The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has given its approval for a nearly 18-hundred-acre working forest conservation easement purchase in Langlade County.
The bulk of the land is owned by Braun Woodlands, and it would be called the Braun Woodlands Forest Legacy Conservation Easement.
Kaylin Helm, Real Estate Section Manager for the Wisconsin DNR, says the property is nearly 18-hundred acres in two tracts.
The eastern tract will be open to the public, and is 1,478 acres.
“This tract contains three miles of Ice Age National Scenic Trail, so with this easement acquisition, the trail would be protected as its current existence is only through a handshake agreement,” said Helm. “This easement acquisition will protect and preserve the integrity of these important northern forest lands and prevent forest fragmentation.”
The Ice Age Trail Alliance is providing $330-thousand dollars for the purchase.
The rest of the $1.6-million-dollar easement purchase would be funded by the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and a federal forest legacy grant. Although the Stewardship program has ended, the easement was under a purchase contract before that happened.
“The purpose of our Forest Legacy Program is to protect environmentally important forest lands from conversion to non-forest use and to keep working forests working,’ said Ron Gropp, the DNR’s Forest Legacy Program Coordinator.“We also look for, again, the three big ones here, forest management, recreation and public access. We want to make sure that traditional forest management practices continue on these properties along with public access as much as we possibly can.”
The Town of Polar passed a resolution in support of the easement purchase.
The Natural Resources Board gave it’s approval at its September meeting.
