A to Z Farm
A to Z Farm
More information coming soon!
The property has mowed lanes, and some moderate slopes.
ACCESS & DIRECTIONS
Adelman & Schwartz Preserve
Adelman & Schwartz Preserve
This property has no trail and is quite steep. We classify this property is “difficult” to hike.
SITE STEWARDS
Michaela Rosenthal
ACCESS & DIRECTIONS
Description & Significance
Natural History
Volunteers
Usage Policies
Ownership History
Management
Agaski Bluff
Agaski Bluff
Agaski Bluff, a 38-acre property located in the Driftless Region, features dry bluffs, a narrow ridge and striking rock outcroppings with remnants of original prairie and Oak woodland and savanna. The site contains many rare prairie species including Wisconsin’s largest population of pale false foxglove, a Wisconsin Endangered Species (Agalinis skinneriana that gave Agaski Bluff its name). More than 140 native plants have been documented at the site. The site is also adjacent to the 12-acre Swenson Bluffs, another property protected by The Prairie Enthusiasts.
Wisconsin residents and visitors can enjoy hiking and sightseeing at this site that features spectacular views.
ACCESS & DIRECTIONS
In the town of Arena in Iowa County, Wisconsin (T8N, R5E, Section 31, N 1/2 of N/E 1/4). From US-12 W/US-14 W/US-151 S/US-18 W, follow US-151 S/US-18 W for 28 miles to County Rd K in Brigham. Follow County Rd K and County Rd HH for 10 miles to Mellum Rd in Arena. Address is: 7352 Mellum Road, Arena.
Google Map
Description & Significance
Agaski Bluff is a rare bluff prairie with the largest population of State Endangered pale false foxglove (Agalinis skinneriana) in Wisconsin, where it is known to persist in just five locations. Restoration efforts to clear cedar, plant prairies, conduct prescribed burns and begin restoring oak woods and savanna have taken place since 2021. Swenson Bluffs is easily accessible from Agaski Bluff.
This 38.45-acre property is within the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin. It consists of a narrow ridge running from west to east, with a wider level area at the east end. To the north, it drops 70 feet into a ravine. To the southwest, it drops abruptly into a valley bottom. The total change in elevation across the property is 280 feet. The ridge consists of Prairie du Chien dolomite over Jordan sandstone. There are rock outcroppings and ledges of both dolomite and sandstone. The soil types and moisture regimes range from dry-mesic to mesic calcareous silt-loam on the ridge top to dry to mesic sandy loam on the lower slopes and valley bottom. The steep slopes are dry and rocky with a gradation from dolomite down slope to sandstone. Historically, the property was prairie and oak savanna. Today, the unplowed portions (22 acres) consist of brush invaded prairies and oak woodland (grown in savanna) all with good potential to be brought back, with management, to their original state. The prairie areas total approximately 8 acres and are in the process of being cleared of woody growth. There are 15 acres of active cropland and 1.5 acres of former homestead that has been bulldozed and is being planted to prairie. Improvements include an access lane bulldozed up to the ridgetop, a gravel driveway and parking lot off Mellum Road, a 8×12 storage shed, and a metered electrical hook up.
There are two disjunct, relatively intact, but degraded by past grazing, dry bluff prairie remnants. These are part of a larger archipelago of remnant bluff/hill prairies in what is known as the St. John’s Prairie Complex, named for the nearby historic St. John’s Catholic Church. The western most remnant sits astride a property line shared with The Prairie Enthusiasts’ Swenson Bluffs Preserve. This remnant was named Shooting Star Prairie in past surveys of the area. The other remnant was named Buehlman Prairie in those surveys. The most open portion of the western remnant is approximately one acre in size. Despite past grazing, it has relatively good prairie diversity. In addition, it has one of four, and the largest, Wisconsin populations of pale false foxglove, Agalinis skinneriana, a prairie annual that is listed as Endangered or Threatened in all States in which it occurs. Additionally, it supports a population of the State Threatened leafhopper Attenuipyga vanuduzeei, and eight other prairie-specialist leaf- and plant-hoppers. The most open area of the eastern remnant is three acres in size and it is more degraded. In between the two remnants there is likely a timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) hibernaculum. These animals have been encountered on the stony ground of the eastern remnant, but not in recent years.
The property abuts The Prairie Enthusiasts’ 16-acre Swenson Bluffs preserve and is part of a large roadless block that extends eastward from County Highway H to Ray Hollow Road, south from the village of Arena. The Prairie Enthusiasts’ Rattlesnake Ridge preserve is located in the eastern end of this corridor.
Ownership History
Eric Preston and Kim Kreitinger purchased the property in 2021 and had intentions of building a home on the site. As lifelong conservationists, they immediately started restoration efforts. They cleared invasive cedar trees, planted prairie, conducted prescribed burns and began restoring the oak woodland and savanna. As their restoration continued, they questioned the impact of building a home on the site. It was a difficult, even heartbreaking realization, but they came to believe the best thing would be for The Prairie Enthusiasts to own and manage their land for generations to come. Read more about their story on our blog.
“We both are very strong believers that biodiversity is important. Native plants have been here for thousands of years if not hundreds of thousands of years and deserve to be protected,” Eric said.
In December 2024, The Prairie Enthusiasts acquired Agaski Bluff. Following Eric and Kim’s lead, The Prairie Enthusiasts is committed to protecting and stewarding this rare example of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area landscape. Read the press release here.
Alexander Oak Savanna
Alexander Oak Savanna
The 45-acre Alexander oak savanna is named for Dick and Joan Alexander who purchased the property in 1965. They lovingly owned and cared for the land for over 50 years, and in 2018, they generously sold the property through a bargain sale to The Prairie Enthusiasts.
Since 2000, the St. Croix Valley chapter has been cooperatively managing the property with the Alexanders. This effort has resulted in one of the largest restored dry-mesic prairie and oak savanna complexes in our chapter’s geographic area.
Portions of the 43 acres are easy to navigate, but getting to them can be a challenge. The maintained trails (fire breaks) can be occasionally steep.
SITE STEWARDS
ST. CROIX VALLEY CHAPTER
ACCESS & DIRECTIONS
The site is located in Pierce County, approximately four miles south of River Falls on state highway 65 and 0.2 miles south of the Town of River Falls Town Hall. There is a parking area access at the south end of the property.
Google Map
Description & Significance
Alexander oak savanna is located in Pierce county, WI, within the Kinnickinnic River watershed and the Western Prairie Ecological Landscape (a Wisconsin DNR designation).
The dry prairie and oak savanna remnants found on the site are some of the best examples of these habitat types in the Western Prairie Ecological Landscape.
We have identified 120 native species on the site. Many species present are threatened or special concern in Wisconsin.
Some previously documented endangered and threatened species are noted, and with further management, may reappear.
Usage Policies
Allowed:
- Outdoor Recreation
- Hunting (for all species, no permit or reservation required)
- Trapping (for all species, no permit or reservation required)
Not Allowed:
- Collecting Plants, Seeds, Rocks or Animals without permission from The Prairie Enthusiasts
Ownership History
Dick and Joan Alexander purchased the property in 1965 and used it for decades as a resource for family activities, hunting and firewood gathering. The Wisconsin chapter of The Nature Conservancy recognized the resource significance of the site, and in 1985, secured a first right of refusal for the purchase of the property should it ever be offered for sale. This right was transferred to The Prairie Enthusiasts in 2003. In 2018, the Alexanders generously accepted an offer from The Prairie Enthusiasts for the purchase of the property, ensuring its continued resource recovery through land management.
Dick has actively participated in the work parties and burning over the years with both The Nature Conservancy and The Prairie Enthusiasts.
Management
Prior to 2000, the site was managed by The Nature Conservancy through their volunteer site steward program. Since assuming management responsibility in 2000, The Prairie Enthusiasts’ efforts have focused on the removal of such invasive species as buckthorn, Siberian elm and red cedar. Regular prescribed burns are conducted in late winter or early spring. We have also re-introduced appropriate species native to this area by overseeding portions of the site with locally collected seed.
The restoration work has been done mainly by volunteers, but the chapter has also received land management grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to hire contractors to assist with this work. We have also been fortunate to have the assistance of many students from University of Wisconsin River Falls who have participated in a variety of site management activities. Throughout our management history of the site, Dick Alexander has shown his continued support for our efforts by participating in many of the on-site work parties.
Avon Ridge
Photo credit: Jerry Newman
Avon Ridge
The Prairie Enthusiasts purchased in 2015. It’s a 16.5-acre parcel and features an abundance of rare flowers. The chapter added 5.9 acres with the purchase of Foslin Bluff in 2020, creating a contiguous 22.4-acre site that is open to the public for hiking, birding and hunting (in season). Both the addition and the original 16.5-acre parcel were purchased with funds from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund of the Wisconsin DNR.
Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum), prairie sunflower (Helianthus pauciflorus), and Carolina rose (Roas carolina) are just some plants commonly found on this scenic spot. This location has a panoramic view southwest over the valley of Sugar River into Illinois. The ridge is part of a complex of mostly riverine grasslands and floodplain forest known as Avon Bottoms.
This property is difficult to walk as there are no trails and the parking lot is quite far from the prairie.
ACCESS & DIRECTIONS
Visitors should park in the small gravel parking lot off Beloit-Newark Road, a half-mile east of Nelson Road, in the Rock County town of Avon, which is west of Beloit and southeast of Brodhead. Take Highway 81 out of Brodhead a few miles and turn south on Nelson Road, then east on Beloit-Newark. The nearest fire number is 15347 W. Beloit-Newark Road for our neighbor to the west. From the parking lot walk south along the fence line, up the hill and over the ridge to the south-facing one-acre prairie. Foslin Bluff is the extension to the west. The original one-acre remnant is over the ridge. To the east is planted prairie, in a 10-year CRP federal contract we inherited from the previous owner. Access is limited to foot traffic only. Camping, picnics, ATVs and horseback riding are not allowed.
Google Map
Natural History
Photo credit: Jerry Newman
Avon Ridge is a composite of one-acre, never plowed and never grazed dry hill prairie, plus unplowed ground to the south and west that is privately-owned but contains similar native grasses and uncommon forbs. The ridge is capped with limestone and underlain by sandstone that has eroded into sloping side hills. Limestone is a hard rock that resists erosion. Sandstone is a softer rock. The ridge is part of a larger landscape known as Avon Bottoms, the lowland along the Sugar River that stretches from Green into Rock County and south into Illinois. Avon Bottoms is comprised of thousands of acres of state owned and leased land.
Fishing, hunting, trapping, birding and canoeing are popular sports in Avon, which is the name of a small unincorporated village and the name of the Rock County township. The principal habitat is floodplain forest with some wet-mesic prairie, bur oak savanna and old fallow cropland.
The Avon Bottoms Wildlife Area comprises 2,835 acres in the floodplain of the meandering Sugar River bottoms with numerous sloughs and old ox-bows. The lowland hardwood forest contains swamp white oaks, silver maples, black willow, shagbark hickory, hackberry, green ash, cottonwood, bitternut hickory, bur oaks, basswood and sycamore trees.
There are two Wisconsin State Natural Areas embedded in Avon Bottoms: 40-acre Swenson Wet Prairie State Natural Area and 168-acre Avon Bottoms State Natural Area. Avon Bottoms has been declared a Wisconsin Important Bird Area for its breeding populations of the cerulean and yellow-throated warblers, Acadian flycatcher and yellow-crowned night-heron.
Volunteers
Photo credit: Jerry Newman
Work crews from Prairie Bluff Chapter removed most of the trees and brush from the western portion of the remnant prairie during the winter of 2015-16. Sawyers took out cedars, mulberries, cherries, apples, sumac and buckthorn, and then Nick Faessler hauled them to the burn pile with a skid steer. The chapter conducts periodic weed patrols in spring and summer; we collect seed in summer and fall.
Volunteers took out 531 feet of old fence line, woven wire and three tangled and buried strands of barbed wire, between Avon and Foslin. We cleared out dead trees and brush to get at the wire, which was sold to a recycler.
Long ago, Foslin Bluff was incorporated into the burn regime at Avon Ridge when Nathan Gingerich was managing Foslin for Applied Ecological Services. He alerted us to a spring burn there, and since then we have been burning small units to the east—part remnant, part CRP grassland—in a rotation that may take a few more years.
Usage Policies
Allowed:
- Hiking
- Birding
- Wildlife Photography
- Hunting
Not Allowed:
- Use of Motorized Vehicles or Bikes
- Camping
- Picnics
- Horseback Riding
Ownership History
Prairie Bluffer and past president Rob Baller first visited this site in the 1980s, with a neighbor Brad Paulson. The chapter was interested in purchasing the remnant prairie land since the chapter’s beginnings around 1987. The property consisted of parcels with three different owners. At that time, the land was sold to an Illinois couple and enrolled it in CRP. Again in 2004, the chapter attempted to raise money to buy some of the prairie, but the agreement fell apart. In 2014, chapter members noticed the land was once more for sale. This time our efforts were successful, and we purchased an acre of remnant prairie, a buffer in CRP and access, with a zoning change approved by Avon township.
Visits to Avon Ridge by Prairie Enthusiasts to view these blooming plants kept the property on our radar for decades until we were able to apply for the stewardship funds and raise the other half of the purchase price from our generous membership.
Avon Ridge was purchased with matching dollars from the Wisconsin Nelson-Knowles Stewardship Fund, so it is open to the public for hiking, hunting, birding and wildlife photography. Access is limited to foot traffic only. Camping, picnics and horseback riding are not allowed.
Management
Next to our one-acre remnant prairie is 14 acres of grasslands that is enrolled in the federal set-aside Conservation Reserve Program. This provides additional habitat for grassland birds. Our management of the prairie and planted grasslands will most likely include prescribed fire. A troublesome invasive plant, crown vetch, is present in a small area of both the CRP and prairie, but the entire property is remarkably free of weeds and brush.
Read more about the Prairie Bluff Chapter HERE.