Out at Pine Quarry Farm, the Black Earth Creek winds through fields of corn stubble, and past the old farmstead. A rocky, tree-covered bluff rises high above the valley. From the top, you can see for miles in all directions.
Pine Quarry Farm is a beautiful landscape if there ever was one, and you can help protect it — and many other special places like it — forever.
Pine Quarry has been in the Rolfs family for four generations. Today, cousins Dan Rolfs and Katie Corbin are leading the efforts to conserve this 136-acre property. Dan proposed to his wife, Karen, up on the bluff. And Katie has been going there to stargaze with her husband since they met in college.
“I think this is one of the most beautiful places in Wisconsin.” – Katie Corbin
Dan, Katie, and their siblings planned to care for the land themselves, but “life happens.” It’s hard to devote as much time or money to the land as they want to.
Like so many local families who own land they care about, the Rolfs are wrestling with how to protect it for future generations.
Pine Quarry is just one of many treasured landscapes in need of conservation. We’re getting more requests than ever to help families protect their farms, prairies, wetlands, and more.
It used to be that only a dozen or so people contacted Groundswell each year about conserving their land. Now, people are contacting Groundswell weekly!
Your support will help us meet the increasing demand for local conservation.
William Rolfs, Dan and Katie’s great-great grandfather
The Rolfs family has been caring for Pine Quarry for nearly 125 years.
In 1901 William Rolfs bought a large plot of land in the Black Earth Creek Valley for $8,150. Over the next century, the Rolfs passed the land down to each generation of the family.
Dan, Katie, and the rest of the family never imagined letting the farm go. But personal circumstances have changed in unpredictable ways, as they often do.
And the family’s vision for Pine Quarry changed, too. They saw the improvements happening at Festge County Park down the road and wondered what Pine Quarry could be like — if given enough time, money, and effort.
The Rolfs family’s new vision led them to contact Groundswell Conservancy. Over time, we’ve developed a shared vision of better water quality in Black Earth Creek, sustainable farming practices, and public access for recreation.
With your support, Groundswell can help more local families like the Rolfs leave legacies of land for everyone to enjoy.
“We want to adequately care for the land, and we haven’t really been able to have the resources to do all the things that we want to do, and this would help solve a number of those problems at once.” – Katie Corbin
Skylar Rolfs, Dan Rolfs, Katie Corbin, and Adam Corbin at Pine Quarry
For many years now, Dan has spent whatever time he can out at Pine Quarry clearing brush and maintaining trails along the ridge. He doesn’t live on the property, though, so it’s a big time commitment to get out there. And it’s hard work! But he loves it.
Still, he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s not getting any younger. For Dan and the entire family, it’s time to figure out what’s next for the land — and what’s best for the land — because they can’t do it all themselves.
“It’s not the easy thing to think about, but it’s the responsible thing to think about.” – Dan Rolfs
Dan isn’t the only one who feels the pressure of time passing.
The majority of farmers in Wisconsin are 55 or older. This means thousands of farms will be changing hands over the next decade.
Here in south central Wisconsin, we’re in the state’s fastest-growing area. And as the population grows, so will the pressure to develop more and more land.
In many ways, time isn’t on our side. It’s important that we act now to protect our farms, water, and wildlife habitats.
Carolyn and Carl Rolfs swimming in Black Earth Creek
When Dan and Katie’s grandparents owned the farm, they grew corn, oats, and hay in rotation and raised dairy cows. They worked hard to provide for their family. And still they found time to improve the land.
Katie’s mother, Carolyn, and Dan’s father, Carl, can remember their parents planting pine trees beside the old stone quarry when they were children. If they remember it right, their parents got the trees from the DNR or another government agency. Those pine trees are still there today.
The kind of restoration work that the Rolfs family would love to do takes more than just time. It takes financial means that the average person doesn’t have.
That’s why it’s so important for organizations like Groundswell to partner with local, county, and state agencies. Together, we can provide much-needed resources — but even those are limited.
Please donate to protect natural resources right here in south central Wisconsin.
The shared vision for Pine Quarry goes beyond honoring the family’s legacy and protecting it for their children. It includes protecting this place for the benefit of our whole community.
“We kinda decided that the best way to protect it for our children would be to make it a public place where they can go, where it’s maintained properly the way that we’ve always wanted to but have never really been able to achieve and so that other people can enjoy it.” – Katie Corbin
Imagine being able to visit Pine Quarry with your own loved ones on a spring day. You hike up the bluff to search for early blooms and pause at the top to admire the view. Maybe you make a mental note to come back for snowshoeing this winter …
Or maybe you’re there on a summer afternoon. South of the bluff, there’s Black Earth Creek, clear and inviting. You dangle your feet in the water, lean back, and watch the hawks soar above you.
So much is possible, but only with your help!
Pine Quarry is just one example of the exciting opportunities ahead of us. Let’s work together to make them happen. Here are some other projects on the horizon:
- Reconnect the Ho-Chunk Nation with more ancestral lands by purchasing and protecting an exceptional landscape along the Yahara River with rare cultural resources
- Work with families on protecting and transferring their farmland through a Buy-Protect-Sell program for emerging and next-generation farmers
- Increase Avon Bottoms Wildlife Area by purchasing almost 2,000 acres, which would provide important public access along the south shore of the Sugar River
Please give today — your contribution will go far but stay local.
Thank you for your support. Together, we can offer local families the opportunity to conserve their land for generations to come.