LAND TRUST

Preserving the Essence of Door County for 25 years

Pamela Parks

Preserving the natural essence of Door County for future generations is the big idea that grew from a small but strong beginning. Now the Door County Land Trust marks 25 years of service and will celebrate by shining the spotlight on 5,500-plus acres of pristine and protected land — the result of diligent and strategic work.

“We spent a lot of time researching the best of the best lands in Door County … that represent all of Door County from Southern Door to Washington Island and all points in between,” DCLT Executive Director Dan Burke said. A quarter of a century of work has created 25 nature preserves — many open to the public for enjoyment of passive, nature-based activities — and future plans for additional acreage.

A determined volunteer-driven energy has permeated the organization since its inception in 1986, founded by a handful people involved with the Door County Environmental Council. A year prior, the group passed the hat to send representatives to the Land Trust Rally, an annual event sponsored by the national Land Trust Alliance. Bill and Virginia Yunker made the journey and came home to share the ideas and inspiration that launched the DCLT, according to Burke.

From the very beginning, the intent of the DCLT was to permanently protect lands that contribute significantly to the scenic beauty, open space and ecological integrity of Door County. That mission encompassed natural areas such as forests and wetlands with rare plants and animals, undeveloped shoreline, and scenic open space along highways and rural roads including fields, meadows, farms, and orchards.

“It didn’t take long for us to get our first success under our belt,” Burke said.

In its first year, DCLT acquired 115 acres of land southwest of Baileys Harbor known as the Ruth Neumann Farmstead. A conservation easement agreement — one of the options for protecting land — permanently protects the land in private ownership. The type and amount of future development is restricted and the DCLT has the legal right to enforce the agreement. It is a solution that protects the natural land’s future as well as keeps it on the property tax rolls.

In addition to the 2,500 acres of land with conservation easements, the DCLT has also protected 3,000 acres through land donations and purchased properties, which it manages as nature preserves. The protected acreage is a small but important percentage to the 314,000 total acres of land in Door County.

Directing the DCLT is its land prioritization plan, a comprehensive and strategic plan for acquiring and maintaining its lands. Creating the large landscape level of a DCLT nature preserve takes time, patience and the willingness to keep multiple irons in the fire. It takes years to complete projects that often are comprised of property acquired from 10 to 20 different owners.

DCLT has one nature preserve that is fully completed: Little Lake Nature Preserve on Washington Island. The preserve protects the entire northern half of Little Lake — the only inland lake on Washington Island. The project moved along rather quickly, beginning in 2004 and completed in 2010 with four separate land purchases.

While the main focus of the DCLT has been acquisition for its first 25 years, the organization has added to its goals the responsible stewardship of the lands it has already protected.

“The more we move forward, the more resources we’ll need to go toward restoring and improving the lands we protected,” Burke said. Land owned and managed by DCLT is open to the general public for recreational activities such as hiking, cross country ski and snowshoe trails, certain types of hunting and fishing, nature study, bird watching, and photography. DCLT also maintains its properties by planting trees, removing invasive species, and being mindful of the ecological preservation of some of the most vulnerable and unique habitats.

Although each DCLT preserve is special, Burke points to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve as one project that evokes an extra dose of admiration. Located within Sturgeon Bay’s city limits, the preserve includes almost 500 acres of protected land on the shores of Lake Michigan, including nearly one mile of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal as well as Strawberry Creek, home to the first stocking and egg collection site for Chinook salmon in Wisconsin.

“The project was eight years in the making before we had any success,” said Burke. “We started the project in 2000 and didn’t accept the centerpiece of the nature preserve until late 2009.”

DCLT worked with the city of Sturgeon Bay and Sturgeon Bay Utilities during that time frame, wrote grants to secure funding, and gathered matching private funding.

“The complexity of the land deals and the excitement made it one of the largest and most ambitious projects that we have taken on in 25 years,” Burke said.

Another favorite preserve, especially for Development Director Laurel Hauser, is the Harold C. Wilson Three Springs Preserve in Liberty Grove. The 421-acre project, the largest remaining unprotected property in Door County, was acquired by DCLT in 2009. In addition to hiking trails and a viewing platform overlooking a spring-fed pond, visitors will find the historic buildings of the original Erickson family farmstead.

A SILVER CELEBRATION

DCLT is celebrating the nature preserves’ beauty during its anniversary celebration. Open house events at the preserve sites on Aug. 19 and 20 will allow the public to explore the DCLT land with naturalists available for guided hikes. A special members-only anniversary celebration will take place in conjunction with the DCLT’s annual meeting on Aug. 21.

Improved hiking trails, increased educational signage on lands, downloadable maps on its website, and a special 60-page guide to protected lands available in fall are all part of enhancing the beauty of the land DCLT protects and letting those special qualities shine through.

“The Land Trust exits solely because of the support of those who love Door County,” said Hauser. “It is wonderful for us to know that the work that we are doing is going to have an effect on the way Door County is going to look like for a very long time.”

The Door County Land Trust is a completely local, non-governmental, non-profit membership organization whose mission is to permanently protect lands that contribute significantly to the scenic beauty, open space and ecological integrity of Door County. DCLT accepts donations of land or conservation easements, strategically purchases critical habitat, and manages its preserves to improve or maintain high-quality, healthy habitat. Nature preserves are open to the public for nature-based recreational activities. 920-746-1359; www.doorcountylandtrust.org.

Door County Land Trust's 25 Special Places

White Cliff Fen and Forest Preserve, Village of Egg Harbor and Town of Gibraltar

Kellner Fen Preserve, Town of Sturgeon Bay

Oak Road Wetland Preserve, Egg Harbor Township

Detroit Harbor Preserve, Washington and Detroit Islands

Ephraim Preserve at Anderson Pond, Village of Ephraim

Bay Shore Blufflands Preserve, Towns of Egg Harbor and Sevastopol

Little Lake Preserve, Washington Island

Lautenbach Woods Preserve, Town of Egg Harbor

Southern Shores, Township of Clay Banks

Hibbards Creek Preserve, Town of Jacksonport

Picha Woods Preserve at Thorp Pond, Town of Egg Harbor

Kangaroo Lake Preserve, Town of Baileys Harbor
Porte des Morts Forest Preserve, Town of Liberty Grove

Brussels Hill and Kayes Creek Preserve, Brussels and Gardner Townships

Highway 57 Scenic Corridor, Towns of Baileys Harbor and Liberty Grove

Harold C. Wilson Three Springs Nature Preserve, Town of Liberty Grove

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Property, City of Sturgeon Bay

Ephraim Swamp to Baileys Harbor Swamp Corridor,
Towns of Gibraltar and Baileys Harbor

Richter Community Forest, Washington Island

Gilson-Peterson Forest, Town of Liberty Grove

Woods at Monument Point, Town of Egg Harbor

Big and Little Marsh, Washington Island

Chambers Island, Town of Gibraltar

Kreuter Preserve, Town of Clay Banks

Coffey Swamp, Washington Island