The forest includes northern mixed hardwood, forested wetlands and meadows
The DNR would pay $1.6 million for the conservation easement. Nearly $1.3 million of that amount would come from a combination of a federal grant and Wisconsin’s Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship Programme.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking the easement from Braun Woodlands II, LLC and the Frederic H.T, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. Ron Gropp, the DNR’s forest legacy programme coordinator, said the property could otherwise be broken up as development spreads around it. He said the Braun family decided that protecting the land was the right step for the property’s future. However, the DNR said money for this particular project had already been restricted under a purchase contract before the programme ended.
Braun Grandchildren Irrevocable Trust. The deal would be funded through a combination of state and federal money, along with a planned contribution from the Ice Age Trail Alliance. The proposed protection comes as the forest faces pressure from nearby development. The Stewardship Programme expired in June after lawmakers did not reauthorise its funding.
The state’s Natural Resources Board approved the DNR’s request to purchase the easement on Wednesday.
As part of the proposed arrangement, the Braun family has agreed to open 220 acres currently in the Managed Forest Law programme. In return, 320 acres on the western side of the property would be closed to the public.
Gropp said the DNR is not expected to know the status of that grant until early next year. The agency said there is nevertheless enough Stewardship funding available to finance the full purchase. Kevin Thusius, the alliance’s senior director of field operations, said the arrangement would allow the Braun family to continue its timber management while protecting part of the trail.
The final funding arrangement still depends on approval of a federal Forest Legacy grant from the US Forest Service. The property has also long been enrolled in Wisconsin’s Managed Forest Law programme. The programme lowers property taxes for private landowners who take part in sustainable forest management.
