Mukwonago River Oak Barrens

Mukwonago River Oak Barrens

by | Jul 7, 2025

Mukwonago River Oak Barrens

You can now visit one of Southeast Wisconsin’s rarest kinds of habitats just outside of Milwaukee. Mukwonago River Oak Barrens, a 61-acre property protected by The Prairie Enthusiasts in June of 2025, features sand barren habitat, an incredible diversity of plant and animal life, and access to the pristine Mukwonago River. 

Volunteers enjoying the Mukwonago River that runs through the protected property. Photo by Jessica Bizub. 

SITE STEWARD

Dan Carter

EMAIL

ACCESS & DIRECTIONS

Google Map

Description & Significance

Located in Waukesha County, WI, Mukwonago River Oak Barrens supports recovering oak barrens—a rare ecosystem in Southeast Wisconsin. Gradients of moisture and soil chemistry support 299 native vascular plant species and counting among sedge meadow, moist savanna, and oak barrens habitats. The Barrens also supports several rare plants and animals. The Mukwonago River, designated as an exceptional water resource, meanders through the southern part of the property and supports diverse communities of fish and aquatic invertebrates.

Pamela Meyer has been caring for the property for decades, working with her neighbors to support the health of the watershed and improve the quality of the habitat on the site. Knowing that the land was special, she has been bringing botanists, biologists, and ecologists to the property over the years so that she can understand the habitat better. 

One of those experts was The Prairie Enthusiasts Ecologist, Dan Carter. When the two walked the property together four years ago, Dan immediately saw what Pamela did—an ecosystem exceedingly rare in the region. 

“This piece of habitat has survived where so much has been lost to invasive brush and development—there’s almost nothing else like this in Southeastern Wisconsin,” Dan says. 

The Glacial Prairie Chapter began working to restore the site in 2023 with the support and active participation from the previous owner, Pamela Meyer. By the time The Prairie Enthusiasts closed on the property in 2025, volunteers had opened up 11 acres of barrens and moist savanna habitat. The Chapter will continue to expand and connect open areas, expanding the area of open savanna habitat adjacent to the Mukwonago River’s wetlands. This process will involve removal of invasive brush and large numbers of planted conifers, prescribed burning, and reintroduction of species that may have been present in the past. Work party activities are held on a near-weekly basis. There are also opportunities to volunteer beyond work parties.

The Mukwonago River Oak Barrens is open to the public for hiking, nature observation, and hunting. Permits are required for all gun and muzzleloader deer seasons (submit this online form).

No bikes or motorized vehicles are allowed, nor is the removal of plants, animals, fungi, soils or any other natural material.

Be aware that a snowmobile route is allowed across the northern edge of the property, if visiting in winter when there is snow on the ground. 

This acquisition was made possible through a bequest by Tom Ganfield, Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, and many Members of The Prairie Enthusiasts.

Click To See More Sites

Mounds View Grassland

Mounds View Grassland

by | Sep 4, 2024

Mounds View Grassland

Mounds View Grassland is a 830-acre preserve of The Prairie Enthusiasts. Our long-term goal for the site is to restore, as much as feasible, its original prairie, along with some limited oak savanna, and the associated wetlands and cold-water streams. The site was protected for its remnants of original prairie and the many rare and declining grassland plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and birds that inhabit the site. The preserve and surrounding open landscape provide excellent, critical habitat for rare and declining grassland birds. In addition, the preserve has cold-water streams, springs, seeps, and wetlands that add much to its biological diversity. There is also some oak savanna inhabited by red-headed woodpeckers and other birds, animals, and plants that require such habitat

SITE STEWARDS

RICH HENDERSON

608-845-7065

EMAIL

 

ACCESS & DIRECTIONS

The Mounds View Grassland preserve is located south of US Highway 18/151 between Barneveld and Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. The properties are situated between County Highway F and Mounds View Rd. See site-specific pages for access points. Addresses are:

Schurch-Thomson Pr (8624 Reilly Rd, Barneveld)

Shea Pr (3095 Mounds View Road, Barneveld)

A to Z Farm (3200 Arneson Road, Barneveld)

Description & Significance

The preserve is significant for its remnant prairie vegetation and associated rare insects, and as wildlife habitat at both local and state levels, such as the Wisconsin-endangered/Federal Special Concern Species regal fritillary butterfly (Speyeria idalia) as well as many declining grassland bird species including bobolink, dickcissel, upland sandpiper, and Bell’s vireo.   In fact, it may play a critical role in prairie ecosystem conservation in Wisconsin, for it lies within the 95,000+ acre Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area (MRPHA). The MRPHA has been identified as the highest priority for landscape-scale grassland protection and management in Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and represents one of the best opportunities in the Midwest to protect prairie remnants and area sensitive species.  The agricultural history of the area has helped keep the landscape much as it was when the first settlers saw it (Figure 1) and has made it possible for plants and animals like grassland birds, which have disappeared in more developed parts of the Midwest, to survive.  The Mounds View Prairie complex is one of the three most significant concentrations of prairie sod and grassland bird habitat within the MRPHA.

In addition to grassland plants, insect and birds, the site is home to many amphibian, reptilian and mammalian prairie species, including our state animal – the badger!  Along with prairie and oak savanna habitats, the preserve has cold-water streams, springs, seeps, and wetlands that add much to its biological diversity.

The Prairie Enthusiast’s long-term goal for the Mounds View Grassland is to restore, as much as feasible, its original prairie, along with some limited oak savanna.  It is also TPE’s intent to expand the preserve should opportunities arise.

The current cover on the 830-acre preserve is:

  • 33% – Planted Prairie
  • 26% – Non-Native Cool-Season Grass
  • 13% – Active Cropland
  • 10% – Remnant Prairie (not grazed)
  • 8% – Woodland & Brush
  • 5% – Wetland & Streams
  • 3% – Savanna Restorations
  • 3% – Pastured Remnant-Prairie Sod

Natural History

Mounds View lies near the eastern edge of Wisconsin’s driftless, or unglaciated, region.  Its bedrock geology was formed 450-470 million years ago during the middle Ordovician period of the Paleozoic era. The Galena, Decorah and Platteville Formations remaining as dolomitic ridges rising 1150 feet above sea level surround the site, providing breathtaking panoramic views.  The gently rolling hilltops of dolomite slope down to shallow valleys with the side slopes covered in St. Peter’s sandstone (Figure 2). The excavations of recently constructed badger dens can be observed in the easily excavated sandy soils.   The St. Peter Sandstone is underlain by dolomitic rocks of the Prairie du Chien Group (Figure 3), which are not observable at Mounds View.

The Galena and Platteville Ordovician formations contain more fossils than any other geologic strata in Wisconsin.  While stromatolites and oolites are lacking, the environment at the time was very hospitable to a broad range of bottom-dwelling, shell-forming animals such as brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, clams, and crinoids.

Plant List

Over 400 plant species can be found on Mounds View, nine of special concern, state or federally threatened, or endangered. Click HERE to see comprehensive plant inventory.

Usage Policy

Allowed:

  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Hunting: Ring-Necked Pheasant (all seasons; no permit required)
  • Hunting: Wild Turkey (all seasons; no permit required)
  • Hunting: Waterfowl (all seasons; no permit required)
  • Hunting: White Tailed Deer (bow, crossbow, muzzleloader; no permit required)
  • Hunting: White Tailed Deer (Rifle, Shotgun; permit required)

Not Allowed:

Management

Some restoration work was begun in 2000, but most work has been done since 2007, after permanent protection began. In addition to planting prairie vegetation, approximately 59 acres have been cleared of dense trees and brush that had invaded the site over the previous 60 years. More clearing still needs to be done, along with additional weed control and planting of prairie seed. Restoration of the cold-water streams and wetlands began in 2012, with more worked planned.

 

There is still much to do, and it will take many decades to even begin to approach what the original ecosystems were like, but we are off to a very good start. It is also TPE’s intent to expand the preserve should opportunities arise.

 

The restoration and management work to date has been done mostly by volunteers and interns and aided by paid TPE land management staff and contractors paid for with grants from the US Fish & Wildlife Service, WI Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Conservation Society, Paul E. Stry Foundation, Alliant Energy Foundation, and private donations.

Click To See More Sites

Thomas Tract

Thomas Tract

by | Jul 19, 2023

Thomas Tract

This site is 190 acres of native prairie and agricultural land.  Once common in southern Wisconsin, prairies are very rare today. The 95,000-acre Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area in Dane and Iowa counties contains one of the highest concentrations of native grasslands in the Midwest. It provides important habitat for plants and animals like meadowlarks and other grassland birds, which have disappeared in more developed parts of the region. The federally-endangered prairie bush clover occurs on The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) land to the south. Because there is similar habitat on The Prairie Enthusiasts’ land, the population of this rare plant is expected to expand as restoration progresses. The adjacent land owned by TNC also has a population of the State Endangered regal fritillary butterfly, we expect it to move on to this portion of land as well, especially as restoration proceeds. 

SITE STEWARDS

EMPIRE-SAUK CHAPTER

 

EMAIL

ACCESS & DIRECTIONS

 

3975 County T, Barneveld

Google Map

Usage Policies

Allowed:

  • Hiking
  • Hunting (for all species, no permit or reservation required)

Not Allowed:

 

Management

The primary goal is to restore the Thomas land back to its original open prairie, which is important for declining grassland birds and other wildlife. This will be a volunteer effort for the most part, and we welcome new volunteers.  In the future, we hope to work with the community and our partners to form a “Friends of the Thomas Stone Barn” group to contribute the knowledge and expertise with historic buildings that we lack, and help make the barn a place where people can gather and experience our prairie and agricultural heritage.

Click To See More Sites

Sylvan Road Conservation Area

Sylvan Road Conservation Area

by | Jul 19, 2023

Sylvan Road Conservation Area

TPE purchased these 99 acres of oak woods, wet prairie, and riparian scrub/young forest in 2014. The wet prairie consists of wet mesic prairie, wet prairie, and sedge meadow. This area is the gem of this parcel and contains a number of species rarely found in Wisconsin, including Rattlesnake master, Yellow-headed fox sedge, and Prairie gray sedge. Prairie Indian plantain, a threatened species, is also found in this community.

SITE STEWARDS

SOUTHWEST CHAPTER

 

EMAIL

ACCESS & DIRECTIONS

 

This site is southeast of Dodgeville along Sylvan and Banner Roads in the Town of Waldwick.

Google Map

Usage Policies

Allowed:

  • Hiking
  • Hunting (for all species, no permit or reservation required)

Not Allowed:

 

Click To See More Sites