2013
TWENTY THIRTEEN
ANNUAL REPORT
2013 ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Friends,
In 2013, our 25th year, we completed five projects which added
379 acres to the 31,234 acres that we had already conserved
in our region. We anticipate maintaining this momentum in
2014. Thus far the board has approved six new projects with
a few more under consideration. The continuing support of
hundreds of members throughout our service area has been
an inspiration to our staff and board, and a testament to the
commitment to conservation in the region.
As you know, a key element of the work of our land trust is
the promise to maintain the conservation values that were
identified for protection in the original conservation easement
or land acquisition. Making good on this promise requires an
annual visit to every property — the nine that we own, plus the
176 with easements that we hold. In addition we must contend
with occasional legal issues, questions from new owners,
interpretations for existing owners, and the management of
the properties owned by the trust.
The earnings from our Stewardship & Defense Fund help
defray these expenses. The principal of the fund is derived
primarily from contributions from our easement landowners
as well as planned gifts. In 2013, we experienced the largest
one-year growth of this fund in our history. This was due to
a gift of $787,000 from the estate of Mrs. Virginia Townley
of Green Lake, Wisconsin. The yearly earnings from this
fund provides much needed stability for carrying out the inperpetuity elements of our work.
In an era of diminished resources, we must strive to see beyond
the somewhat artificial lines drawn between organizations
with similar purposes. As an example, we joined forces with
the Bayfield Regional Conservancy (BRC) to work on two
projects in the Lake Superior basin. By combining staff efforts,
plus the utilization of our US Fish & Wildlife south shore
streams funding, we were able to move three parcels toward
conservation in a timely fashion. This will produce a benefit for
the landowners, the organizations, and, of course, the protected
habitat. We are believers in the power of collaboration with a
focus on results.
It has been a good year. We have gained greater financial
stability, have an increasing pace of land protection projects,
and are continuing our mission of protecting the natural
heritage of western Wisconsin. To all of our 2013 supporters,
thank you for your help. We hope you are able to keep
supporting conservation in our region. There is much more to
do and an interesting road ahead!
Bob Fitzwilliam
Executive Director
West Wisconsin Land Trust
ON THE COVER:
Showy Lady’s Slipper, Nemadji River Conservation Project, Douglas County
Pine Creek restoration, Pierce County
Conserved St. Croix River woodlands, St. Croix County
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Judy Aldrian | Secretary
Birchwood, WI Larry Jost
Alma, WI
Bruce Moss
Spooner, WI
A Special Thanks.
Edward (Ned) Bixby
Bloomington, MN
Tish Keahna
Hayward, WI
Bill Rogers | Treasurer
Superior, WI
At the end of 2013 we bid a fond
John Goetz
Minneapolis, MN
Laura Kracum | President
Chicago, IL
Peter Vaughan | Vice President
Minneapolis, MN
farewell to long time board member
John Goetz. John joined the board in
2002 and was an invaluable resource for
Steve Yanisch
Minneapolis, MN
over a decade. He served as president for
STAFF
several years and helped guide the land
Bob Fitzwilliam
Executive Director
Jay Peterson
Development Director
Jane Anklam
Northwoods Land Protection Manager
Rick Remington
Conservation Director
Michelle Copley
Office Manager
Miranda Vandenberg
Conservation Associate
trust through a host of challenges. John
remains an avid conservationist and we
look forward to his continued friendship.
Britta Kelly
Conservation Coordinator
2013 FINANCIALS
2013 OPERATING REVENUE
BALANCE SHEET:
Assets
Cash and Investments: Stewardship and Defense Fund Accounts Receivable: Furniture and Equipment:
Land Held for Conservation: Total Assets: 20132012
$120,194
$95,062
$880,734
$51,181
$50,251
$34,739
$3,581
$4,757
$3,340,900
$3,079,200
$4,395,660
$3,264,939
Liabilities and Net Assets:
Liabilities: Total Net Assets:
Total Liabilities and Net Assets: $128,412
$4,267,248
$4,395,660
$119,724
$3,145,215
$3,264,939
West Wisconsin Land Trust’s fiscal year is from January 1 to December 31. This financial
summary is based on an audit by the accounting firm, Wegner, LLP, of Madison, WI.
Please contact the West Wisconsin Land Trust office if you would like a copy of the
complete audit report.
Total: $374,364
$13,024
$31,339
$62,257
2013 EXPENSES
Total: $362,733
$52,178
$267,744
❚ Individuals
❚ Foundation Grants
❚ Government Grants
❚ Corps., Orgs., & Misc
$78,092
$232,463
❚ Program Services
❚ Management and General:
❚ Fundraising
2013
CONSERVATION
PROJECTS
[
]
“That land is a community is the basic
concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved
and respected is an extension of ethics.”
~Aldo Leopold
Buffalo County farm conserved in 2000
Century Farm | Jackson County
Gull Lake | Washburn County
This beautiful 240-acre farm has been in the
same family for 110 years. The conservation
easement protects the property from division,
further development, mineral extraction, or
any alteration of the landscape, which would
damage its conservation values. The project will
also forever protect the unique oak woodland on
the property, an imperiled savanna community
in Wisconsin. South-facing meadows also
contain native prairie remnants harboring native
grasses and plants such as wild lupine.
A 37-acre addition to a classic Northwoods
project which began in 2005. The conservation
easement now protects 3,500 feet of shoreline
on Gull Lake at its outlet at Gull Creek, a tributary
to the Namekagon National Scenic River. The
entire shoreline on the property is considered
a Sensitive Area by the Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources due to its fish spawning,
nursery, and forage habitat as well the highly
diverse aquatic plant community.
Photo: Mike O’Connor
Northern Woodlands | Burnett County
Pine Barrens | Douglas County
Potato Lake | Rusk County
This 40-acre property was the last-remaining
parcel of a farm created 125 years ago by the
owner’s great grandfather. The land surrounding
the property today is no longer farmland. It now
consists of lake homes, recreational forestland
and diverse wetland communities. The
forested property contains an intact northern
sedge meadow further enhancing its habitat
values. The question for the family was how
to permanently preserve this remnant of the
home place where they had hiked and hunted
for many years and where their ancestors had
first settled. The land became a gift to the land
trust for eventual sale subject to a conservation
easement, which prevents any development
and ensures that the land will remain wildlife
habitat as they remember.
This 50-acre barrens and wetland project is
adjacent to the Douglas County Wildlife Area.
Barrens and similar ecological communities are
an increasingly rare type of landscape, which is
considered to be of global significance. Typical
pine barrens vegetation consists of jack pine,
oak, native grasses, and small shrubs living
amidst dry sandy soils and can harbor a number
of rare species such as the Kirtland’s warbler,
upland sandpiper, northern prairie skink, and
the Franklin’s ground squirrel.
The Musky Bay project protects over 800 feet
of shoreline on this popular Northwoods
walleye and muskellunge lake. Undeveloped
riparian areas on large northern lakes contain
important shoreline habitat critical for wildlife
and fish, and conducive to maintaining the
aesthetic values sought after by residents and
sportsmen. The forested 10-acre property was
generously donated to the land trust with the
understanding that it would be sold subject
to a conservation easement protecting the
lakeshore and sensitive wetlands.
[ INDIVIDUALS ]
$1-$59
Anonymous (3)
Jon and Candi Aldrian
Kurt and Mary Annen
Lois Balkenol
Heather Barringer
Jason Barringer
Barry Barringer
John and Patty Bauer
Frederick Blake
Dennis and Marie Bolstad
Win Bowron II
Curtis Brevold
Cecil and Cleo Brighton
Mary Brill and Paul Scott
Allan Brown
Kurt Buetow and Jody Slocum
Thomas and Julie Cahoy
Tom and Kathy Cannon
Kathleen Carlyle
Bill and Maria Charlesworth
Erica and Scott Charlesworth-Seiler
Peter and Erica Christman
Deb Congdon
David Cook
Stewart Corn and Ellen Ferrari
Richard Damro
Jon and Lori Day
Robert and Michelle Delaune
Greg Dietl
Jim and Pat Eggert
Judith Emmett
Gerald and Leslie Fahl
Marilyn and Paul Felber
Richard and Darla Fischer
Robert Fitzwilliam and
Margaret Stienecker
Louanne Gaalaas
Jack and Judy Ganzemiller
Norman and Audrey Garlie
Ed Gibson
Susan and Pinckney Hall
Robert and Judith Hammond
Walt Handschin
Virginia Hansis
David and Carol Hardin
Robert and Helen Harold
David Haugle and Jean Peterson
Gordon and Cora Ann Haugli
Steven and Kate Hearth
Richard and Joan Heineman
Paul Hoff
2013 DONORS
Kathy Hunter
Katherine Jacobson and Leon Fleisher
D. Kent and Janice Johnson
Sherwood Johnston
Terri Karis
Audrey Kelly
Robert and Michelle Kiner
James and Alice Kissinger
John and Julianne Koll
Karin Kozie and Bill Route
Raymond and Irene Krolak
Gregg Kroll
John and Irene Krumm
Stuart Lancer
David Linderud
Judith Lively and Curt Stine
Victor and Jan Lothe
Joe and Barbara Lucey
Theodore and Lisa Ludwig
Rob and Wendy MacDougall
Ted and Renate Mackmiller
Richard Magyar and Lyria Palas
Bruce McBeath and Dianne Aisenbrey
James and Karen McCrady
Richard and Tamara McGehee
Joel Merritt
Roberta Meyer
Joseph and Joyce Motto
John and Evalyn Nerbonne
Peter Newman
Joan Norgaard and Ann Smereczniak
Steven and Peggy Polacek
Doris Preus
Marian Quinn
Timothy Remus and Mary Lanz
Jeanette and Arnold Richter
Leon Salander
Lana Schaffer
Eugene Scheffler
David Scheie
James and Sharon Schwarz
Sandra Seilheimer
Mary and Timothy Shepardson
James and Christine Simon
Dean Smith
Katherine Stahl and Leon Boland
Frederick and Arlene Stecher
Jeffrey and Kathryn Stonehouse
Helen Sullinger
Molly and Don Tomczak
Daniel Veillet
Paul Wagner and Cindy Schlosser
Anne Welch-Dayap and Simon Dayap
Connie and Marvin Wenzel
Thomas and Janice Wepfer
Gregg and Marie-Ann Westigard
Richard Otto Wiegand
Marie Young
$60-$119
Anonymous (2)
Charles and Carol Abrams
Donald and Loree Austrum
John and Stephanie Barber
William and Shirley Baxter
Barbara and Bruce Bayley
Dan and Kathy Behnke
Harold and Barbara Bend
Roderick Cameron
Nancy and Matthew Coffey
Dale and Linda Dahlke
John Dixon
Wayne Federer and Virginia Gaynor
Gary and Valerie Gaeth
John Gildseth
Wendy Hanneman
Mark and Anne-Marie Hein
Ann Heywood
Alan Hines
Bill Hogseth and Crystal Halvorson
Gareth and Mary Pat Horvath
Lucinda Hruska-Claeys
Krista James
Mark and Barbara Johnson
Sally Johnson and Kay Kramer
Gary and Janice Johnson
Robert and Monica Kaner
Linda Keefe and Orville Walker
Allan Klein
Joseph and Bonni Knight
Dale Langer
Alan and Lori Lohman
Herb and Corrine Lundberg
Stephen and Della Mackiewicz
Dan and Jean Martensen
Jerome and Hope McAllister
Mac McKichan
Daniel and Karen Mittag
Earl and Eleanor Munson
Peter Nied and Marcie Garfield Nied
Eugene and Olive Nordby
Frederick and Ellen Ochs
Edward Parsonage and Christine Eastman
Thomas and Mary Richards
Ellen and Stanley King
James and Jane Roeber
Tim Salwey and JoAnn White
Tom and Jeanne Schnack
Margaret and Armond Schneider
John Schrock and Mary Berube
Kevin and Beverly Stelljes
Bill and Jennie Stewart
Wayne Stockman
Steven Thaler
Barbara and Hank Thomas
Timothy and Susan Wallace
Daryl and Margaret Wood
William Cundiff
Marion and Warren Lang
Karla Larsen and Kenneth Bearman
Alan Miller
John and Yvette Oldendorf
Al and Eileen Aldrian
David Aldrian
Dan Bergeron
Jon Bergquist
Zayn and Dagny Bilkadi
Robert and Jacki Bradham
David and Sally Brew
Charlotte Brooker and Gene Mammenga
James and Mary Jo Campbell
David and Linda Cotts
Robert and Kimberly Cropp
Kathleen Daniels
Tim Dickinson and Terri Tacheny
Larry and Sandra Feiler
Dennis and Noreen Gilberts
Dorothy Greig
Michael and Angela Hart
Paul and Judy Helgeson
Susan and Benny Heuiser
Paul Horvath II and Megan Bayrd
Dorothy Jeffries and Laurence Bilek
Tish Keahna
Martin and Esther Kellogg
Mary and John Ketzler
Judith Klingsick
Mike and Becky Kneer
Gilbert and Judith Krohn
Christopher and Jana Lind
Bill and Claudia Manning
Daniel Marchand and Michelle Roesler
Catherine Mayer
Joanne Mellema and Richard Swanson
Teresa Morrow and Dale Pippin
Delano Nelson
Timothy Nixon
Paul Peltier
Jane Prohaska and William Donohue
Glenn Reynolds and Karen Havholm
Dora Marie Rohl
Barbara Rohl
Peter Rothe and Gail Amundson
Elaine Sandin
Raymond Sandin
Pamela Saunders
Marlo and Constance Schield
Richard Smith and Pat McKearn
Julie Stafford
Daniel and Sandra Szymanski
Paul Weium
Daniel and Carol Wilcox
Richard and Anita Wilson
David and Margo Zentner
William and Mary Zukowski
$120-$239
Anonymous (3)
Dale and Cynthia Anderson
Mark and Keelin Bixby
Austin D. and Ann Bryan
Ellen Carlson
Jay Esch and Lynn Huiskamp-Esch
Anita Fletcher
Gary and Judy Gaier
Dennis and Mary Jane Grebner
Kristen and Douglas Griep
Rudolf Habben
William and Patricia Henke
Murray and Madonna Hostetter
Marvin Lansing
Robert and Spring Loberg
Gene and Arlene Lopas
Patrick and Cathleen McCoy
Lisa Mink
Roy Ostenso and Celene Frey
Jay and Kathleen Peterson
Harvey and Jeanne Radke
Kathryn Ruggles and John Thomas
James Rustad
James Sperstad
Margaret Zappen and Patrick Caffrey
Richard and Janine Zehring
John and Lynda Kern
David and Amy Anderson
Judy Bechard
Charles and Laura Lefkofsky
David and Judy Weiss
Andrew and Agnes Welsch
Richard Ziemann
2013 DONORS
Don Olson
Dane and Debra Rasmussen
Rick and Heather Remington
J. Timothy Ritchie
Phillip and Randi Steans
Anthony Waldera
Steven and Karen Wolgamot
$240-$499
Curt Rohland Circle
Pearl Pohl Circle
Legacy Gifts
Anonymous (2)
Suzanne Blue
John and Betsy Darrah
Ariel Dickerman
Pauline Weium
Donald and Carol Buckman
Robert and Judith Gillette
Lisa and Dave Peters
Douglas Scott Dumas
Peter Vaughan and Cathy Anson
Debbie Cervenka
Joseph R. Kingman III
Donald Salisbury and Diane Morehouse
Stephen Yanisch
Mary Vaughan
Charles and Judy Aldrian
John Goetz
Walter and Paula Richey
Don and Gina Elliott
Thomas and Nancy Chisholm
John and Sherry Cole
Frederick and Edith Dalleska
Dan Guenthner and
Margaret Pennings
Richard and Carrie Higgins
Mike and Marcia O’Connor
Anonymous (2)
Thomas and Mikki Barber
Thomas and Brenda Donohue
Dorothy and Ralph Gooding
Elisabeth Mason
Gail Baldwin and Bruce Jessen
Jon and Metta Belisle
Robert Koehler
Richard and Amalia Lind
Michael Madigan and Kay Erickson
Jerry Martin
Daniel Nelson
William Smethurst
Ludlow Smethurst
A. Peter Aldrian
William and Jean Damm
Warren Hall
James and Virginia Kuehl
Terry Devitt and
Michael Hoffman Family Fund
of The Saint Paul Foundation
[ GIVING CIRCLES ]
[$500 - $999]
Gaylord Nelson Circle
[$1,000 - $1,999]
David and Susan Carlsen
Michael and Karen Keil
Kent and Jeanette Makela
Dobson and Jane West
Young Family Fund at Eau Claire
Community Foundation
W. Daniel and Sonja Flory
Thomas and Peggy Wolner
Bruce and Nora Moss
Mary Gale
Larry and Anne Jost
The David S. Paddock Charitable
Remainder Unitrust
[$2,000 - $4,999]
John Muir Circle
[$5,000 - $9,999]
John March and Sallie Saunders March
Roger and Lorna Wilson
Roberta and Rick Freitag
Nancy Watenphul
The Gregory S. and Barbara J. Miller
Charitable Lead Trust with Duluth- Superior Area Community Foundation
Aldo Leopold Circle
[$10,000 and above]
John and Leslea Caswell
Laura and Rich Kracum
William and Lynne Rogers
EcoTrust
Ned and Marlene Bixby
Mrs. Virginia Townley
Mrs. Virginia Townley
Gifts of Land or
Conservation Easement
Douglas and Margel Johnson
Jim Carter and Victoria Miller
Donald and Carol Buckman
Nancy Watenphul
Roger and Lorna Wilson
Legacy Circle Members
George and Lydia Rutkowski
Charles and Judy Aldrian
Marjean Hoeft and Lisa Vecoli
Mary Brill and Paul Scott
Ned and Marlene Bixby
Steven Delapp
John Rapos
Richard Damro
Claudia Place
Ellen Nelson
[ FOUNDATIONS, ORGANIZATIONS, CORPORATIONS ]
Anonymous
American Transmission Company LLC
Calumet Superior, LLC
Chevron Humankind Matching
Gift Program
Downsville Sportsmans Club
Biodiversity Fund at the DuluthSuperior Area Community Foundation
Eau Galle Rush River Sportsmans Club
Douglas County
Enbridge Energy
Four Cedars Foundation, Inc.
Gathering Waters Conservancy
Herbert H. Kohl Charities, Inc.
John C. Bock Foundation
Love Lake Association, Inc.
The McKnight Foundation
Nelson, Tietz & Hoye, Inc.
Peoples State Bank
The St. Paul Foundation
Thrivent Financial For Lutherans
Foundation
Unitarian Society of Menomonie
We Energies Foundation
WESTconsin Credit Union
The Nature Conservancy
Land Trust Alliance
Cedar Corporation
Lommen Abdo Law Firm
US Fish and Wildlife Service
St. Croix River Association
Na Pali Holdings, LLC
The St. Croix Valley Foundation
CREATING A LEGACY OF STEWARDSHIP
Mrs. Townley’s bequest to our Stewardship & Defense
endowment will serve the land that she loved for the
foreseeable future. She was an ardent conservationist and
especially loved the north woods of Wisconsin. These values
had their roots in her close relationship with her grandfather,
Thomas Lewis Latane Temple. Beginning with a mill and a few
hundred acres, Mr. Temple’s Southern Pine Lumber Company
eventually became one of the largest wood products firms in
Texas. Reforestation was hardly a common practice in the late
1800’s. However, Mr. Temple continued to plant a tree for each
one harvested and left select trees for seed bearing. He believed
this was the only way to have a sustainable lumber business.
In 1941, Virginia and her family were living in Rockford, Illinois
and decided to buy a cabin on the Brule River in far northwestern
Wisconsin. A few years later Virginia’s mother came up from
Texas to visit the cabin and was thrilled by the pristine river and
the cool, clean northern air. It wasn’t long after that visit that she
also became a Brule River landowner.
Virginia’s son Bill Rogers and his brothers grew up spending
summers on the Brule among these family retreats. Bill, a West
Wisconsin Land Trust board member, continues to hold the
strong land ethic that has come down through the generations
from his great-grandfather Lewis Temple. He views his mother’s
gift to the trust as further affirmation of his family’s commitment
to conservation and is delighted that this commitment will
live on in the lands that are permanently conserved by West
Wisconsin Land Trust.
Douglas County, south shore of Lake Superior
500 East Main Street, Suite 307 | Menomonie, WI 54751
Phone: 715-235-8850
©2014 West Wisconsin Land Trust
| www.wwlt.org