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