The Door County Land Trust has completed its largest-ever addition to the Kellner Fen Natural Area, expanding one of the peninsula’s most ecologically significant wetlands with help from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
The 149-acre purchase, made earlier this year in a bargain sale from Dennis and Susan Garrity, grew the protected area to 515 acres. Located north of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, the land preserves a globally important ridge-and-swale landscape and rare species habitat, including the federally endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly. The Garritys had owned the property for 25 years and never wanted it developed, so they sold below market value, and the new tract will carry their name.
“The Land Trust has been interested in this property for over 15 years due to its incredible ecological significance,” Door County Land Trust executive director Emily Wood told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “These ancient dunes tell the story of Lake Michigan’s past, and the wetlands are home to rare orchids, carnivorous plants and a remarkable diversity of life. These are features we simply can’t replace once they’re lost.”
As the Peninsula Pulse noted, this is likely Door County Land Trust’s last Knowles-Nelson project under the current funding cycle, which expires June 30th. Acquisitions like this are exactly what Knowles-Nelson makes possible. The Stewardship Program helps land trusts, conservation groups, local governments, and the DNR purchase and protect land that could otherwise be lost to development, and since 1989, it has funded conservation projects in all 72 Wisconsin counties. Without a reauthorization plan in place, communities across the state will lose a key source of funding for land and water protection.
Featured image by Emily Wood/Door County Land Trust
