Return of a Lost Child

The Frog Bay area is an ecologically exceptional stretch of forest and shoreline located along Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin.  It features rare and endangered plants, pristine boreal forest, and a rich abundance of wildlife. Historically important to the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, it’s an area where they once harvested wild rice and much more. Then, being privately owned for over a century, it was inaccessible to the tribe and everyone else.

When the property’s most recent owners, the late Dave and Marjorie Johnson, began to contemplate the future of this special place and decided they’d like to ensure its preservation and protection forever, a friend and neighbor put them in touch with their local land trust, Bayfield Regional Conservancy (BRC).

First, BRC reached out to the Red Cliff Tribe to see if they would be interested in owning and stewarding this place that was once theirs—and of course, they were.  But financing the purchase of this land was a major obstacle for them. The Johnsons did not have the means to donate the entire parcel, and neither the tribe nor the land trust could afford to purchase the land outright.

Luckily, BRC was able to help the Tribe secure the needed funds through a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Estuarine Land Conservation Program and a few other sources. Brian Bainbridge, Vice Chairman of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, compares the reunion between this place and the Tribe as “the return of a lost child.”

And with the return of this place to the Tribe, it became a gift to us all, as the Frog Bay Tribal National Park.  “We’ve had people from all over the world to come visit” Bainbridge proudly shared.  And this place is more than a new destination spot; it’s an ecological treasure that plays an important role in protecting the water quality of Lake Superior and we will all benefit from this special place for generations to come.

 

Story by: Sandy Jensen

2012 Conservationist of the Year

This year, we have shared many inspiring land conservation stories from across Wisconsin.  From the largest conservation easement ever donated to a Wisconsin land trust to the patchwork of innovative partnerships protecting and restoring the natural areas in urban Milwaukee, each of these stories highlights the fact that effective and sustainable land conservation is not a one size fits all business.  Each project requires leadership to engage relevant partners, employ various methodologies, navigate unforeseen hurdles, think strategically, and remain flexible.

This year, we are honored to present Ellen Kwiatkowski with the Conservationist of the Year award for the innumerable contributions she has made to Wisconsin conservation through the embodiment of these leadership skills.  Ellen is someone who wears many hats in the conservation community.  Prior to moving to Wisconsin, Ellen worked with The Nature Conservancy for 10 years, most recently as the Director of Conservation Programs for their Delaware Chapter.  Today, Ellen resides in Bayfield where she and her husband manage an organic blueberry farm that has been protected through the Town of Bayfield’s Farmland Preservation Program.

In her professional life, Ellen has been a valuable advocate for the preservation of Wisconsin’s working lands and serves on the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements (PACE) Council, the advisory body to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection on the newly created land protection program.Ellen also currently serves as a Director on Gathering Waters Conservancy’s board, as well as Chair of Wisconsin’s Land Trust Council – an advisory body comprised of land trust leaders that counsels GWC on the needs, challenges, and preferences of the Wisconsin land trust community. 

And last but certainly not least, Ellen is the Executive Director of Bayfield Regional Conservancy (BRC).  During her time at BRC the organization has protected over 1,000 acres of land in northern Wisconsin and was awarded accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission – a distinction that recognizes land trusts that meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust, and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent.

This year, under Ellen’s leadership, BRC made history when they worked with the Red Cliff Chippewa in northern Wisconsin to permanently protect the nation’s first Tribal National Park.  Stretching over ¼ mile along Lake Superior’s shoreline on the Red Cliff Reservation, Frog Bay Tribal National Park includes pristine sandy beaches bordered by primordial boreal forest identified to be of Global Significance by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and provides views of the Apostle Islands Gaylord Nelson Wilderness Area.

Wisconsin and its citizens are lucky to have such a talented and committed force for conservation.  Not only is Ellen making a lasting difference on Wisconsin’s landscape, but she’s also setting an incredible example for other current and future conservation leaders.  Thank you, Ellen, for all you do to protect the special places in Wisconsin!

Please join us on October 4 at the Monona Terrace in Madison when we recognize Ellen and the other winners of Gathering Waters Conservancy’s Land Conservation Leadership Awards.

Highlighting Great Lakes Restoration and Protection Efforts by Wisconsin Land Trusts

In early August, we had two exciting opportunities to highlight the important work that Wisconsin land trusts are doing for Great Lakes restoration and protection in both the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan basins.

On August 6, GWC Government Relations Director, Mike Carlson, joined GWC Board members, Tia Nelson and Ellen Kwiatkowski, for a tour of the Frog Bay Tribal National Park with Congressman Sean Duffy.  The Frog Bay project, which protects over a ¼ mile of Lake Superior shoreline, involved a partnership between the Bayfield Regional Conservancy and the Red Cliff Tribe and utilized federal funding through the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP).  Congressman Duffy has demonstrated leadership by assuming the role as Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force with the Northeast-Midwest Institute, and this tour provided an important opportunity to show the value of programs like CELCP and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), as well as the important role that land trusts can play in permanently protecting critical parcels along the Great Lakes.

It was a beautiful day on the shore of Lake Superior overlooking the Apostle Islands!

On August 10, we hosted the Great Lakes Restoration Tour:  Milwaukee Area Successes.  This tour was organized in partnership with the Healing our Waters Coalition (HOW), the River Revitalization Foundation (RRF), the Urban Ecology Center (UEC), and Ozaukee Washington Land Trust (OWLT) and emphasized significant conservation sites in southeast Wisconsin.  These sites highlighted progress, as well as ongoing needs and opportunities, in Great Lakes protection and restoration. The Milwaukee sites included the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum, which is a GLRI restoration project adjacent to the UEC and Riverside Park, and RRF’s Wheelhouse parcel, which is a restoration of a blighted site in the Milwaukee River Area of Concern into a riverfront park. Both sites sit along the Milwaukee River and are part of the 800 acre Milwaukee River Greenway.  During the morning we heard from representatives from HOW, Rotary Club of Milwaukee, the Southeast Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, UEC, RRF, and the Conservation Fund.

In the afternoon, we visited the OWLT’s Forest Beach Migratory Preserve — a unique 116-acre site that was previously used as a golf course. The land trust is transforming the property into a major migratory bird stopover site and using GLRI funding to research bird and bat migratory patterns to determine the importance of stopover habitat along the Lake Michigan Migratory Flyway.  During the afternoon session, we heard from representatives from OWLT, the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory, and Ozaukee County.

Tour attendees included community leaders from the Milwaukee and Ozaukee area; government officials from WI DNR and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program; the Policy Director for the Healing Our Waters Coalition, Chad Lord; and many others.  In total, more than 60 people joined us for the day.  We were thrilled that Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele agreed to participate in the tour and provide remarks, as they have both been long-time supporters of Great Lakes restoration.  Unfortunately, at the last minute, they both needed to attend the memorial service for the victims of the tragic Oak Creek shooting.  We missed them at the event, but appreciate their commitment to Great Lakes issues.

It was a great day, and we lucked out with near perfect weather!