Devil’s Lake State Park just got 100 acres bigger after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources finalized a deal protecting what was previously one of the largest privately owned parcels inside the park.
The acquisition came through a partnership with the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. The public will have an opportunity to provide input on how they would like to see the new expansion utilized.
Partnerships Liaison for the Wisconsin DNR, Andrew Hanson III, shares details about the expansion.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Maria Peralta-Arellano: Can you just explain what the process was that led to this moment and this deal?
Andrew Hanson III: This is a little more complicated than some of them because this property was put up for sale at an auction, and that's not something the DNR is able to respond to. A nonprofit partner by the name of the Conservation Fund acquires at-risk lands and will hold them for other partners to then acquire. The Conservation Fund was able to raise most of the private money needed for them to be well positioned at auction to successfully acquire the property and held it until the DNR was able to go through its process which includes a number of levels of staff, professional staff approvals, appraisal by a professional independent appraiser, approval by the governor eventually, and approval by our Natural Resources board.
The foundation that helped you guys acquire this piece of land, they make it a point to acquire parcels of land that are high risk and of high conservation value. So what does that mean for this piece of land? What makes it high risk and high conservation value?
This is part of what's called the Baraboo Hills and this is a designated national natural landmark by the National Park Service. It's also part of the Baraboo Hills State Recreation Area and Devil's Lake State Park. It also has a couple of other designations, [it's] part of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve and it's hoped a future route of the Ice Age Trail. The Baraboo Hills are known primarily for the 1.6 billion year old bedrock, the quartzite and also the dense forests. It is the largest block of interior forests in Southern Wisconsin.
As you mentioned, there are plans to continue the Ice Age trail through this expansion, among other things. So what kind of work is needed to complete these goals and what else are you guys planning for this parcel of 100 acres?
Well, first and foremost is we need to complete a master plan for Devil's Lake State Park and we're in the process of doing that. It's really a timely acquisition because we are partway through the master planning process. In that process, we outlined the goals for management and recreation, recreational uses of the property for the future, and the public will have at least a couple of opportunities for providing comments on how we think the property should be managed. The public has a chance then to help influence how the property is used and managed in the future. Once that's in place, then we expect that there would probably be some trails on the property. Likely the Ice Age Trail would be included in those.
What does this mean for the future of conservation in Wisconsin? Is it a marker for anything larger or what does this mean in terms of opportunity for us?
It's a great example of a public and nonprofit partner partnership that led to this acquisition. It really shows how partnerships can really work for the public's benefit and leverage public dollars here, in this case, the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program can leverage private dollars in acquisitions. This acquisition, I think, is really a highlight of that program and what the program can do when it's allowed to.
Is there anything else that you would like to bring up or talk about in terms of this expansion or things that you would like people to know ahead of time?
Well, one fun thing about this for me, just a sort of a side hobby interest in geology, is that the the this property has a glacial terminal moraine on it that's extremely unique. The portion of this terminal moraine is shaped like a hairpin, and it is due to the underlying topography — that quartzite that I mentioned and demonstrates how the underlying topography can affect how glaciers flow, and it's really a fascinating thing. It also happens to be the second highest point in Sauk County. So the views are just outstanding.
