• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

		The Nature Conservancy About The Nature Conservancy Leadership Financials Governance Accountability Our History Conservancy Values How We Work Conservation Science Conservation Strategy Success Stories Save of the Week Contact Us

Protecting Waters and Old-growth Forests in Northern Wisconsin

December 6, 2005

Through a combination of a multi-million dollar state grant and major financial support from private individuals, the Conservancy has launched an effort that will protect close to 1,000 acres in the headwaters of two major rivers, the Presque Isle and Ontonogan, in northeast Wisconsin.

Known as the Tenderfoot Forest Reserve, the property contains nearly four miles of undeveloped lakeshore on three lakes and 500 acres of old-growth hemlock-hardwood forest. The old-growth forest is the largest remaining privately owned remnant of the magnificent forests that once covered most of the northern part of the state.

Tenderfoot is a key parcel within the Border Lakes Area, a 24,000-acre forested landscape that comprises the headwaters of the Presque Isle and Ontonogan Rivers, which flow to Lake Superior. The Tenderfoot property contributes surface water and ground water to both rivers, whose watersheds cover more than 1.25 million acres in Wisconsin and Michigan.

“Tenderfoot is a critical link in a network of public and private forest lands that make up the Border Lakes Area of northeast Wisconsin,” said Mary Jean Huston, director of The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin. “Keeping the forests in this region intact and managed in a sustainable way is important for wildlife and for protecting water quality in major streams that drain into the Great Lakes.”

The Tenderfoot project has attracted a $2.1 million grant from Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, an innovative, public-private partnership program that preserves valuable natural areas and wildlife habitat, protects water quality and fisheries, and expands opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The Conservancy is purchasing the property from the Rahr family, who have owned and cared for Tenderfoot for 120 years. The Rahrs have donated more than $1 million of the value of the land to the Conservancy in order to ensure that the property remains in its natural state for generations to come. They are also giving the Conservancy 12 months, interest free, to raise the additional funds needed to complete the deal.

The Conservancy will raise $2.4 million in private funds to match the Stewardship Fund grant and to continue conservation work in the Border Lakes Area. Private individuals have already stepped forward to make gifts to the project totaling $1.1 million.

The Border Lakes Area links the one-million-acre Ottawa National Forest in Michigan with the 220,000-acre Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest in Wisconsin. As a link between these protected areas, the Border Lakes Area serves as a travel corridor for wide-ranging animals including timber wolves and moose.

The Conservancy has previously protected another 2,189 acres in the Border Lakes Area at the Catherine Wolter Wilderness Area and holds an easement on an additional 502 acres.

For More Information:

• Where We Work: The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin
  Working with partners, local communities, and people like you, The Nature Conservancy has protected hundreds of thousands of acres of critical natural area in the midwest and beyond.
• Places We Protect: Tenderfoot Forest Reserve
  The Nature Conservancy has launched an ambitious effort to protect 971 acres in the Border Lakes area of northeast Wisconsin.
• Places We Protect: Border Lakes
  The Border Lakes Area is a 24,000+ acre expanse of forests, wetlands, lakes, and streams along the northeastern edge of Wisconsin.
• Press Release: $1 Million Gift to Protect Old Growth Forest and Wild Lakes in Northern Wisconsin
  The Nature Conservancy announced that it received a pledge of $1 million from for conservation of the Tenderfoot Forest Reserve in northern Wisconsin. This gift is one of the largest private donations for land and water conservation in state history.
• How You Can Help: Get Involved in the Conservation of the Tenderfoot
  Your contribution to this project will protect Northern Wisconsin's forests and wild lakes -- an enduring legacy we can leave our children and grandchildren in this rapidly changing world.
• Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
  Read more about The Nature Conservancy's work to save the last great places on Earth.