Hauser Road Prairie

Hauser Road Prairie

by | Jul 19, 2023

Hauser Road Prairie

Located in just north of Waunakee, WI, the 45-acre Hauser Road Prairie is the largest remaining single piece of the original 100-square mile Empire Prairie that once covered much of what is now northern Dane County and southern Columbia County. 

The site’s ridge top hill has many areas of shallow soil over dolomite bedrock, and the abundance of glacially-deposited boulders prevented it from being tilled, so it was lightly grazed for 100 years until the 1990’s. Hauser Road Prairie is only 15 miles from downtown Madison, and has the unusual feature for a prairie remnant – a view of the Wisconsin state capitol from the hilltop! This is an important natural feature in a rapidly developing area.

SITE STEWARDS

RANDY HOFFMAN

608-849-4502

EMAIL

ACCESS & DIRECTIONS


Visitors are welcome. Hauser Road Prairie is located 4 miles north of Waunakee, WI on the south side of Hauser Road. From the junction of Hwys 19 and 113 in Waunakee, take Hwy 113 north 2.5 miles to Madigan Road (right turn), follow Madigan Road for 1 mile to Hauser Road, turn right. Site is 0.2 miles on the right. Park along the road well off the pavement.

Google Map

Description & Significance

A total of 148 prairie plant species have been found on site so far. Some prairie plants sensitive to grazing apparently survived in a narrow strip between the plow line and the fence or as very rare, scattered individuals in some cases.  Over the past 30 years these rarities are starting to recolonize the former pasture. They include prairie phlox, leadplant, compass plant, rosinweed, rattlesnake master, and prairie blazingstar. For more details, see this article from March 2016 Prairie Promoter.

There are also populations of two state-threatened plants, ten species of specialized leafhoppers found only on prairie remnants, as well as badgers and an array of grassland birds.

Notable Plant Species Include:

  • shooting star
  • pasqueflower (Anemone patens)
  • prairie violet (Viola pedatifida)
  • birdfoot violet (Viola pedata)
  • prairie smoke (Geum triflorum)
  • cylindrical (dwarf) blazingstar (Liatris cylindracea)
  • showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
  • stiff gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)
  • prairie gentian (Gentiana puberulenta)
  • purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea)
  • prairie gentian (Gentiana puberulenta)
  • stiff gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)
  • Hill’s Thistle (Cirsium hillii) – state-threatened
  • edible valerian (Valeriana edulis)
  • smooth white lettuce (Prenanthes alba)
  • heart-leaved golden Alexander (Zizia aptera)
  • and various goldenrods and asters

Volunteers

Volunteers are vital to the management of this prairie. Join us for a workday on Hauser Road Prairie and the other prairie remnants in the area to collect and plant seed, control weeds and brush, conduct biological monitoring, and help with other management activities. For more details, contact Randy via email.

Usage Policy

Allowed:

  • Walking
  • Bird watching
  • Hunting & trapping (all species; contact site steward)
  • Cross country skiing

Not Allowed:

  • Bicycles or vehicles
  • Pets
  • Campfires
  • Collection of seed, flowers, plants or the removal of rocks or other natural objects.

Ownership History

In July of 2014, The Prairie Enthusiasts took on the ownership, care, and management of Hauser Road Prairie.  With grants from the Wisconsin DNR Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and the Dane County Conservation Fund and a loan from The Conservation Fund (a national non-profit), TPE acquired title to this impressive big sky ridge of natural heritage.
 
The permanent protection of Hauser Road Prairie was the culmination of 22 years of effort by The Prairie Enthusiasts and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WIDNR) Natural Areas Program. In the early 1980s, the conservation community became aware that prairie was surviving in the 45-acre pasture along Hauser Road.  In 1992, TPE volunteers reached out to the new owners of the site to inform them of the treasure they had and offered advice, help and encouragement in conserving the site.  From 2000 to 2014, the Natural Areas Program leased the land and conducted several prescribed burns and some brush control. TPE also mowed sweet clover and provided other weed control measures during this time.

In 2013, the owners, Mike and Susan Zauner, decided they would like the site permanently protected. The Natural Areas program negotiated with them to buy the site and to designate it a State Natural Area, but the project was not accepted by the WI DNR administration. The Prairie Enthusiasts offered to step in and acquire the site by applying for grants from Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and the Dane County Conservation Fund, which covered three-quarters of the acquisition expenses. TPE was able to pay the remainder thanks to generous donations from TPE members from across the
organization. 

Management

With a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Private Lands Program and the efforts of site steward Randy Hoffman and other volunteers, great progress has been made at Hauser Road Prairie removing trees and brush from the preserve.

The years of grazing took its toll on the composition of the prairie vegetation, eliminating some species, reducing others and allowing non-native grasses to invade, especially in the deeper soils areas. However, much of the original prairie ecosystem survived and has been making a good recovery since the cessation of grazing and the implementation of an occasional prescribed burn from 2000 to 2013.

Fortunately, there are several high-quality small prairie remnants within a few miles of the preserve harboring the full range of prairie species native to the area. Our management goal for Hauser Road Prairie is to bring seed from those remnants to the preserve to accelerate its recovery and to reintroduce lost species such as wood lily, wood betony and rough white lettuce.  With burning and inter-seeding, we hope to bring back most, if not all, of the site’s original diverse prairie plant community over the next 30 years.

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Erbe Grassland

Erbe Grassland

by | Jul 19, 2023

Erbe Grassland

Erbe Grassland is a 140-acre preserve of The Prairie Enthusiasts, located in the Driftless Area of western Dane, Co, WI. The preserve is being managed primarily as prairie, along with some limited oak savanna, for a wide range of rare and declining species dependent upon such habitat. 

The site includes a blend of original remnant prairie and savanna sod and former cropland being restored back to prairie. It also has three springs and two small cold-water streams. It is managed by the Empire-Sauk Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts.  The site is within the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area, a cooperative conservation effort of federal, state, county, and private conservation groups.   

Erbe Grassland has critical habitat, of local and state conservation significance, for many rare and declining species.  Over 100 native prairie plant species are present, including populations of the State Threatened wooly milkweed (Asclepias lanuginosa) and the Sate Special Concern prairie turnip (Pediomelum esculentum).  The State Endangered regal fritillary butterfly is present, along with other uncommon prairie-dependent insects. Lastly, the preserve provides critical nesting and foraging habitat for 9 grassland/savanna bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN); Bell’s vireo (Threatened), upland sandpiper (Threatened), Henslow’s sparrow (Threatened), bobolink, grasshopper sparrow, short-eared owl, dickcissel, eastern meadowlark, and red-headed woodpecker.   

Although grants have been assisting the restoration and management work at Erbe Grassland, volunteers have been critical to the effort and there is still much to accomplish.  If you wish to help, please contact the Empire-Sauk Chapter. 

SITE STEWARDS

ERIK GOPLIN

EMAIL

ACCESS & DIRECTIONS


The site is on Erbe Road in the Town of Blue Mounds in Dane County (see map below). There is a parking lot and kiosk on Ed Goplin’s land, with a mowed trail that gets visitors up to the Prairie Enthusiasts property. Ed has granted access across his land, which we help him manage.

Google Map

Usage Policy

Allowed:

  • Hunting (no permit or reservation required)

Not Allowed:

Ownership History

Erbe Grasslands was established in 2007 with an initial 64-acre parcel acquired from the Losenegger family.  In 2012 and 2022, 36-acre and 40-acre parcels were added; acquired from the Ihm and Goplin families respectively. Grants to TPE from the WI State Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund and the Dane County Conservation Fund helped make this possible. 

Management

The primary management goal for Erbe Grassland is to recover and maintain as much of the site’s original prairie/savanna ecosystem as is feasible. Including habitat for grassland birds and other native animal species associated with treeless grassland ecosystems.

At time of acquisition, the original 64-acre parcel consisted of 30 acres of treeless pasture (most of which was unplowed remnant prairie sod), 26 acres of active cropland, 5 acres of brush pasture, and a 3 acre walnut grove. The walnuts were likely planted in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crew stationed in Mt. Horeb.  They also built a retention dam on the property, that is still present today.  Because a goal for the property is to provide critical habitat for grassland birds, the walnuts and much of the brush were removed in the winter of 2008-2009. The work was funded by the Wisconsin DNR Pheasant Stamp and Landowner Incentive Programs, along with funds from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Although much of the original pasture was unplowed, past grazing disturbance was so severe that relatively little of the original native prairie vegetation remained. A survey at the time of acquisition revealed only 34 native prairie species in low abundance. Additional prairie vegetation has since been seeded into the pasture sod and all the cropland has been planted to prairie.  The prairie is well on its way to recovery. However, it will likely take a century or more before it is fully recovered to is original state.

The 2012 36-acre addition consisted of 6 acres of cropland and 30 acres of an unplowed blend of degraded remnant prairie and overgrown oak savanna. The overgrown savanna and prairie are in the process of being restored, trees and brush have been removed, and the cropland has been planted to prairie.  Grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and WI DNR Turkey Stamp Fund have assisted this work.

The 2022 40-acre addition consisted of high-quality remnant prairie, former cropland planted to prairie, and pastureland being restored to prairie.  TPE had been working with the landowner on the management and restoration of this parcel for 20 years.

In 2025, 77 acres of the Uren Trust farm were added to Erbe Grassland. The land was mostly farmland, but is being restored to prairie in the hopes of expanding the habitat for rare species like the State Endangered regal fritillary butterfly. 

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