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Groundswell has officially adopted the DNR’s Patrick Marsh Wildlife Area on the east side of Sun Prairie. While the DNR will still own the 225-acre wildlife area, the Land Trust will expand its land management activities, working with volunteers and others to improve wildlife habitat and maintain the hiking trails and signs around the marsh. The Land Trust currently owns and maintains its own 80 acres on the south side of the marsh, where Dane County owns another 14 acres.

“Protecting land is really about connecting people with land, because if people don’t know or love a place, they probably won’t care about it. We want to make it possible for more people to enjoy and learn about natural areas near them, like Patrick Marsh. This partnership allows us to help manage and preserve all the land around the marsh in a way that will involve the communities that work and play here,” said Tony Abate, Conservation Specialist with Groundswell.

The Land Trust’s work adopting the wildlife area is funded in part by a $38,300 grant from Madison Community Foundation. The Land Trust’s “Community Connections” program is being used to build stronger relationships between people and natural areas. Tony Abate is coordinating the Land Trust’s on-the-ground land management activities and engaging the public at Patrick Marsh. His priorities are to expand activities that bring school groups and community members to our preserves for education days, field trips, and volunteer work parties. To get involved in outdoor volunteering or join a field trip, please contact BJ at (608) 258-9797 or BJ@groundswellconservancy.org

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Groundswell is a local, non-profit, community-based organization that protects special places in and around Dane County. Since 1983, Groundswell has permanently protected more than 10,700 acres of land and water. For more information about Groundswell or to make a tax-deductible contribution to support their work, please contact Tony Abate, Conservation Specialist, Groundswell, at tony@nhlt.org or (608) 258-9797 or visit www.nhlt.org.

Madison Community Foundation uses its local knowledge and assets to inspire giving, support meaningful initiatives, and connect people for the common good. It was established in 1942 as a tax-exempt community trust and is governed by a Board of Governors representing the broad interests of the community. Individuals and organizations interested in establishing an endowment with Madison Community Foundation or donating money to its general fund may find more information online at www.madisoncommunityfoundation.org.

Conservation easements are a great way to keep rich agricultural land in production and prevent wildlife habitat from being paved over.  Groundswell uses conservation easements to permanently protect 6,000 acres of farmland, streambanks, and wildlife habitat in southcentral Wisconsin.  We have set up an endowment at Madison Community Foundation to ensure that we will always have the financial resources to annually visit the easement land and ensure that the land use limits voluntarily placed on the land are always upheld.

But when it comes to taking care of the prairies, savannas, and other wildlife habitat on some of the easements — habitat that needs active management to keep it healthy — conservation easements fall short.  It is far easier to prevent someone from building a house on easement land (which is what conservation easements are good at) than it is to make a landowner keep invasive plants out of their prairie or woodland.

Thanks to creative thinking and a strong love of the land, landowners Mariana and Frank Weinhold have taken the stewardship of their conservation easement land to the next level at Louis’ Bluff north of the Wisconsin Dells.  A natural landmark on the Wisconsin River, featuring a tall sandstone bluff topped with towering white pines, Louis’ Bluff is relatively free from non-native plants thanks to Mariana’s vigilance.  In 2007 the Weinholds took an important step in permanently protecting Louis’ Bluff by granting Groundswell a perpetual conservation easement over their property.  A few years later, as they began the process of transferring Louis’ Bluff to their children, they had to reckon with the fact that their children, who have busy lives of their own, might not be able to care for Louis’ Bluff as they have.

So in 2015 the Weinholds brought together Natural Resources Foundation and Groundswell to create a land management endowment for Louis’ Bluff.  This endowment will provide a steady stream of income to Groundswell to annually inventory and remove invasive plants.   Although the endowment will not be big enough to cover all the land management needs of Louis’ Bluff, it offers a partial solution to the question many landowners have about how to maintain the ecological integrity of a cherished property even after they no longer own the land.  According to Mariana and Frank, “We are very pleased that Groundswell and Natural Resources Foundation have stepped up to help us ensure that Louis Bluff will have some oversight and management in the future when we no longer have the energy.  Our children are very supportive of having the extra pair of eyes and hands, as well as the land management expertise.  We hope that other landowners will consider doing similar programs.”

Visit Louis’ Bluff with the Madison Club.  Dells Magic:  Wisconsin Dells Fall Tour

Good news that with your support we completed two more conservation easement projects in partnership with the Town of Dunn, protecting more than 130 acres of prime farmland and open space.

These family farms will forever be a part of the Town of Dunn landscape, regardless of changing politics, thanks to the Town’s Rural Preservation Program. Since the program began in 1997, we have partnered with the town to complete 25 easements, preserving more than thirty percent of the Town’s rich farmland and creating a corridor of protected land (Town of Dunn map).

Funding for these conservation easements came from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, the citizens of the Town of Dunn and Groundswell supporters.

Thank you to the landowners, Ann Carley and Josie Dersien (map of property) and Matt and Josh Dunn (map of property), for protecting your farms for future generations.

Good news that on 8/24/2016, with your support and in partnership with the Rock County Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements (PACE) program, we placed a permanent conservation easement on the 356-acre Sayre Farm east of Evansville. This easement permanently protects a large working farm in the heart of the Footville Leased Public Hunting Grounds, where for nearly 70 years landowners have leased their farms to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for public hunting and other recreation.  The easement represents a significant accomplishment to protect the agricultural productivity, wildlife habitat, and recreational resources of Rock County.

The extended Sayre family has included prominent members of the Rock County agricultural community for over 165 years.  Family patriarch David Franklin Sayre emigrated from New Jersey to Fulton in the Wisconsin Territory in 1840, intending to practice law.  When the railroad bypassed Fulton, he moved to the Town of Porter and began farming around 1851 to supplement his legal practice. You can read an interesting story about the role of oxen in pioneer farming, including breaking the prairie sod on Sayre farm land, in the Autumn 2015 issue of the Wisconsin Magazine of History (“A Generation of Oxen”).

More than a century and a half later, Sayre descendants continue to farm in Rock County, producing a variety of agricultural products, while providing wildlife habitat and recreation through various conservation programs and Footville Voluntary Public Access program leases.

Mike Foy, DNR wildlife biologist for Rock County, says the timing of this easement couldn’t be better. “Although the Footville Public Hunting Grounds has been in existence since at least 1948, providing thousands of acres of private land for public pheasant hunting and other recreation over the years, the project has always been vulnerable to the renewal of dozens of annual leases with uncertain funding.  Worried about the project’s long-term continuation, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board designated the project as the Footville Wildlife Area when they approved the Sugar River Basin Master Plan in June.  While the Footville project will still primarily depend on private land leases, the acquisition of the Sayre Conservation Easement will provide an important anchor for the new wildlife area, hopefully ensuring its continued existence for many years into the future.”

Tom Sweeney, who administers the PACE program for Rock County, is very happy to add the Sayre property to the county’s growing portfolio of working farms that have been successfully protected by conservation easements, ensuring that Rock County will continue to be a Wisconsin agriculture leader.

Funding to purchase the conservation easement came from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Rock County, and supporters like you of Groundswell.

Good news that on 8/11/2016, with your support, we completed a conservation easement on Steve Greb and Julie Andersen’s 34-acre farm in the Town of Dunn.

The farm is directly adjacent to the Hook Lake State Wildlife Area and provides a conservation buffer to the public hunting lands, while remaining in private ownership (the farm itself remains closed to the public). Click here for a map of the property.

This is our 23rd project completed in partnership with the Town of Dunn as part of their Rural Preservation Program. The Town of Dunn has long been a recognized leader in  land conservation in Wisconsin. Our partnership with the Town ensures the land conservation we complete today endures forever regardless of changing politics.

Funding for the conservation easement came from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and the citizens of the Town of Dunn.

Thank you to Steve and Julie for protecting your farm for future generations.

Good news that on 05/12/2016 a 162-acre farm in Jefferson County was permanently protected by a conservation easement.

The farm was protected in partnership with Jefferson County’s Farmland Preservation Program. This is the third farm Groundswell has partnered with Jefferson County to protect.

Jefferson County is one of the few municipalities in Wisconsin, like the Town of Dunn, that has set aside funds for buying conservation easements on their rich farmland, which is some of the best in the country. Under the easement, the farm is not open to the public but it ensures that this productive agricultural land will be permanently protected. Groundswell brought its expertise in navigating the complexities of easement transactions to help complete the project.

Funding for the project came from Jefferson County and the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Our thanks also go to the landowner for agreeing to sell the easement at less than its fair market value.

Click here to see the farm on our interactive map.

Westport Prairie Acquisition is a Happy Ending for a Local Family

Every piece of land tells a unique story. Some stories are simple and short while others, like Westport Prairie’s, take you on a colorful journey filled with unexpected and fateful turns. Fortunately, Westport Prairie’s most recent chapter ended happily for a local family on December 17, 2015 when Groundswell acquired the remaining 9.7 acres of a 110-acre farm around the Empire Prairie State Natural Area – Westport Drumlin Unit on the east side of Waunakee in the Town of Westport (click here for a map).

This small yet important inholding rejoins the 100-acre property Groundswell acquired from Jim Koltes and his brothers Terry and Butch in 2010. And it enables further protection of another native prairie remnant and provides an exhilarating 360-degree view of an undulating patchwork of prairie, woodland and farm fields.

Westport Prairie showcases remarkable geological and biological features. But, it also holds an intriguing human backstory, thanks to a family of settlers who never gave up….

Westport 1887

Jim Koltes’ great-grandfather settled on this site in Westport in 1887. The family farmed successfully for the most part, despite it being considered a “badland farm” due to the land’s prevalent limestone bedrock fragments and outcroppings. Unfortunately, tragedy struck two generations later with the sudden deaths of two of Jim’s uncles; one in childhood following a playful summer jump into a cattle watering tank, and the other several years later. The brothers’ deaths took a deep toll on Jim’s father. But, farming and life moved on.

In 1938, fate had a different kind of heartbreak in store for the family when the third-generation farm was lost to foreclosure during the Great Depression. For the next 41 years, the property changed hands several times and was home to a wide and interesting variety of agricultural operations. Dairy cows and potatoes, canning crops, organic vegetables, tobacco, a large-scale rabbitry, and the insightful introduction of strip cropping to help halt soil erosion.

Back in the family: beginning the protection process

After four decades of growing up and farming elsewhere in the surrounding area, Jim Koltes and his four brothers were able to purchase back their family farm in 1979. Better yet, their father was still alive and deeply gratified to see the farm back in Koltes hands.

Originating with 14 acres, the core of the State Natural Area was acquired by the Wisconsin DNR in 1984. Farming continued all around it, as did nearby quarrying and scattered home building. Habitat restoration began on the drumlin, and neighboring naturalist Nancy Schlimgen began her studies of the rare prairie bush clover plant. Her dedicated work, along with that of DNR’s State Natural Areas crew and volunteers from the Prairie Enthusiasts, helped to preserve and manage the rich natural resources of the drumlin and some of its satellite prairie remnants.

The never-ending story of land conservation

In 2009, Groundswell started acquiring more land around the State Natural Area. With this latest purchase, Groundswell has completed four purchases, totaling 213 acres. Now, Prairie Partners interns, crews from Operation Fresh Start, and volunteers from The Prairie Enthusiasts and Groundswell and Badger Volunteers, have joined with the State Natural Areas crew to greatly improve the area. Through strategic brush cutting of non-native and less desirable vegetation, prescribed burns, and seed collection/distribution, volunteers and workers continue to improve the area’s high-quality dry prairie and oak savanna landscape. The resulting improvement in habitat draws more native grassland birds, and fosters Wisconsin’s largest population of the federally-threatened prairie bush clover, the state-endangered red-tailed prairie leafhopper, and many more species worth protecting.

As in many great stories, what appears to be an ending is also a beginning. Acquiring these 9.7 acres will enable Groundswell to create new opportunities for educational study, recreational hiking, bird watching, habitat restoration, nature appreciation, and school group outings at Westport Prairie. It will also create a much safer entrance and trailhead that will allow more vehicle turnaround room, and expand visibility of oncoming traffic.

Even though the natural area is permanently protected, thanks to the generosity and conservation-mindedness of its former landowners, a lot of work still lies ahead in restoring and maintaining this precious landscape. Groundswell will continue to coordinate this critical work and the funding it depends on. And Jim Koltes will be able to continue visiting and enjoying the beautiful rural land his family has loved for generations.  Said Jim, “This farm has been in and out of my family for over 125 years. I know it is a special place and it means so much to me to know it will be preserved forever in its natural state.”

Here's a one minute video with the landowner, Jim Koltes.

Today, December 14, 2017, we worked with conservation-minded landowners in Green County to permanently protect a 5,000 foot stretch of Hefty Creek. It is part of a 252-acre farming landscape of pasture, prairie, and savanna (click here for a map). This farm is now protected by a perpetual conservation easement, a voluntary but binding agreement that keeps the land in private ownership and on the tax rolls but strongly limits future development. Under the easement, the farm is not open to the public but contributes to the health of Hefty Creek through good management of the surrounding uplands. In 2001 the landowners received the “Wildlife Habitat Development Award” from the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association for their work improving wildlife habitat on the farm.

Hefty Creek is a Class II trout stream and has been designated as an Exceptional Resource Water by the Wisconsin DNR. The newly protected property is adjacent to a permanent streambank easement held by the DNR on an upstream stretch of Hefty Creek.

Our thanks go to the landowners for generously donating the conservation easement and contributing to our endowment at Madison Community Foundation to ensure that we will always have the resources to protect the property, even after they no longer own it. Stay tuned for information on a “lunch and learn” event this winter to hear how the landowners achieved their goal to protect the property.

A milestone passed! With the permanent protection of this farm, you have helped us pass the 10,000 acre milestone in the amount of land Natural Heritage Land Trust has protected since we were established in 1983. A sincere thank you to all our supporters. Your involvement has brought us this far and your confidence and dedication has laid a strong foundation for much more. We look forward to all that we can continue to achieve together.

On Monday, December 7, 2015, Groundswell acquired a 25.6 acre piece of wetland at Lodi Marsh State Wildlife Area in northern Dane County. The property is located on County Y on the west side of the Wildlife Area, about 4 miles outside the City of Lodi and adjacent to state land (click here for a map). We hope to donate the property to the state as an addition to the Wildlife Area in 2016.

Our thanks go to Tom and Connie Lange for selling us this part of Lodi Marsh. According to Tom, “parting with the property just felt it was a good fit for Lodi Marsh. In particular, this gives access to the west end. It was obvious to us that people want to access the property.”

Lodi Marsh sits in a beautiful valley and features almost 1,200 acres of state land open to the public for outdoor recreation. A 2.5 mile segment of the Ice Age Trail traverses the east side of Lodi Marsh.

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

Looking for an opportunity to visit this beautiful area? Please join us for a snowshoe hike at Lodi Marsh on Sunday morning, January 24th. The trip will be led by Ice Age Trail enthusiast Gary Werner. Although we won’t visit this new acquisition, you will be able to meet former landowners Connie and Tom Lange.

On Friday, October 31, 2014 we purchased 40-acres of land on the northeast side of Stoughton, Dane County. The land boasts over a mile of frontage on the Yahara River and is a popular stopover for migrating waterfowl (click for a map).

Groundswell will donate the land to the City of Stoughton to be enjoyed as a conservancy park where the public will have permanent access to the river. The city’s plans for the property include an extension of the bike trail that starts in the heart of the city and presently ends in Viking County Park, just south of the acquired property.

Our thanks go to the landowner for selling us this property at less than its fair market value. Funding for the purchase was provided by the DNR’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, the Dane County Conservation Fund, and Groundswell members.