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Allan Voskuil Wildlife Preserve County: Calumet
Lot size: 24.57 acres Established: 7/13/2007 |
Property story
This property, situated near the Killsnake River in the South Branch Manitowoc River Watershed and Lake Michigan Basin, contains about 7 acres of big bluestem and switchgrass prairie, a 6-acre hardwood swamp, 7-acre sedge wetlands, two constructed wildlife ponds, a creek and year-round spring. Less than one acre of the southwest corner is cropped under a verbal agreement with a neighboring farmer. Since the Voskuils bought the property in 1996, they have diligently converted the mucky soils of the cow pasture and CRP farmland to a wildlife and bird sanctuary with the additions of prairie restorations and wetland enhancements. They have documented 115 species that frequent the property including blue-wing teals, sedge wrens, green herons, great egrets, great blue herons, kingfishers and an occasional bald eagle. Vegetation includes white ash, silver maple, elm, wild grapes, red osier dogwood, marsh marigolds, and others.
As part of the upper reaches of the Manitowoc River South Branch (the largest river in the county), the property falls within a series of wetlands associated with its tributary, the Killsnake River, which provides habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl. Other open waters include the creek on the property, which is an unnamed tributary of the Killsnake River. Wetlands cover about 13.2% of the county including those that occur on this land. Maintaining this site as “conservancy” not only meets Calumet County’s land planning goals, but helps to conserve the Killsnake’s wetlands that affect water quality of the Manitowoc-Branch River (MB), a Wisconsin Land Legacy Place.
This Central Lake Michigan Coastal ecological landscape is characterized by generally flat topography with clay to silt loam soils. The soils types associated with the property are Kewaunee silt loam in the upland portion, Manawa silt loam, and Poygen clay loam in the wetland area. Regional land use is predominantly agricultural. The geological features of Calumet County play an important role in land use planning due to its fractured bedrock and karst features that affects groundwater integrity, of which the protected property has moderate susceptibility. Here, water table elevation is less than 880 feet and groundwater flows eastward towards the Killsnake River.
As part of the upper reaches of the Manitowoc River South Branch (the largest river in the county), the property falls within a series of wetlands associated with its tributary, the Killsnake River, which provides habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl. Other open waters include the creek on the property, which is an unnamed tributary of the Killsnake River. Wetlands cover about 13.2% of the county including those that occur on this land. Maintaining this site as “conservancy” not only meets Calumet County’s land planning goals, but helps to conserve the Killsnake’s wetlands that affect water quality of the Manitowoc-Branch River (MB), a Wisconsin Land Legacy Place.
This Central Lake Michigan Coastal ecological landscape is characterized by generally flat topography with clay to silt loam soils. The soils types associated with the property are Kewaunee silt loam in the upland portion, Manawa silt loam, and Poygen clay loam in the wetland area. Regional land use is predominantly agricultural. The geological features of Calumet County play an important role in land use planning due to its fractured bedrock and karst features that affects groundwater integrity, of which the protected property has moderate susceptibility. Here, water table elevation is less than 880 feet and groundwater flows eastward towards the Killsnake River.
