Location: Marquette County
Area Protected: 100 acres
Protection Strategy: Conservation Easement
Portions of this property are a remnant natural area containing plant and animal communities which formed after the melting of the last glaciers. Shortly after acquiring the property in 1983, the owners began to restore the historic wetland and upland vegetation communities that were erased by over a century of farming. Their goals are to restore as much of the native vegetation as possible and to mimic, through active management, the ecological processes that maintained this ecosystem historically. They view Prairiehill Farm as a demonstration area for land restoration and believe it can play an important role in creating new interest in the natural history of wetlands, oak savanna, and tall grass prairie. This property includes prairie and oak savannas that are globally rare and are two of the most imperiled plant communities in Wisconsin with less than 1% of their original coverage remaining today. The East Fork of French Creek flows through the property. Shrub-carr, sedge meadows, and vernal pools that occur adjacent to French Creek are rare wetland types today. Protection of this area will help maintain water quality and the ecological integrity of the upper Fox River by recharging groundwater and filtering sediments from agricultural lands. Stream corridors and wetlands also serve as wildlife habitat for terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals. This property is adjacent to our Pasque Flower Farm Conservancy and therefore prevents habitat fragmentation by providing a linkage corridor.
Remnant plant communities include:
- oak woodland
- oak opening
- southern sedge meadow
- springs and spring pond
- shrub-carr
- emergent deep marsh
- wet-mesic prairie
- dry prairie
Dry oak opening indicator species persisting in the open areas consist of:
- pasque flower
- lead plant
- birdsfoot violet
- thimbleweed
- old field goldenrod
- side-oats grama
- prairie dropseed
Highly significant species present on this property are savanna/grassland nesting birds including:
- Lincoln’s sparrow
- grasshopper sparrow
- bobolink
- indigo bunting
- vesper sparrow
- eastern bluebird
- chipping sparrow
- field sparrow
- brown thrasher
- red-headed woodpecker
- Eastern kingbird
- American goldfinch
- wood thrush
- Baltimore oriole
- black-billed Cuckoo
- great-crested flycatcher
Equally significant are breeding wetland species including:
- greater sandhill crane
- common yellowthroat
- yellow warbler
Vernal pools, which are common in the Upper French Creek Watershed also support:
- Blanding's turtle
- blue spotted salamander
- tiger salamander
- gray tree frog
- chorus frog
- leopard frog
- pickerel frog
- green frog
- American toad
- spring peeper
Many of these species are in decline regionally or nationally and are on state or federal watch lists.