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)