Agaski Bluff

Agaski Bluff

by | Nov 21, 2024

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. 

SITE STEWARDS

KIM KREITINGER

AND ERIC PRESTON

EMAIL

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.

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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.

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Swenson Bluff

Swenson Bluff

by | Jul 19, 2023

Swenson Bluff Prairie

The Swenson Bluff Prairie site contains two distinct non-contiguous prairie remnants sitting high atop the bluff, with spectacular views of the farms and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church situated in the wide, flat valley below. The larger of the two parcels, known as Swenson Hill Prairie, is approximately 16 acres, including the surrounding woods.  At the top of the hill are five acres of open grassland, a large remnant representative of calcareous, dry-mesic hill prairie.  Plant species present indicate a light or non-existent grazing history, and it is most notable for the heterogeneity of its summer prairie flora.  The smaller parcel, known as Shooting Star Prairie, is approximately 3 acres in size. In addition to a huge display of its namesake plant, this small remnant is also home to the largest Wisconsin population of pale false foxglove (Agalinis skinneriana), a prairie annual listed as endangered or threatened in all states where it occurs.

SITE STEWARDS

SCOTT SAUER

EMAIL

ACCESS & DIRECTIONS

The larger parcel of this site is located 1.9 miles south of State Highway 14, and the village of Arena, on County Road H. There is no parking lot;  park in the west roadside right-of-way of County Road H (to be legal, parked vehicles need to be at least 3 feet away from the gravel shoulder). Access is by foot only starting at the TPE sign, walking along the field edge to the trail head at the edge of the wooded area.  The smaller parcel is located 0.2 miles to the south-southeast.   The hike up to either prairie is very steep.

Google Map

Description & Significance

Swenson Hill Prairie is, at five acres of open grassland, a large remnant representative of calcareous, dry-mesic hill prairie.  It is largely free of common herbaceous weeds such as white sweetclover (Melilotus alba) and wild parsnip (Pastinaca sa).  There are small clusters of compass plant (Silphium laciniatum), indicating a light or non-existent grazing history (the hillside is considerably removed from the dairy barn on the Swenson farm). It is most notable for the heterogeneity of its summer prairie flora, with leadplant, butterflyweed, and prairie coreopsis (Amorpha canescens, Asclepias tuberosa, and Coreopsis palmata) blooming in a vast, intermixed display.  Likewise, the 2014 burn revealed a rich display of prairie spring ephemerals (violets, puccoon, and violet wood sorrel among them) on a lower, more level portion of the property.  Other plants of note are tuberous Indian plantain, prairie turnip, cream Baptisia, and Hill’s thistle (Arnoglossum plantagineum, Pediomelum esculentum, Baptisia bracteate, and Cirsium Hillii). 

After extensive clearing in 2003, Shooting Star Prairie demonstrated why it received its common name.  The skirt of brush at the base of the hill had concealed a huge display of Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia).  This small remnant is also home to 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 the States where it occurs.  

Good invertebrate records from WDNR surveys in the 1990s and 2000s exist for both parcels.  Across both tracts, thirteen prairie-specialist species – those dependent on prairie remnants – have been cataloged.  On Swenson Hill Prairie, there is a collection record for the rare Kansas Prairie Leafhopper (Prairiana kansana), but that collection was not repeated after the initial collection. The WDNR lists P. kansana as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).  Shooting Star Prairie has rich sods of prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) which harbor the State-endangered Hill Prairie Shovelhead Leafhopper (Attenuipyga vanuduzeei), known from only six or seven locations in the Upper Midwest.  The State-threatened prairie specialist Net-Veined Leafhopper (Polyamia dilata is also found on Shooting Star Prairie.

SGCN, Threatened and Endangered Species on the Swenson Hill (SHP) and Shooting Star Prairies (SSP):

SPECIES COMMENTS
PLANTS
Pale False Foxglove
Agalinis skinneriana		 WI Endangered (S2)
Prairie Indian-plantain
Arnoglossum plantagineum		 WI Special Concern (S3)
Hill’s Thistle
Cirsium Hillii		 WI Threatened (S3)
Federal Species of Concern (SOC)
Prairie Turnip
Pediomelum esculentum		 WI Special Concern (S3)
INVERTEBRATES
Hill Prairie Shovelhead Leafhopper
Attenuipyga vanduzeei		 WI Endangered (S1)
Federal Species of Concern (SOC)
Net-Veined Leafhopper
Polyamia dilata		 WI Threatened (S2)
Kansas Prairie Leafhopper
Prairiana kansana		 WI Special Concern (S2)
Little Information

Usage Policies

Allowed:

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

Not Allowed:

 

Ownership History

The Prairie Enthusiasts have been active on the Swenson Bluff Prairie site with management activities and field trips since 2002. This, along with the ongoing relationship maintained with the Swenson family by volunteers Amy Staffen and Scott Sauer through the past decades, kept the protection prospects alive and led to TPE ownership on August 20, 2018.  Funding for this purchase was made possible, in part, by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

The Swenson Bluff Prairie parcels are part of a larger prairie complex with other remnants persisting on nearby hillsides and bluff tops, making this an important area for native plant diversity.  The Nature Conservancy (TNC) led protection efforts in this area beginning in the early 1990’s when TPE was still a small organization. The Nature Conservancy’s interest in this area derived primarily from the presence of the rare Agalinis skinneriana and, secondarily, from the biodiversity of the area provided by the prairie-savanna-woodland complex.

Either the Swenson Hill or nearby Drakenburg prairie were included in the description and analysis of dry-mesic prairies in John Curtis’s seminal work The Vegetation of Wisconsin (1956).  Notes within the 1990 TNC description of the sites and the St. John’s Complex suggest that Olive Thomson visited these sites in the 1950’s. (Read more about Dr. John and Olive Thomson, premier conservationists, environmental education leaders and naturalists.)

Management

In 2002, with funding provided by a US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) grant for private lands, both Swenson Hill Prairie and Shooting Start Prairie were largely cleared of invasive red cedars, as well as some planted and volunteer white pines, black cherry, buckthorn, honeysuckle, and other invasive shrubs.  In 2007, TPE volunteers burned roughly 2/3 of Swenson Hill Prairie.  Site steward Scott Sauer, along with volunteers from Quercus Land Stewardship, conducted winter-season burns on Swenson Hill Prairie in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

Current management efforts are focused on continued removal of invasive species, especially buckthorn and honeysuckle.

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