Landmark Conservancy preserving land in Western Wisconsin

DUNN COUNTY, Wis. (WEAU) - A more than 60-acre piece of land between Menomonie and Eau Claire was acquired by a local nonprofit organization. In December, Elk Creek Bottoms, a piece of land where Elk Creek and the Chippewa River meet was acquired by Landmark Conservancy.

Serving 20 counties in the state, Landmark Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that works to preserve land in Wisconsin.

“We do permanent land protection as our primary mission and we do that through acquiring interest in land,” Rick Remington, the interim executive director of Landmark Conservancy, said. “We buy land, we work with private landowners, we work with communities, but we also try to engage the public in getting outdoors and having positive outdoor experiences.”

Remington said Landmark Conservancy purchased Elk Creek Bottoms from the Midwest Institute of Scandinavian Culture and aims to provide this land as a place community members can enjoy.

“Our hope is to continue their legacy of stewardship of the land by continuing to maintain trails,” Remington said. “We would like to improve parking on the site and some signage to give the visitor ideas of where to hike and how long their experience might take to walk around the property, things of that nature.”

Remington said the organization looks to provide protected land to communities around the state.

“I love going up north to our national forests but I can’t do that every day or even every month throughout the year,” Remington said. “So, if I can find places close to home where I can drive five or ten or 15 minutes to have a place to walk and hike with my family, that’s a role that Landmark Conservancy tries to fill at a local level.”

Remington said the organization hopes to provide spaces where community members can enjoy their time in nature.

“I hope people are able to go out there, whether by themselves or with their family or with their friends and have a positive experience in nature,” Remington said. “I hope they gain an understanding of the important roles that habitat and nature fulfill.”

Elk Creek Bottoms is along 960th Street of County Highway H. It is near the Town of Union Conservancy, which is also land protected by Landmark Conservancy and is owned and managed by the Town of Union.

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