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Wm F. Christel Memorial Woods and Wetlands
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Property story
The former owners, Edward and Carole (Christel) Holsen, approached Glacial Lakes Conservancy in 2009 with an offer to donate the land to GLC for conservation. Carole’s grandfather, William F. Christel, was an original resident of Valders. Known as “Mr. Valders” for starting Wisconsin’s first Ford dealership, creating a number of local businesses and holding 13 U.S. patents, he left a family legacy of 190 descendants when he passed away in 1952. Consisting mostly of wooded wetlands, the land was not buildable; being within the Village of Valders, it could not be hunted or used for snowmobiling. The Holsens had treasured the land as wildlife habitat, and particularly loved the large oak trees along the upland portion of the site behind their house. They wanted to protect the trees from clear cutting, but agreed to limited forest management to maintain healthy woods. Ed Holsen quoted Will Rodgers, “Take care of this land, they aren’t making any more of it.”
Christel Woods is a haven for wildlife and migratory birds. The Site’s first value is its natural state as a wet woodland. It photosynthesizes, cycles nutrients, accommodates hydrology, and has a stable structure of soils, vegetation and animal inhabitants. It cycles seasonally through the wet time of year when it is flooded and the drier time of year when it recharges the stream and water table. The woodland structure is complete—a diverse herbaceous understory, plentiful shrubs and saplings, and a canopy of mature trees. During the wet season, the site offers breeding habitat for amphibians and insects. In the spring, migrating birds use the woods as a stopover site and wildflowers proliferate. Dead and fallen trees provide habitat for cavity nesters, insects, and amphibians.
Walking, bird-watching and enjoyment of nature are appropriate uses for the property. There are some rudimentary trails within the property, none connecting to any system beyond the property boundaries. Access onto the property is limited to the frontage along Christel Street, which is seasonally wet. In accordance with Glacial Lakes Conservancy’s mission, Christel Woods will be managed to preserve natural open space for plant and animal habitat, resource education and limited passive recreation for the public. GLC intends to protect the natural ecological values of Christel Woods by allowing natural processes to continue, limiting use to that which is compatible with natural area designation, restoring disturbed habitats while retaining needed paths and preventing the establishment of invasive species on site.
Personal Perspective
by Communications Intern Marian Cramer
Entering Christel woods is like entering a hidden sanctuary of wildlife. The small plot of land looks unsuspecting from the outside– just a dense forest of ash trees and wetlands sitting off the side of the road next to a gas station. Once you step past the barrier though, it’s a whole new universe.
Ash trees loom over you and wet mud sucks at your boots (you will need boots by the way, possibly waders, but that makes it all the more fun). There is a constant cacophony of birds overhead. Perhaps you’ll recognize the sharp, high-pitched trill of the red wing blackbird or the double toned whistles of the black-capped chickadee.
The wetland’s mystery pulls you deeper and deeper as you tramp through more mud, canary grass, and over mossy logs. Before you know it, the road is no longer visible through the thick vegetation, and the only thing to speak of its existence is the faint whoosh of occasional car engines blending and hiding behind the forest’s music.
With no distinct trails, the wetlands are now your own to wander through and explore. You might tightrope across fallen logs, admire the yellow-green moss or the maple tree helicopters falling like snow. Everywhere you look is green and brown. Everything is growing of its own volition. Everything is wild and free.
Unlike other preserves with manmade paths and benches and signs, Christel Woods feels untouched, a rare phenomenon these days. When you stand in the middle of it all, you are acutely aware that you don’t quite belong, yet are being allowed in anyways. You might feel like thanking the woods. You might feel like writing a poem. You might feel small. All of it is important. All of it is magical.
