supporters of Groundswell.

As the times (COVID-19 pandemic) call for, we practiced social distancing at the closing. Only the bare minimum number of people participated.

Jim Welsh noted in the announcement, “My love of land and community remains strong.  I know that we will we get through this troubling time together.  I hope you stay well.”

Groundswell Conservancy will be applying in May 2020 for renewed accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, our national trade association.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs. “Maintaining our accreditation ensures our supporters and partners that Groundswell Conservancy meets the highest ethical and stewardship standards,” said Greg Hyer, Board President.

The Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. Comments must relate to how Groundswell Conservancy complies with national quality standards. These standards address the ethical and technical operation of a land trust. Click here for the full list of standards.

To learn more about the accreditation program, visit Land Trust Accreditation Commission. You may email your comment to info@landtrustaccreditation.org or mail them to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments, 36 Phila Street, Suite 2, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

Comments on Groundswell Conservancy’s application will be most useful by June 19, 2020.

On Friday, December 20, 2019, Groundswell purchased 5 acres of land near Cross Plains in the Black Earth Creek valley. This success is thanks to a conservation-minded family and strong community support for protecting the creek.

The property is adjacent to state-owned land on the east side of Cross Plains between Hwy. 14 and the railroad tracks. This acquisition helps fill-in the project boundaries for the DNR’s Black Earth Creek Fishery Area and Dane County’s Black Earth Creek Natural Resource Area. The land will be open to the public for outdoor recreation activities.

Best of all, this acquisition forever prevents the development of the property. A 2003 study by the University of Wisconsin estimated that 4.5% of the valley was already covered with impervious surfaces like pavement and rooftops. A generally accepted rule of thumb is that stream health begins to decline when impervious surface reaches 10% and becomes severely degraded when imperviousness exceeds 30 percent. I don’t know how much impervious surface is in the valley today, but is has surely increased since 2003.

Here is a map showing the nearly 1,000 acres of land Groundswell has permanently protected in the Black Earth Creek valley since 2003. Your support has made it possible to create public conservancy areas, trails, and public access along streams that feed into Black Earth Creek and place agricultural conservation easements that limit impervious surface. Each project gets us a little closer to completing the puzzle of conservation in the Black Earth Creek valley.

Funding to purchase the property came from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Dane County Conservation Fund, Southern Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and supporters of Groundswell, including the estate of Marie Fraser.

As we learn more and more every day, every single piece of wetland we have left is worth protecting – the health of Madison’s chain of lakes depends on our wetlands. So I am happy to share with you that today we permanently protected 84 acres of wetlands along Six-Mile Creek on the northwest side of Waunakee. Six-Mile Creek flows north and west of Waunakee into Lake Mendota. We need wetlands, like the one we purchased today, to keep the water clean and reduce flooding.

The O’Malley family worked patiently with us for four years to protect their land. It has been in the family for three generations. Please check out the short video below to hear their story.  When I first saw the property, I began to get a sense of their attachment to it. I feel lucky that they asked us to help them protect it.

Funding and other support to purchase the property came from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Dane County Conservation Fund, North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Village of Waunakee, the Town of Westport, and supporters of Groundswell including the Estate of Marie Fraser. The Village of Waunakee will be the long-term owner of the property.

I hope you can join us for a celebration with the O’Malley’s later this month.  It will be a nice chance to thank the family for what they did. We will send out an email with details in the next week.

CONTACT: Jim Welsh, (608) 258-9797, jim@groundswellwisconsin.org

Project will improve land security, upgrade infrastructure at Waunakee-area site

Thanks to the efforts of a local conservation group coupled with a generous grant from the Madison Community Foundation (MCF), a group of immigrant farmers are feeling a lot better about the upcoming growing season.

Groundswell Conservancy, which works to protect and enhance open spaces in the Dane County area, is using MCF monies to improve land security for a group of Hmong subsistence and market growers.

Set on 10-acres of productive land in the village of Waunakee, the new “Westport Farm” also brings in the expertise of Community GroundWorks which specializes in urban agriculture and is best known for overseeing Troy Gardens on Madison’s north side.

“We’ve participated in a lot of exciting projects through the years, but I honestly can’t think of any that serve so many purposes and help so many hard-working people as the Westport Farm,” said Jim Welsh, executive director of Groundswell Conservancy. “Many thanks to MCF and Community Groundworks for helping to bring it all together so perfectly.”

The total project costs are budgeted at $38,000, with the Madison Community Foundation providing $19,000. Groundswell and other private donors are covering the rest.

But while the project is immediately providing some badly-needed upgrades to the farm infrastructure — including new storage sheds and a permanent water supply which didn’t exist previously — it goes far beyond that.

Community GroundWorks is working with the growers themselves to assist in developing a leasing and governance system that will allow farmers to make long-term investments in their land. The project also aims to provide technical assistance in areas like soil and plant health, cover cropping, crop rotation, organic certification, composting, season extension, pollinator support and animal husbandry.

Participants have cheered the project, calling it a long overdue effort to assist a displaced population. Most of the Hmong families in Dane County emigrated as refugees starting in the 1970s and came primarily from rural backgrounds with less access to education than other Asian immigrant populations.

“To know that the Hmong growers at Westport Farm will have access to the land for the rest of their lives and are provided culturally appropriate services is unbelievable,” said grower Presley Chang. “It’s about time something like this happens for under-resourced minority communities to connect with nature and soil in Dane County. This is only the beginning; let’s keep it going so we reach everyone.”

Grower Mai Chang echoed those comments, saying the project will only enhance her connections to the fertile fields north of Madison which date back 14 years.

“Every time I’m out at the land tending to the vegetables I’ve grown out of love, I’m so happy,” she said. “I feel this enormous weight lifted from my shoulders. I’m no longer stressed out and I don’t have to worry about anything else.”

Groundswell purchased the property along Bong Road last year from Peg Whiteside, who was retiring after 40 years in the farming business. Whiteside had been renting plots to Hmong gardeners and wanted to make sure they could continue following the conservation sale. She offered the land at a discount to Groundswell with the express purpose of keeping the arrangement intact.

“In the nearly 30 years since I started renting plots to Hmong gardeners, I’ve been impressed with their skill and passion for raising food,” said Whiteside. “Thanks to Groundswell and the remarkable grant donors, I can rest easy knowing these hardworking folks can continue growing healthy food for their families and others long after I’m gone.”

Madison Community Foundation has a track record of funding projects with both Groundswell Conservancy and Community GroundWorks but this one is unique, says Tom Linfield, MCF’s Vice President of Community Impact.

“We are excited to be part of this project, which develops infrastructure, governance, self-determination and long-term land stewardship for a group of local farmers,” he said. “The effort combines environmental stewardship and education with a culturally-inclusive approach to the Hmong community, who may not often be included in local planning efforts yet have a powerful agricultural background and knowledge. This grant enriches not only the county’s environmental sustainability but also recognizes the riches of our increasingly diverse community.”

By all accounts some help is needed. Hmong populations in Wisconsin experience poverty at nearly twice the rate of the state as a whole, with a 3 percent higher unemployment rate among males, 100 percent higher teen birthrate and 68 percent lower family incomes.

In the census tract on the north side of Madison where many of the Hmong growers live, ongoing challenges include language or cultural differences, disconnection, lack of resources and assistance, isolation and other socio-economic obstacles.

Yimmuaj Yang, Gardens Network Manager for Community GroundWorks, has worked with minority farmers, provided direct and technical assistance, created access to resources, and consulted in farm business management. She is excited about ramping things up this spring at Westport Farm.

“In my 10 plus years working with vegetable growers, this is the first project that is addressing the demand for land access and land tenure through culturally appropriate engagement by the user group,” she said. “And it’s happening because the right organizations and people are collaborating together.”

Maeraj Sheikh, Director of Equity and Community Engagement at Community GroundWorks, added that what makes the project so impactful is that it’s led by the Hmong community itself versus a top down approach.

“Restoring connection to the land is a crucial part of healing wounds for refugee populations,” she said. “Community GroundWorks is serving as a trusted advocate to advance the mission of equitable land and food access in order to heal the social fabric of which we are all a part.”

Westport Farm is located between Cherokee Marsh and Westport Prairie, where good land use practices are very important to the health of the surrounding protected areas. A planned hiking trail connecting the two protected areas will pass through the community farm.

Welsh of Groundswell says the project will help show that market and subsistence farming can be a compatible land use within a protected area. He noted that Dane County Parks, the city of Fitchburg and other municipalities have land potentially available for local food production. The only thing missing is the farm management expertise to bring it all together.

“We think the experience of this project can be applied to other properties and with other local food growers,” he said. “Based on inquiries to Groundswell, there is demand for similar community farms but obstacles to creating them. Hopefully this project can act as a template that others can follow.”

About Groundswell Conservancy — Groundswell Conservancy is a nonprofit, community-based organization that protects special places forever through the purchase or acceptance of donations of land or conservation easements. Their vision is a world filled with green spaces where communities thrive. Founded in 1983 as the Dane County Natural Heritage Foundation and later as Natural Heritage Land Trust, Groundswell has protected hundreds of special places forever.

About Madison Community Foundation — The mission of Madison Community Foundation is to enhance the common good through philanthropy. Created in 1942 as Madison Community Trust, MCF helps people do their charitable giving their way, to causes they care about most.

About Community GroundWorks — Community GroundWorks is a nonprofit organization that connects people to nature and local food. Through hands-on education, children and adults learn gardening, urban farming, healthful eating and to care for natural areas. Organized in Madison, Wisconsin in 2001 as The Friends of Troy Gardens, Community GroundWorks serves diverse communities and schools across the region.

 

Good news that on March 29, 2019 another conservation-minded landowner permanently protected their farmland in the Town of Dunn south of Madison. The farmer entered into a permanent conservation easement – a voluntary land protection agreement – with the Town of Dunn and Groundswell Conservancy. This agreement ensures that the rich soils on the farm cannot be developed and will remain available for farming now and in the future.

The residents of the Town of Dunn provided the funding for this conservation easement through the town’s Rural Preservation Program which allows for the purchase of development rights (PDR) on farmland in the Town.

Ed Minihan, the Chair of the Town of Dunn said, “This property is proof that the PDR program works. Here, we have a young farmer that wanted to purchase his own farm in the Town of Dunn and expand his business. The money he received through the PDR program made this dream economically feasible.”

This 80-acre farm is now part of a larger protected landscape. The Town of Dunn, which is outlined in black on the map, has permanently protected around 20% of the Town (land parcels in yellow on the map) through the partnership of landowners, the Town, and Groundswell.

We are honored to work with the Town of Dunn and the landowners; we are grateful they have made conservation a priority.

Good news that on December 21, 2018, Groundswell and the Town of Dunnpermanently protected two more farms (here and here).  Over the last 21 years, our partnership with the Town has resulted in the preservation of 30 properties totaling more than 3,200 acres of prime farmland, woodlands, and wetlands.

One of these newly protected farms is owned by Bill and Roz Gausman, long-time dairy farmers in the Town. Their pasture-based dairy operation was ahead of its time and their milk was used to make artisan cheeses here in southern Wisconsin.

Our sincerest thanks go to the two families who have protected their farms for future generations. Thanks also to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for providing funding and to the residents of the Town of Dunn – who have made their Rural Preservation Program an amazing success and funded these latest easements with their own tax dollars.

To each of you – supporters, partners, volunteers, and landowners – our deepest gratitude for your care and generosity, which is protecting our special places, forever.

We are happy to share good news that today, December 11, 2019, thanks to the foresight and generosity of Patrick and Patricia Hermsen, we permanently protected 59 acres of field and forest overlooking the Village of Oregon. Pat and Patricia’s goal is to create a conservation park on their beautiful property overlooking the west side of the Village.

Like many great endeavors, setting the stage for this new park has taken perseverance. Pat and Patricia approached us in early 2015 about helping them achieve their goal.   With the cooperation of the Town of Oregon and the Village of Oregon, the conservation easement recorded today on the property keeps the property open for park and nature-based recreation purposes, as well as a link in a future bike/hike trail. The Hermsens intend to donate the property to the Village when they no longer live there. It would become a village conservation park at that time.

It takes conservation-minded landowners like Pat and Patricia to set aside great places for the enjoyment of future generations. I think that the words of Mahatma Gandhi are an appropriate conclusion for Pat and Pat’s endeavor, “The future depends on what we do in the present”. Our thanks to the Hermsens for their generosity and vision and also to all the supporters of Groundswell who help make these conservation successes possible.

Here is something to be thankful for as 2018 comes to a close: a conservation-minded landowner working with Groundswell to permanently protect important land and water. Today, December 5, 2018, we purchased 36 acres of land on Swan Creek from landowner Brian Pasley.

A fourth generation landowner, Brian has been determined to protect the last remaining part of his family’s farm upstream from Waubesa Wetlands. Brian told me he was motivated by the impending development of land in the City of Fitchburg, some of which is in the headwaters of Waubesa Wetlands. Over the next few years, more than one square mile of farmland and rural open space will be transformed into a new neighborhood, bringing changes to the quality and quantity of water heading into Waubesa Wetlands via Swan Creek.

We will be remembering Brian’s family’s history on the property in our name for it, Pasley’s Swan Creek Farm.

We are now working with Robert Pierce and Neighborhood Food Solutions to locate some of Robert’s innovative agricultural programming on the property – creating a place for kids and adults to learn about where food comes from and how to grow it.

We were able to purchase the property thanks to Brian’s generosity in selling the land to us at a discount, along with funding from the Dane County Conservation Fund, Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, the estate of Marie Fraser, two anonymous donors, and the supporters of Groundswell who help make these conservation successes possible.

On November 1, 2018, in partnership with Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, Groundswell purchased 31 acres to add to Ferry Bluff State Natural Area on the Wisconsin River south of Sauk City.

Thank you to the individuals, businesses, and foundations listed below who contributed half of the funds to purchase the property.

$15,000 – $10,000
John C. Bock Foundation
Craig Culver
Ferry Bluff Eagle Council
Marie Fraser bequest
Roma Lenehan

$5,000 – $1,000
Alliant Energy Foundation
Brende Hofer & Denis Steadman
Kay Hutchison
Dave Jenkins and Mary Pertzborn
Bill & Donna Knickmeyer
The Wisconsin Land Fund of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation

Up to $999
Anonymous
Norman and Lucie Arendt
Kenneth & Tiffany Baumgardt
Matt Blessing and Susan Maloney
Leroy and Glennda Brandt
Kristin Clausen
CMS Business Services, Inc.
Debbie and Gregory Cooke
Lawrence Czosnek
Richard & Beverly Davidson
Gary & Lisa Davis
Ronald Depouw Jr.
Jan Dorner
Bill and Amy Dunlop
Edge Consulting, Inc.
Carroll & Marjorie Erlandson
Carol Fleishauer
Sara and Jonathan Giacalone
Mark Gnabasik
Government Policy Solutions
Michael Hedemark & Arlyne Johnson
Pam and Craig Heilman
James Hogan Jr.
Linda and Jeff Huttenburg
Barbara Irvin
Steven Koehler & Sandra Fuchs
Dr. Diana Kruse
Darlene & Amanda Lambert
Fred Lemm
Ken and Debby Levin
Joel and Pamela Lundgren
Joe Lusson and Aleen Tierney
Nancy McGill
Ronald & Sandy Opitz
Jim and Carole Peterson
Katherine Pientka
Chad and Lisa Pierick
Piggly Wiggly / Opal Foods #206
Richard and Mary Ann Reale
Peter Schlicht
Edwin Barclay Shultz
Schwartz Insurance
Shirley Shannon
Jeanne Staskowski
Richard Steeves
Tom Sullivan
Anita Temple
Gene & Sandy Unger
Village Family Dental Associates, S.C.
Gary and Nancy Walden
Weaver Sales of Sauk City
Robyn Weis
Fred and Karen Wollenburg
Levi & Janet Wood
Douglas & Donna Woodman
Lynda and Dick Wright
Beth Zelten
Larry and Patricia Ziemer