A Seattle-based timber producer has completed an agreement to preserve more than 18,000 acres near the Wolf River in northern Wisconsin.
Although Plum Creek Timber will own and manage the timber on the land, the state Department of Natural Resources is purchasing the 18,511-acre area that borders the Nicolet National Forest and the Upper Wolf River Fishery as well as Langlade County forest land.
The DNR is buying the land to ensure it always remains open for public and recreational access. It prevents other businesses from buying the land and using it for other purposes.
The area covers more than 29 square miles, and includes frontage land on Nine Mile Creek, the Lily River and Tyra Lake. It also borders a six-mile portion of the Ice Age Trail.
The final agreement was announced Friday at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County.
State Stewardship funds and Federal Forest Legacy funds will provide the DNR with $9.1 million to purchase the land. That works out to just under $500 an acre, said Dick Steffes, real estate director for the DNR.
Although the $6.1 million from the Stewardship funds is taxpayer money, Steffes said the value of the purchase is incalculable.
The public will be able to hunt, fish, hike, snowmobile and enjoy seeing wildlife in its natural environment, he said.
"We got a good bang for the buck," he said.
The land is the fifth- or sixth-largest tract protected by the state.
The largest is a 64,633-acre area of conserved forest, lakes and rivers in Florence, Forest and Marinette counties. The DNR and the Nature Conservancy purchased that land for $83.6 million in March.
Dave Peterson, director of the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs, said the purchase comes at a time when Wisconsin's land is being fragmented by businesses and private owners.
"With this (the purchase), we have free access and a very large tract of land," Peterson said. "One has to go there to realize it, but this is a very beautiful area."Associated Press via Duluth News Tribune
