The following properties will be able to be used by Conservation Photography Tour photographers for the duration of the contest.  Please take a look and know that more information about the properties will be provided after registration.

Glacial Lakes Conservancy is a local, non-profit land trust working with landowners to preserve properties within the Lakeshore Region of Wisconsin. We currently own and manage 3 properties and hold conservation easements on 23. Each property is unique, with its own geographic features and habitats. Two properties that we are opening up for this contest are our Grasshopper Hill property and Sheboygan County’s Amsterdam Dunes.

Grasshopper Hill is a 25 acre property owned and managed by Glacial Lakes Conservancy and is a kame feature left over from when the glaciers receded from our area. Like the name suggests, this property is a pretty steep hill and was once used for grazing cattle. When standing on the eastern ridge top, you get a beautiful view of the Elkhart Lake area. The cattle were hard on the hill, removing much of the topsoil. It is currently being managed for numerous herbaceous invasive species, garlic mustard, buckthorn, dames rocket but there are plenty of others on the property that have not as of yet been addressed. A rich variety of wildlife can be found on this property, opossums, deer, turkeys, coyotes. When walking on the trail, you may meet a neighbor who is able to share with you some of their history of exploring Grasshopper Hill.

Amsterdam Dunes is located along Lake Michigan within the town of Holland. There was a fishing village named Amsterdam located here and we have been lucky enough to have partnered with Sheboygan County to preserve 333 acres of various rich and diverse habitats including 1,920 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline, upland and lowland hardwood forest, fresh wet meadow, ephemeral ponds, farmland, farmed wetland, fallow farmland and a unique, rare ridge and swale system.  This is one of the last remaining significant Lake Michigan shoreline habitat assemblages in Sheboygan County and in much of Wisconsin and Michigan that has not been developed.   It is a critical stopover for many migratory birds and home to many large and small mammals, birds, insects, and amphibians.

Ozaukee Washington Land Trust is offering two properties for the Conservation photography Tour.

Forest Beach Migratory Preserve is located along Lake Michigan in the town of Belgium, Forest Beach Migratory Preserve is 116 acres. This preserve contains a 5-acre hardwood forest with ephemeral (seasonal) ponds, open grassland and prairie, a partially wooded ravine and 5 constructed wetland ponds. The site was previously a golf course but OWLT purchased the land because the property’s location and attributes lend itself to supporting migratory birds along the Lake Michigan Flyway. Immediately upon acquisition, OWLT began stewardship activities including invasive and exotic plant control.

Today the preserve hosts a “patchwork quilt” of habitats that support all kinds of migratory birds, reptiles and mammals. An interpretive trail system invites visitors to meander through the preserve learning about the restoration efforts and the unique restored habitats.

Fellenz Woods is located in the town of Trenton, Fellenz Woods is 160 acres. This preserve contains nearly 1.5 miles of undeveloped Milwaukee River frontage, 15 acres of lowland forest, numerous natural springs and a 50-acre virgin floodplain forest. In 2002 to enhance this already gorgeous natural terrain OWLT volunteers planted 60 acres with native grasses and flowers. OWLT staff and volunteers continue to maintain and enhance the native grassland by continuing to plant grasses and flowers but are also focused on restoring the remaining open areas to native hardwood forest. This process involves tree plantings concurrent with the removal of aggressive invasive species. The forest is a valuable wildlife habitat for amphibians, forest interior birds and waterfowl.

River Revitalization Foundation, Milwaukee’s urban rivers land trust, was founded to establish a parkway for public access, walkways, recreation and education, bordering the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic Rivers; to use the rivers to revitalize surrounding neighborhoods; and to improve water quality. To date, we have protected over 800 acres of riparian corridor through acquisition and zoning, and manage these lands in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks and our Greenway Partners.

The entire Milwaukee River Greenway within Milwaukee County is open to the photographers registered in the Wisconsin Images for Conservation contest! Imagine….

You walk along the Milwaukee River on a recreational path winding six or so river miles from the city limits at Silver Spring Drive to the harbor at Lake Michigan; this river path then zigzags through Riverwest, along Brewers Hill and the Beer Line B, past Park East through downtown and the Third Ward to the lake front. The cool river water bubbles over the rocks through a protected park bringing our neighborhoods and communities together. Sheltered above by silver maple, cottonwoods and black willow, you cannot see or hear the activity of the densely developed neighborhoods nearby. What you notice instead are the deep blue spikes of blue vervain against the delicate lavender joe pye weed growing along the riverbanks. Pedestrian bridges unite east and west at North Avenue and at Locust Street, creating a series of loops for runners, hikers, dog-walkers, and commuters. Finally you reach the Riverwalk where views of downtown unfold, a contrast to the upstream wooded stretch. The greenway restores the river as nature’s gathering place too. This urban corridor is home to the Butler’s garter snake (a State protected species), the red fox, and white tailed deer. This corridor unites the river’s rich working past with its economic, recreational, and sustainable present. It is a magnificent place of beauty and refuge in the heart of Milwaukee.

You are part of a Milwaukee celebrating its sense of place; a place where fresh water is central to its identity.

Several key sites within the Milwaukee River Greenway include:

Milwaukee County Parks – Caesar’s, Gordon, Riverside, Kern, Hubbard, Lincoln, Estabrook and Meaux; RRF protected – Turtle Park, Beerline Loop trail, Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum.

Tall Pines Conservancy‘s property will be known to only registered photographers.

Waukesha County Land Conservancy (WCLC) was established in 1992 as a nonprofit conservation organization focused on protecting the environmentally-significant lands within Waukesha County. To date, WCLC has protected over 2,800 acres thanks to a highly engaged and active volunteer board of professionals and community leaders.

Hartland Marsh Preserve is a 28-acre class 1 wildlife habitat. The Village of Hartland and the Ice Age Trail Alliance own adjacent lands to the marsh, forming a total of 180 acres of high quality wetland and upland habitat. Situated along the Bark River, it forms a crucial barrier between these sensitive habitats and pollution or disturbance. WCLC and our neighbors are preserving the integrity of the river as well as the downstream lakes of Nagawicka, Nashotah, and Nemahbin, which are all AQ-1 and recognized for their statewide environmental significance.

The Hartland Marsh Preserve serves as a primary environmental corridor for wildlife of all taxa including birds, fish, and herptiles. The natural plant communities that dominate this landscape include sedge meadow, oak savanna, and emergent aquatic marsh, creating a means to which a wide array of wildlife and can benefit and the public can enjoy. Some of the unique bird species to be seen on the property include: Olive-sided and Least Flycatcher, Swainson’s and Hermit Thrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Scarlet Tanager, White-throated Sparrow, and the Eastern Wood Pewee. The trails and boardwalks are a continuation and extension of Wisconsin’s National Ice Age Trail.