Land Trust Will Protect Newly Donated Stretch Of Kickapoo River Valley

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Part of the Kickapoo River Valley in southwest Wisconsin will be protected from development due to a conservation project by an area land trust.

A donation helped create the project, which is the Mississippi Valley Conservancy’s largest to date.

The valley is one of the oldest landscapes in North America and quite possibly, the world. Mississippi Valley Conservancy conservation director George Howe says the area’s biodiversity is equally as incredible.

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“You have everything from warm water rivers to cold water streams with brook trout. You have everything from wet, dripping cliffs with rare species like northern monkshood to dry, bluff prairies with species like pasque flower and little blue stem prairie grass.”

A family with land along the Kickapoo River donated almost 1,000 acres to MVC. This is the family’s second donation and along with other landowners, almost 2,300 connected acres are now protected in the region. That means the land cannot be developed on or mined. About half of that land is open for public use.

MVC executive director Tim Jacobson says while he’s celebrating the major donation, he can’t help but think about the future. He says he hopes that more Kickapoo area landowners consider protecting their land.

“That can provide much better habitat, especially as we deal with climate change issues. Species need to be able to move and have corridors for adapting to climate change. These large blocks protecting habitat are going to be critical.”

Jacobson says MVC has been talking with neighboring landowners about protecting the land for private and public use.