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. 

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.