Donated Land Extends Legacy Nature Preserve at Clay Banks

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A generous land donation by the Bogdanowicz family that includes 150 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline was recently accepted by the Door County Land Trust (DCLT). Located in the Town of Clay Banks, this land is directly to the south of the Land Trust’s Legacy Nature Preserve at Clay Banks. The donation extends the preserve’s boundary, which…

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Fischer Family Inspires Generosity

The children of Anne Fischer are putting forth a challenge to those who value the future of Door County’s wild spaces. The Fischer Family’s goal is to inspire fellow members to give generously before December 15, 2022, to match their $350,000 grant. Donate Now! Childhood memories of immersing themselves in the wilderness around what is…

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Door County Land Trust Office Moves to New Location

Door County Epicenter

  The Door County Land Trust will be moving its office to a more expansive space at the newly developed Door County Epicenter at 217 N. 4th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, the former home of Baylake Bank and Nicolet Bank, in June.  The organization’s need to increase staffing over the years to address important land protection…

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The Big Plant: Native Tree and Plant Give-Away 2023

Native Plant and Tree Give-Away Aims to Improve Wildlife Habitat Throughout Door County Upcoming tree and plant giveaway events: 2023 Dates to be announced *** How to Plant Trees and Perennials: How to plant The native tree and plant give-away is a part of The Big Plant coordinated by the Climate Change Coalition of Door…

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Headwaters of Eagle Harbor Protected!

The Door County Land Trust is pleased to announce a wetland property containing portions of the headwaters of Ephraim Creeks and Hidden Springs in the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp State Natural Area is now protected! The property was purchased from a local landowner who wished for the property to remain conserved in its natural state. The property…

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9 Acres Donated at Chambers Island Nature Preserve

Door County Land Trust is pleased to announce the donation of 9 acres of land at the Chambers Island Nature Preserve. The donation of land, made by Pete and Fawn Rogers, long-time summer visitors on the island, is the fifth conservation project to be completed on Chambers Island during 2018. The donated land connects other…

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Chambers Island Nature Preserve Expands with 50 Newly Protected Acres!

We are pleased to announce that Thursday, December 13, the Door County Land Trust completed two more land acquisitions on Chambers Island!  These two additional projects are the third and fourth of five planned land protection projects on the island this December! The two properties, one a 10-acre hardwood and hemlock forest and the other…

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Holiday Hunt Dec. 24-Jan. 1: Safe Hiking and Hunting

Holiday Hunt! A special deer hunt will take place December 24, 2017 – January 1, 2018.  Hikers may wish to avoid these Door County Land Trust nature preserves open to this special hunting season: Three Springs Nature Preserve, Heins Creek Nature Preserve, Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve, Lautenbach Woods Nature Preserve, Legacy Nature Preserve at Clay…

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Newly Protected! 17 Acres Adjacent to Bay Shore Blufflands Nature Preserve

Conservation Easements Protect Homes for The Wildest Things Short-tailed weasel at Aten-Collins Conservation Easement. Photo by Nancy Aten Visionary landowners Nancy Aten and Dan Collins completed the donation of a 17-acre conservation easement to the Door County Land Trust this fall. The property, located near the 274-acre Bay Shore Blufflands Nature Preserve, adds to a…

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Gift Exchange

Gift Exchange By Francha Barnard, Door County poet and volunteer As for me, on a trail hike, you wouldn’t want me to lead; can’t identify the ten different mushrooms or four or five ferns we’d see. Can’t tell the various orchids apart or the birdsong we’d hear nearby; can’t even find the bird in the…

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Mapping Guides 2018 Restoration Work

This four-person crew spent part of their summer mapping invasive species in preparation for a restoration project to begin in 2018.  Door County Land Trust’s Three Springs Nature Preserve is one of several sites prioritized in this partner project to map, monitor and reduce invasive species within Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula Coastal Wetlands Ramsar site, an…

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Restoring Balance to an Interconnected Ecosystem

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve ridge and swale wetland.  Photo by Jason Wilke, restoration and invasive species removal contractor   399 acres at the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve and 50 acres at Heins Creek Nature Preserve are being restored, thanks to funding from the North American Wetland Conservation Act Grant. The project,…

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Door County Land Trust Protects 37 Acres Near Rowleys Bay

Bruce and Joan Pikas at their new conservation easement near Rowleys Bay

Door County Land Trust Protects 37 Acres near Rowleys Bay In late August, landowners Bruce and Joan Pikas donated a 37-acre conservation easement on their boreal forest tract to the Door County Land Trust. The conservation easement adds to existing protected land in the area which includes several other conservation easements, The Nature Conservancy’s Mink…

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Join us at the Bay Shore Blufflands Buckthorn Blast Kick-off Event!

You are invited to join us for a community gathering to kick-off the Bay Shore Blufflands Buckthorn Blast project September 1, 9:30-11:30 a.m.! Learn about the invasive species and unique ecology of the Bay Shore Blufflands Nature Preserve. Take a hike with staff experts and meet stewardship volunteers committed to the Buckthorn Blast. Sign up…

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120 Acres of Coastal Wetland Property Protected!

Door County Land Trust Protects Wetlands at the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp State Natural Area   Sturgeon Bay, WI  July 15, 2017 – The Door County Land Trust (DCLT) is pleased to announce it has protected 120 acres of coastal wetland property in the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp State Natural Area. The property was acquired from landowner John Wehling,…

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Volunteer at Bay Shore Blufflands Nature Preserve!

Join the fun at our next Door Stewardship Alliance work day  at Door County Land Trust’s Bay Shore Blufflands Nature Preserve on Tuesday, July 11th. The work will consist of clearing vegetation encroaching into the trail corridor as well as replacing parking area posts. We will meet at the preserve parking area located at 5519…

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Stewardship Work Day at Gilson-Peterson Natural Area.

Our next volunteer opportunity will be Tuesday, June 6th, at Door County Land Trust’s Gilson-Peterson Natural Area. Gilson-Peterson is a 40-acre sanctuary located near Ellison Bay. The forest is dominated by a mixed-aged stand of hemlock, white pine, sugar maple, and beech. We will be hand-pulling forget-me-nots that are invading the forest and crowding out native herbs,…

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From Conservation Vision to Nature Preserve

Land Selection Process Is a Grand Equation for the Door County Land Trust By Laurel Hauser With 308,480 total acres of land in Door County and natural features as diverse as bluffs, forests, farmland, cedar swamps, streams, and lakeshore, how does the Land Trust decide which properties are most deserving of protection? This question goes…

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Evil Weevils and Thistles with Nets

Pitcher's Dune Thistle

  The Land Trust’s Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve is host to one of the region’s most robust populations of the federally-endangered Pitcher’s dune thistle, a rare plant that depends on open sand dunes. Researchers from Chicago Botanic Gardens and Land Trust staff hope joint efforts can keep this population healthy for years to…

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A Travel Back Through Time on Chambers Island

Staff on Chambers Island- Summer 2015

The Land Trust staff recently spent two days on Chambers Island working on activities related to the establishment of a 1,000-acre Chambers Island Nature Preserve. While many hours were spent walking through the magnificent forest on the island to evaluate properties the Land Trust is interested in acquiring and post boundary markers on the recently…

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Three Springs Nature Preserve Recognized as a Wetland of International Importance

Three Springs Nature Preserve

The Door Peninsula Coastal Wetlands complex has recently been designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty for protection of exemplary wetland systems around the world.This 11,443-acre wetlands complex joins Everglades National Park in Florida and Chesapeake Bay Estuary in Virginia as one of only 37 sites in the…

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A New Milestone: 7,000 Acres Protected

  In 1986 landowner Ruth Neumann donated a conservation easement to the newly formed Door County Land Trust, with the faith that the property would be permanently protected for the future. Since that first parcel, the Land Trust continues to accept conservation easements and land donations and purchase properties of high scenic and ecological importance.…

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