by Angie Buelow | Oct 6, 2025 | Conservation, Conservation Easements, Land Protection, Uncategorized
The meadowlark lifts from the grass as we tread across its territory on our walk toward the ominous sign proclaiming “5 Acre Lots for Sale.” Perched on
high open ground with distant views of Blue Mound and just a short commute from Madison, this site must have seemed perfect for residential development, just as it was a perfect spot for this bird to nest.
Grassland birds like meadowlarks, bobolinks, dickcissels, Henslow’s sparrows, and upland sandpipers have declined more steeply than any guild of birds in North America – down 43% – since 1970 according to the U.S. Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Even before then, these once-abundant birds and countless species of insects and other animals had already lost hundreds of millions of acres of habitat as the once vast prairies were plowed under for row-crop agriculture, grazed to dust, and otherwise left to grow to trees where fires had once regularly cleansed the land and kept it open.
Since the 1970s, further pressures drove yet steeper declines: Growing cities and their suburbs expanded outward; increasing ownership of rural second homes began to endlessly fragment the countryside; an onslaught of invasive plant species crept in to clog everywhere not burned, grazed, plowed, sprayed or mowed; the push for biofuels drove conversion of valuable grassland habitats to corn; and the rise of confinement agriculture with the corresponding loss of grazing animals on pastures, removed a critical last vestige of habitat as those animals were now fed in lots rather than left to wander and feed among the grasses, flowers, birds, and bees.
In fact, the decline of Wisconsin’s iconic traditional dairy industry has paralleled the decline in grassland birds. Where every farm once had mosaics of pastures that provided forage for cattle and surrogate habitat for birds, many thousands of family farms have been lost, and most areas now host the never-ending cycle of corn-bean rotations instead of diverse hay fields and pastures.
Fortunately, southwest Wisconsin, which used to be awash in prairie and oak savanna, still has some grasslands, many acres of which reside in what are known as grassland Bird Conservation Areas or BCAs.
Bird Conservation Areas (BCA) are identified regions of about 10,000 acres designed to support grassland birds. The goal is to have a predominantly treeless landscape with a central core area of 2,000-acres made up of connected, permanent grassland. Surrounding this core, a mix of farmland and smaller grassland patches can be found, helping create a healthy habitat for wildlife. The current designated BCAs are far from reaching the aspirational goal, but continued efforts have used the BCA model as a guiding north star.
Here in the core of the Perry-Primrose BCA, one of the four BCAs in southwest Wisconsin, where this meadowlark had nested under the “Lots for Sale” sign, at least eight bird species listed as threatened or of “special concern” can regularly be heard and seen.
Grassland BCAs provide a science-based model for protecting grassland birds, pollinators and other conservation targets within an agricultural landscape. If successfully implemented, the model can ensure enough large blocks of grassland to support area-sensitive species, like grassland birds, which don’t fare well when a landscape is too subdivided. Small parcels cause problems for area-sensitive species because they usually have brushy fence lines where edge predators like raccoons, possums, skunks and coyotes prowl. The closer a grassland bird nests to an edge, the less likely its young are to successfully survive and fledge.
Back in 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) introduced the BCA concept within a feasibility study and master plan for the Southwest Wisconsin Grassland & Stream Conservation Area (SWGSCA), with a vision of working with diverse partners to conserve and enhance functioning grassland, savanna and stream ecosystems, set within a rural landscape of working farms.
Shortly thereafter, DNR purchased two core tracts: 360 acres of grassland at the Barreltown BCA just north of Mineral Point, and 335 acres of grassland at the Perry-Primrose BCA southwest of Madison. Hopes were high to continue building out these and two other BCAs with additional protected lands, but by this time, Wisconsin’s elected leaders, led by former Governor Scott Walker, began cutting state land conservation funding year over year. Where in 2009, DNR had $32.5 million per year to purchase public lands, in 2025, the DNR has only $6 million available for land acquisition statewide.
Despite all of these challenges, and perhaps to some degree because of them, a special group of public and private organizations came together to carry on the vision of securing Southwest Wisconsin as a place with healthy grasslands, successful farms, clear streams, diverse wildlife, and people who value and enjoy this landscape. Together, the Southern Driftless Grasslands (SDG) partners (driftlessgrasslands.org) work to advance this vision of landscape-scale conservation that can secure species by mitigating the effects of habitat fragmentation.
Driftless Area Land Conservancy (DALC) acts as the fiscal agent for SDG, and we’re proud to work alongside conservation partners including Pheasants Forever, The Prairie Enthusiasts, The Nature Conservancy, American Bird Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Iowa County, Dane County, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the DNR, and others. Together, we strive to advance our mutual goals and those of our neighbors across this land, including that meadowlark.
Back in 2023, when DALC and SDG staff saw that “For Sale” sign, we realized the threat of housing in the core of the BCA was upon us, and we had to act if given the chance. Thanks to a willing seller and funding from Dane County’s Conservation Fund, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, and the Bobolink Foundation, DALC purchased 83 acres in the core of the Perry-Primrose BCA earlier this year. Our acquisition – the first conservation purchase in a BCA since 2013 – included all of those 5-acre lots, each on a prairie remnant!
Those remnants, perched high on rocky soils so poor that they escaped the plow, need substantial work to beat back the invading brush and grassland
menaces, such as crown vetch, parsnip, and sweet clover. Still, the precious nature is holding on, with pasque flowers blooming on the site this past spring, and coreopsis, leadplant, and flowering spurge gracing the summer breezes.
Beyond working with SDG partners to restore the remnants and eventually seed down the remaining cropland to grass or prairie, we’re also pressing ahead to secure other sites for the birds by using a combination of land protection and restoration tools. We invite our neighbors to reach out so we can discuss opportunities for conservation easements, fee-title sales, and opportunities for cost-shared transitions of crop ground to grass for bird-friendly grazing. We also urge landowners to remove excess “edges” by clearing fence lines between fields. When doing so, leave any oak trees, but remove the brush and undesirable trees that have grown up in recent decades. And of course, whenever possible, avoid haying grasslands during the primary nesting season, from mid-May through at least the end of July, but ideally as late as August 15.
Finally, we also ask our entire community to raise your voices in support of renewing and reestablishing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program (KNSP), which was left unfunded in Wisconsin’s biennial 2026 and 2027 budgets. Without a KNSP grant, we couldn’t have bought this land, and we won’t be able to buy additional tracts to build out the BCAs, not just for the birds, but for future generations who deserve to experience a meadowlark’s song.
by Katie Cervenka | Jul 25, 2025 | Conservation, Land Management, Land Protection
Editor’s Note
Since this story was first published, we have said goodbye to Jim Sime, who passed away on January 22, 2026, just days after his 94th birthday. Jim was a visionary conservationist, devoted steward, and generous teacher who believed deeply in protecting and sharing the Driftless Area.
Big Rock stands as one of Jim’s most cherished landscapes and a reflection of his belief that land once considered marginal could hold extraordinary ecological value. We are deeply grateful to Jim and Rose for their foresight, commitment, and generosity, and we are honored to steward Big Rock and carry forward the legacy they created.
The whole Driftless is a remarkable region, but there are especially remarkable places throughout it – and luckily, there are remarkable people who care for them. We’re thrilled to share the story of Big Rock, a remarkable place, and Jim and Rose Sime, the remarkable people who made it possible to forever protect, steward, and share this land.
The Simes’ connection to the Driftless goes back a long way, especially for Jim, who grew up around Boscobel. “We roamed all around the hills out there,” he recalls. “They all belonged to everybody.” Jim and his friends would go exploring on neighbors’ land, gathering nuts and mushrooms and playing in wild-growing pines they called their own “Up North.” His grandfather took him to the rich mesic woods of the Kickapoo River bottoms and taught him to identify plants, leading to Jim’s lifelong passion for botany.
Jim & Rose Sime. Photo by Stephanie Judge.
Rose was born in Wisconsin but grew up in California. However, after coming back for grad school in Madison, she decided to stay in the Badger State for good. “It felt homey. I felt like I belonged here.”
Both teachers, Jim and Rose met in Madison at the 1976 educators’ strike. “It’s been a good 49 years,” Rose says with a smile.
Well before meeting Rose, though, Jim had achieved another milestone: becoming a landowner. After his childhood outdoors, Jim was eager to buy land of his own in the Driftless, but it was difficult to find a farmer who was willing to sell him a parcel. Finally, in 1965, Jim found 80 acres of wooded land for sale. It was too marginal for farming, so no one was sure why he wanted it. After buying the land, Jim recalls being at a nearby bar when a local came up and asked him if he’d really paid $55 an acre for the property. Jim confirmed that he had. The man responded, “It ain’t worth 10.”
But to Jim, land was priceless. His vision was to protect the properties he bought as nature preserves for others to enjoy the same way he did, and Rose joined him in that endeavor. Together, they eventually owned five different parcels of at least 80 acres each.
“I used to tease him that he wanted to own half of Grant County,” Rose laughs.
They purchased Big Rock in 1994. According to Jim, the site’s native plants were incredible. Using a measurement called the Floristic Quality Index, developed by the Morton Arboretum in Illinois, parcels can be assessed for the uniqueness and diversity of their existing native plants and given a number that captures the ecological quality. “Anything with a value over 50 should be preserved immediately,” Jim explains. “Big Rock had a preliminary index of 68.8.”
A big rock at Big Rock. Photo by Stephanie Judge.
The phenomenal plant life at Big Rock is there in part because of the amazing variety of habitat on the 140-acre property. It’s primarily wooded, including a large pine relict – a rare ecosystem left over from the Ice Age, featuring species usually found much further north. The pine relict was sheltered from historic fire regimes by abundant large boulders, which also lend their name to the Big Rock Branch of the Blue River, winding through the property for about ¾ of a mile. In addition to the rich woodlands and trout stream, this parcel includes 38 acres of grassland that are enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, further boosting the diversity of plants, insects, and other wildlife.
“We always loved going out with people because it was exciting to see how excited they got,” Jim shares. “We took a world-renowned lichenologist out there once. He was like a kid in a candy store!”
The quality of the native species at Big Rock is also thanks to 30 years of dedicated stewardship by Jim, Rose, and their family and friends. At all their properties, they have worked diligently to combat invasive species and restore historic habitat. Everyone who’s helped out has enjoyed it, with a few exceptions – Rose remembers their young son complaining about having to drag brush while Dad had the “fun” job of running the chainsaw.
Many volunteers joined Jim and Rose at Big Rock in the spring to pull garlic mustard, a persistent invader of woodlands. It’s not an easy task, but it has a special reward: freeing spring ephemeral wildflowers to grow and bloom.
“That was the fun part about working on garlic mustard,” Rose says. “The spring ephemerals are just incredible. [The volunteers] knew they were going to get to see all kinds of beautiful things.”
Although picking a top native species is almost impossible, Jim and Rose agree that hepatica (shown on the cover of this issue) is a favorite of theirs. These early spring flowers have distinctive lobed leaves that survive the winter, and can bloom in a variety of colors, from white to pink to blue. “We used to go around and see who could find the prettiest ones,” Jim says.
Following the tradition of sharing the land that Jim grew up with, visitors have long been welcome to the Simes’ properties. Rose describes how when Covid began and social distancing was implemented, she and Jim sought refuge at their wilderness retreats – “but there was always someone already there!”
With so much love for their own land and a strong ethic of connecting people to the outdoors, it’s no surprise that Jim and Rose are longtime volunteers and members of regional conservation groups like The Nature Conservancy, The Prairie Enthusiasts, Mississippi Valley Conservancy, and of course, DALC. In 2023, they asked if we might be interested in acquiring Big Rock.
“At Big Rock, we had 30 years of absorbing the wildness,” Jim says. “It was always the plan to protect [the land] from development, to hand it off to someone who could care for it. And we want to make sure other people can continue enjoying it.”
Taking on a new nature preserve was a big decision. But thanks to the support of our incredible community, DALC’s capacity has grown substantially in recent years, and we felt confident we could accept this responsibility. In addition, Jim and Rose made a bargain sale, which enabled us to buy the land using matching funds from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. And even more – Jim and Rose also provided a substantial donation to launch DALC’s land management fund, ensuring that we’ll be able to steward Big Rock and all our nature preserves for generations to come!
“We just feel really blessed we’ve had this land and can share it with people,” Rose says.
Jim and Rose’s generosity and lifelong dedication to conservation is an inspiring example of the positive impact we can have on the land and on each other. After a quarter-century as a land trust, DALC continues to be honored by the trust and support of our community. We can’t wait for another 25 years of stories like this!
Written by Emilee Martell
DALC Communications Associate
Big Rock Overlook. Photo by Zach Pacana.
by DALC Staff | Jan 3, 2025 | Conservation, Land Management, Land Protection
January is a month for introspection and planning. If you are a gardener like me, you spend the depths of winter perusing seed catalogs dreaming of the smell of green and growing things to come. At the Driftless Area Land Conservancy, we also spend time in January planning our work in the year to come.
Including the recently announced Wintergreen project, we are actively working with 18 landowners to protect approximately 2500 acres. In addition, we are reviewing new inquiries from over 40 landowners interested in permanently protecting over 4700 acres in the Driftless Area.
Just as you consider many factors such as sunlight, soil type, productivity, and space to narrow down which varieties to grow in your garden, we consider many factors when determining which conservation opportunities to pursue each year. Some considerations that impact our planning include the size of the property, relationship to other protected lands, presence of threatened habitats and endangered species, and other unique features.
Size of the Property
Large properties can support more diversity and are at higher risk of being subdivided than smaller properties. But this doesn’t mean that small properties are ineligible for a conservation easement, especially if that smaller property has other features making it unique.
Relationship to Other Protected Lands
Connectivity makes plant and animal communities more resilient to change. For this reason, we prioritize projects that are adjacent to lands that are already protected or that could create corridors connecting protected lands to one another.
Presence of Threatened Habitats and Endangered Species
Prairies and oak savannas are some of the rarest community types in the world, and the Driftless Area is a patchwork containing many small prairie and oak savanna remnants. Protecting these remnants is of high importance in order to protect the remaining natural diversity of plants and animals. Furthermore, documented evidence of threatened, endangered, or special concern species adds impact to a conservation project.
Other Unique Features
Trout streams, wetlands, caves and rock outcroppings, and prime agricultural soils are just a few of the additional unique features we consider when prioritizing conservation projects.
Careful planning in the winter can lead to a beautiful flowering of conservation projects throughout the year, ensuring we spend our limited garden of time on those areas that will make the biggest impact on our mission: maintaining and enhancing the health, diversity and beauty of Southwest Wisconsin’s natural and agricultural landscape through permanent land protection and restoration.
Written by Shannon Roznoski, Conservation Coordinator
by DALC Staff | Aug 29, 2024 | Conservation, Land Protection, Preserves
In early August, 2024 we welcomed a brand-new Nature Preserve: Dragon Woods! This beautiful oak woodland in New Glarus is a cooperative project of DALC and the BadgerLand Foundation, which jointly co-manage the nearby Wild Oaks Preserve. We are grateful to the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and Dane County’s Conservation Fund Grant Program for making this purchase possible. Find more details about Dragon Woods in the sidebar below, and read on for former landowner Alice Berlow’s reflections on this magical place.
About Dragon Woods
- Location: Near New Glarus, off of County Road U, is less than half a mile away from Wild Oaks Preserve.
- Size: 31 acres
- Land acknowledgement: According to Native Land Digital, Dragon Woods and the surrounding land was historically inhabited by the indigenous people of the Fox, Ho-Chunk, Sauk, Kickapoo, and more.
- Highlights: This lovely oak woodland has a resilient understory of native plants with limited invasive brush – historically common in the Driftless, but a rarity today! This ecosystem supports a wide diversity of birds and insects. In an area with increasing development pressure from nearby cities and towns, Dragon Woods adds another piece to a matrix of protected land, creating a vital corridor of sustainably managed habitat and green space.
- Visitor guidelines: This is a very recent acquisition, and we are working on signage, trails, and access considerations. Please keep an eye on DALC’s website, social media, and e-news for updates. If you are interested in hearing about volunteer opportunities, please contact Fil Sanna at filsanna@yahoo.com.
Here are three things to know about Dragon Woods:
- For eons, countless sentient beings, including animals and people I love, have walked these lands. And now, countless more, like you, will be able to enjoy Dragon Woods because Driftless Area Land Conservancy (DALC) is stewarding this land according to the organization’s three pillars: conserve, care, and connect.
- Every time you tread lightly here, you will never walk the same path twice. Every being you walk with, will always experience the land in their own unique ways. Let them.
- A dragon lives here, there’s no need to fear them. This dragon is generous, compassionate, adventurous, benevolent and is as curious about you, as you are about them. If you catch a glimmer of even their shadow, consider yourself lucky. Hold that gift close and share it with someone who’ll cherish it too.
And now here are somethings to know about me:
Selling these acres into permanent conservation was my only option because active, responsible land stewardship aligns with my core values.
The land ethic I live by was instilled and informed by my parents (Paul and Emy Gartzke, may their memories be a blessing). It’s one that is based in love for the beauty of this part of Wisconsin and being able to share it inclusively with the community. Holding onto these acres as a private owner had begun to feel selfish, entitled, and short-sighted. But now, with DALC’s permanent public access, many more people can enjoy the land, and I can always return to visit and appreciate the gift that was given to me and the gift it is now for you.
For me, conserving green spaces today in the Driftless is critical because of the rapid and encroaching building development of Madison, Fitchburg, and Verona. I grew up in the area and have seen how fast farmlands, waterways, and wooded lots are being turned into developments and large-scale industrial agricultural operations.
It’s important to me that people of all ages have access to green spaces in order to have the kinds of outdoor opportunities and experiences that I had. It’s here in Dragon Woods where my younger self wandered in exploration, physical activity, wonder, awe, curiosity, and connection.
That’s still what the outdoors does for me. These are places where I can get lost, turn off my phone, take deep breaths, dream, think clearly, amble shod or barefoot over the roots, through the grasses and on snowy trails. To feel how the air smells and listen to how light plays on any given day, in any given season over time.
Even though forever conservation was the clear path for me in this land transaction, it wasn’t always easy. But with time and grace, ease and excitement grew. DALC, with its stellar professional reputation and network, secured funds to help support the purchase of Dragon Woods. I’m very grateful to Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, the Department of Natural Resources, and Dane County for their contributions. And, of course, to the board and staff at DALC, the BadgerLand Foundation, and all their collective supporters and community members who made this transfer possible, fair, and secure.
But by far, I am most grateful to my parents, who purchased this land in the 1960s and, in doing so, ended up paying it forward, as these parcels have turned out to be pivotal in DALC’s effort to create a green necklace in this area. Dragon Woods, I think, is a name worthy of such a pendant in a necklace of conservation.
And the mythical dragon of Dragon Woods? The story begins when the dragon was memorialized as a sculpture. A likeness and a gift handed down to me from my mom; they have the right to live in these woods forever, though they’re rarely, if ever, seen.
This dragon has many things to say–wisdom and stories to share about the land. About glaciers, constellations, fire, rust, footsteps, sledding, and climbing trees. Owls in hollows, mushrooms, moss and thorns, snakes in the grass, bats in roost, deer trails, lone fox, and circling red-tailed hawks. And there will be many more stories to come in many more shapes, sizes, and languages, only and all because of you and for you. That’s the true legacy of Dragon Woods.
Written by Alice Berlow (née Gartzke)
by DALC Staff | Aug 3, 2024 | Conservation, Land Protection, Preserves
Sometimes it’s easy to imagine that the best parts of nature are far away, hidden on high mountaintops or secret valleys, only reachable after a trek and a scramble. But our favorite wild places are often right in our own backyards – and having nature so close to us makes it that much easier to take the initiative to head out and care for it. That’s exactly what DALC has seen with Erickson Conservation Area.
Nestled within the village of Argyle, bordered by the high school on one side and the Pecatonica River on the other, Erickon’s 220 acres of wetland, prairie, and oak savanna has long been a fixture in the community. Volunteer Neale Tollakson says his history with the land goes back over 60 years.
“I used to come out here when I was 8, 9, 10 years old, birdwatching,” Neale describes. “The wetland, the sloughs, the river were places to go duck hunting.”
Interested in local history from a young age, Neale would also search for Native American artifacts. Nearby archeological sites like burial mounds and rock shelters show millennia of human use in these parts. Historic Argyle, an organization that Neale is a part of, is working on an updated history of the region including glacial records and information on the indigenous people of the area – stay tuned!
Neale wasn’t alone in his adventures out at Erickson. Community members would cross-country ski in winter, picnic under the shade of oak trees in the summer, and hike out along the railroad bed – the train stopped running around the 1930s. A series of farmers had rented the property, but periodic flooding made for poor crops. Neale recalls beef cattle grazing there and corn being planted in dry years, but gradually the unproductive fields were abandoned.
Then the land was purchased by Alex and Mary Erickson. Alex was an enthusiastic conservationist who planted tamaracks, swamp white oaks, and perennial shrubs to provide food for wildlife. “Seeing this land protected so that it will inspire kids and the Argyle community has always been a dream of Alex’s,” Mary shared.
That dream was realized in 2012, when Alex and Mary sold the land that would become Erickson Conservation Area to DALC in a generous bargain sale. The funding balance was made up by a grant from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program .
A significant reason DALC decided to take the plunge and own a nature preserve was due to the steadfast support of the local community. From the start, Erickson has had a dedicated crew of volunteers carrying out projects and welcoming the community to explore this Ambassador Property.
Over the past twelve years, stewardship and access projects have ticked steadily along. An AmeriCorps crew built a boardwalk through the wetland. A kiosk was designed and installed. Trails were diligently mowed. A few areas that had still been in agriculture were planted into prairie, and prescribed fire returned to the landscape.
Today, with a strong foundation of stewardship in place, restoration is progressing rapidly.
Visitors might be surprised by some of the work. Intensive forestry clearing is planned across several units of the property, which will result in the removal of many native shrubs and stands of trees.
Opening up these areas will make for much more expansive vistas for hikers and skiers to admire. But that’s not the main reason for the work. “Visual line of sight goes beyond the visitor experience,” explains Zach Pacana, DALC’s Land Management Specialist. “If you’re a bird or an insect, you can’t necessarily see beyond a wall of trees,” so reducing density will allow animals to move more freely between areas of habitat. In addition, thinning shrubs and trees will create better conditions for prescribed fire, a vital tool for suppressing invasive species and encouraging native plants.
And behind the scenes, we’re ramping up even more.
“The changes that are happening are not always something you can see,” Neale notes. “There are changes in DALC – to obtain more funding, acquire more properties, hire more people, and get more work done.”
In 2012, Erickson was our first-ever Nature Preserve and one of the biggest, most challenging projects we had ever done. It was the start of something new – something that would never have been possible without the support of an incredible community. We’re so grateful for volunteers past and present (and future!) who care for this wonderful place, and make it possible for us to protect and steward more land across the Driftless.
