Thanks to long-time rural Lodi residents Lydia L. O’Brien, Mary J. Thompson, and Marjorie Quam (The Miller family), 58 acres have been protected forever at the Lodi Marsh Wildlife Area and State Natural Area in northern Dane County. The property has been in the Miller family for more than 150 years, as part of the family farm which had been a dairy operation for many years.

The property is mostly wetland wildlife habitat, and is home to as many as 14 species of Papaipema moths, which are indicators of high-quality prairie and wetland habitat. Breeding birds include great-blue heron, Sandhill crane, common snipe, willow and alder flycatcher, sedge wren, marsh wren, yellow warbler, blue-winged warbler, and a large number of red-winged blackbirds.

Surrounded by state land on three sides, this property is a natural addition to the 1,186 acre conservation landscape at Lodi Marsh. The property (map) is located on County Y on the north west side of the Wildlife Area, about 3 miles outside the City of Lodi. The family had previously enrolled the land in the state’s voluntary public access program to allow hunting; with our acquisition, that access is now permanent.

This acquisition wouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of Groundswell members, including a special gift from long-time supporters Gary Werner and Melanie Lord. Additional grant funding came from the Dane County Conservation Fund, the Dane County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, and the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

This is our second acquisition of land at Lodi Marsh and another milestone — together we have protected more than 11,000 acres, forever.