Conservation Group Purchases Land Near Wauzeka With $3M Gift

A conservation group, the Mississippi Valley Conservancy, is using a $3 million gift to buy 1,600 acres of land along the lower Kickapoo River. The land is just north of Wauzeka in Crawford County and is the Mississippi Valley Conservancy’s biggest property. The land acquisition was made possible by an anonymous donor who is passionate about land and water conservation in Crawford County. It is the largest gift the Conservancy has ever received.  The area will be restored to provide natural services such as flood protection, recreation opportunities and an expanded area of connected lands that provide refuge for wildlife whose native habitats are threatened by climate change and development. Carol Abrahamzon, executive director of MVC, says they bought the land with the $3 million gift in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The protected land will be open to the public for hunting, fishing and low-impact recreation such as hiking, paddling and wildlife observation.