In the News

• Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Preserve― 332 acres in the Town of Sturgeon Bay

Recent Projects

• The Kreuter Preserve― 91 acres in the Town of Clay Banks
   
• The Harold C. Wilson Three Springs Preserve― 421 acres near Sister Bay

View photos of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Property

Door County Land Trust Purchase Establishes the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve

The Door County Land Trust announces that after six years of negotiating and fundraising it has completed the purchase of 332 acres within the city of Sturgeon Bay for the establishment of a public nature preserve. Known locally as the Canal Property, this parcel is located along Lake Michigan and the south side of the Sturgeon Bay Shipping Canal. The Land Trust purchased the property from the Sturgeon Bay Utilities who have owned it since 1984.

“This is truly a remarkable place. It’s a favorite of the Door County community and we’re thrilled to be able to say that it is now permanently protected for all to enjoy and appreciate,” states Dan Burke, executive director of the Land Trust.

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve will be open to the public for low-impact recreational and educational uses such as swimming, hiking, wildlife viewing, school field trips, and research. The Land Trust intends to develop and maintain walking trails, erect educational kiosks and increase efforts to eradicate the invasive plant species now on the property. “The Ship Canal property is a well-loved community asset. We want it to stay that way. Our vision,” states Burke, “is to improve the ecological health of the property, enhance the experience for visitors, and make sure this treasure is well-cared for and around for generations to come.”

The Land Trust plans to formally dedicate the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve some time next summer.

Total costs for the purchase and short-term land stewardship of the property are just over $2 million. The Land Trust received over $1.6 million in grants from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Knowles-Nelson State Stewardship Fund and over $350,000 from private donors and foundations.

“This has been a very ambitious fundraising project, and we are so pleased by the community’s enthusiasm and generosity. Although the purchase itself is completed, we are still accepting donations for the ongoing care and maintenance of Door County’s newest nature preserve,” states Laurel Hauser, development director for the Land Trust.

The effort to purchase this land was greatly aided by leadership gifts received from the Ellsworth and Carla Peterson Charitable Foundation, American Transmission Company, the John C. Bock Foundation, the James E. Dutton Foundation, and an anonymous Sturgeon Bay foundation. “We are thankful for the generous support we received from many individual donors and the Door County Community Foundation as well. This has truly been a community-wide effort,” states Hauser.

“Selling the 332 acres to the Door County Land Trust is the best possible outcome for our ratepayers, the people of Door County, and the land itself,” states Jim Stawicki, general manager of the Sturgeon Bay Utilities. “The fact that Sturgeon Bay Utilities realized fair market value for the property and that the land will be well-cared for and available to all is a positive outcome for the entire community.”

Prior to the Land Trust purchase, protection of the Canal Property was in doubt as a number of development proposals have been considered over the years. More recent proposals included a coal-fueled power plant, aquatic industrial park, all terrain vehicle park and mixed use residential development.

Citizen groups, neighbors, and admirers of the Canal Property have worked for years to keep the land in its natural state. Educator and local naturalist, Mike Madden, describes the land as “one of Door County’s ecological gems. The pristine beach and dunes, ridge and swale formations of ancient shorelines, towering hemlocks and the awe-inspiring views of Lake Michigan and the canal make this one of our most beloved natural areas. In addition to its beauty, it provides habitat for many rare and endangered plants and animals including osprey, bald eagles, pitcher’s dune thistle and migrating warblers. This is an important place for us to protect and we’re grateful that the Land Trust is here to do it.”

To make a tax-deductible contribution toward the stewardship and maintenance of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve, you may donate online now or send a donation to the Door County Land Trust, P.O. Box 65, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235. All donors to the Ship Canal Nature Preserve will be listed on a preserve kiosk.
 

To learn more about the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Project, download the Sturgeon Bay Canal Nature Preserve Information Sheet (1 mb).

The Kreuter Preserve― 91 acres in the Town of Clay Banks

Located along Lake Michigan approximately 6 miles south of Sturgeon Bay, the 91-acre Kreuter Preserve offers what is arguably one of the most breathtaking views in all of Door County. From the top of a windswept bluff, a bucolic, green farm field stretches to the edge of a high clay bank.  This high bluff or bank then cascades down to a sand beach where it meets the sparkling blue waters of Lake Michigan.  Looking out on the horizon from this hill-top field, one sees the Door Peninsula appear and disappear as its wooded shoreline stretches northeastward out into the open lake.

The purchase of the Kreuter property by the Door County Land Trust in the autumn of 2008 protects nearly 3,000 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline—  one of the longest stretches of undeveloped, unprotected lakeshore remaining in Door County.

Also found here is a diverse mix of natural communities including cedar forest, open fields, a meandering stream, and, of course, the steep bluff that bisects this new nature preserve.  This eclectic mix of habitat provides an ideal place for many plants and animals to reside including shore birds, bald eagles and a number of rarely encountered wildflowers. 

The Door County Land Trust purchased this property from two sisters, Nancy and Susan Kreuter. Funding for this purchase was made possible by a grant from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, donations from Land Trust members, and a generous donation from the Kreuters in the form a “bargain sale.” The Kreuters agreed to sell their property to the Door County Land Trust for half of the appraised fair market value.

“We are thrilled that Susan and Nancy Kreuter provided us with the opportunity to purchase and protect this one-of-a-kind parcel,” states Dan Burke, Executive Director of the Door County Land Trust.  “Due in large part to their generosity, the spectacular scenery and wild shoreline here will be enjoyed and appreciated by many people and will remain a place of beauty and inspiration forever. Over the next year, our staff and volunteers will be hard at work developing a detailed land management plan which will include habitat restoration as well as public use activities such as hiking, birding, and hunting.”   

The Harold C. Wilson Three Springs Preserve― 421 acres near Sister Bay

“The purchase of the Three Springs property marks the biggest conservation purchase ever by the Door County Land Trust and, more importantly, protects what had been the largest, unprotected parcel remaining in northern Door County,” said Dan Burke, Executive Director of the Door County Land Trust.

Although this beautiful, undeveloped tract, lies just 2 miles east of Sister Bay, it is almost a secret place, out of sight of a major road and unknown to most of the public. The 421-acre Three Springs Preserve lies within a region of Door County which hosts the highest density and greatest diversity of rare plants, animals and natural communities found in Wisconsin. This property is a key piece in a 17,000-acre State Natural Area corridor that has been described as one of the premier natural landscapes of the western Great Lakes and is a pivotal parcel in a grand landscape of wilderness that encompasses the Ridges Sanctuary, Toft Point, Mud Lake, and North Bay.

Springs that meander through the property give it its name, but more importantly they provide specialized habitat for plants and animals, including endangered and threatened species. The rare Hines Emerald Dragonfly lays its eggs in vegetation on the banks of a pond formed by the springs. Endangered Dwarf Lake Iris and spectacular Showy Lady’s Slippers bloom in the swampy soil of nearby woods. Smallmouth bass, yellow perch, brown trout, Chinook salmon, and Northern Pike spawn in the coldwater springs. The headwaters of North Bay arise on the property, providing a critically important habitat for Lake Michigan’s whitefish population, 80% of which spawn just offshore of North Bay. The forests contain white cedar, tamarack, balsam fir and black ash. The property also provides crucial stopover and breeding habitat for neotropical migratory birds.

The Door County Land Trust purchased the Three Springs property in the autumn of 2008 and the acquisition was funded through a mix of state, federal and private funds. The Land Trust received a $746,000 grant from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund and a $471,750 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Nature Conservancy generously provided the Land Trust with a $90,000 donation and a grant from the Wisconsin Land Fund also aided in the purchase. In addition, the Door County Land Trust received over $180,000 from its members in support of this project!

“An historic project of this magnitude could not have been accomplished alone,” explains Burke. “We thank our state and federal agency partners, The Nature Conservancy, and all our donors for working collaboratively to preserve this special place. We also owe a big thanks to the landowners, George and Jean Reynolds, for being great stewards of this place for the past 40 years and providing us with the opportunity to establish this new preserve.”

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