Elsner Conservation Easement

    County:   Sheboygan 
    Lot size:   109.6 acres  
 Established:   08/01/2005   

Property story

This property in the North Branch Milwaukee Watershed consists of wetlands, upland forest, former agricultural land, old fields, meadows, ponds, and a river corridor. It contains approximately 23 acres of wetlands with cover types including sedge meadow, arborvitae swamp, and willow and alder thicket. The upland forest contains sugar maple, white and red oak, aspen and American beech trees, which was a common site during settlement times, as well as white spruce, white pine, hickory, and birch trees. There are 74 acres currently in the DNR’s Managed Forest Land program under a 25-year contract. Approximately 1400 feet of the North Branch Milwaukee River makes up a portion of the eastern property boundary. There are three ponds on the site, one spring-fed, and several vernal ponds. The topography exhibits the rocky and gravelly soils of a glacial past with steep slopes that open into undulating meadows.