Private land in Ellison Bay, swampland in Ephraim now protected by Door County Land Trust

DOOR COUNTY - The Door County Land Trust plans to celebrate two recently acquired two properties in Northern Door County and other stewardship projects when it holds its annual gathering next to one of those new properties.

The trust announced in the past week it had purchased a 6-acre parcel adjacent to Grand View Scenic Overlook and Park in Ellison Bay and added to property it already owns and manages within the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp State Natural Area between Fish Creek and Ephraim. To celebrate these newly protected properties, the trust chose Grand View Park as the site for its Annual Gathering taking place Aug. 9.

Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp is an important coastal wetland

The land trust already had more than 400 acres in the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp under its protection, which began with a conservation easement agreement 19 years ago. A press release from the trust said the land is valued for its proximity to a migratory bird route and its coastal wetlands.

The newly purchased land lies between the Ephraim and Hidden Springs creeks that run through the property and offers more diverse foraging possibilities for many wildlife species and the opportunity to have a positive influence on water quality in Ephraim’s Eagle Harbor.

“Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp Natural Area is part of an important wilderness corridor connecting Peninsula State Park and the Wisconsin DNR’s Mud Lake Wildlife Area,” Jesse Koyen, the trust's land program director, said in the press release. “In addition to allowing the movement of wildlife across the landscape at a local level, this (new) area provides important migratory bird habitat. Its proximity to their migration route, combined with high-quality habitat, allows migrating birds an ideal place to seek shelter, rest and refuel.”

The swamp, which stretches from the northern edge of Ephraim south to Peninsula State Park and east to Townline Road, is one of Door County’s largest coastal wetlands, containing mature cedar and open hardwood swamps. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, these coastal wetlands are among the most important wildlife habitats and natural landscapes in Door County, and protecting habitats like these is a top priority not only for the land trust but also conservation partners within the Great Lakes region.

Funds to buy this addition to the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp Natural Area came in part from the DNR's Knowles-Nelson State Stewardship Fund and the Fox River Natural Resource Trustee Council, with remaining expenses covered by land trust supporters and the community.

Private citizens make Ellison Bay purchase possible

The Ellison Bay property is next to Grand View Park, at the bottom of the hill from which visitors can look out over the bay and see Washington Island and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It was purchased from private citizens Barbara and Don Fuhrmann of Ellison Bay, who bought the property in 2000 to preserve it from planned residential development and recently approached the land trust to buy it from them for that reason.

“We wanted to honor the original owner’s wishes to protect the land from development,” Don Fuhrmann said in the release about the reason for their original purchase. “We bought it so no one else would build on it.”

In fact, so interested were the Fuhrmanns in having the land trust acquire and protect the property, a press release from the trust said, they sold it at the same price they paid for it 24 years ago, far less than its current appraised value. Funding for purchase of the property and its long-term care came through private donations, especially one local family, and support from land trust members.

“We just wanted to get back our original investment. The appraisal was much higher,” Fuhrmann said. “Above our cost, we’ll never miss the difference. We’d rather give the rest to the land trust.”

The trust said in the press release that the Fuhrmann property is especially interesting because it contains greater ecological diversity than does the adjacent park. The acreage at the bottom of the hill includes marshy wetlands and two ponds, and woodlands and the Niagara Escarpment can be found there. It's also closer to the waters of Ellison Bay.

The land trust’s initial 16-acre purchase for Grand View Park occurred in 2012 with funding from private donations, the Wisconsin DNR's Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund and the Department of Transportation’s Scenic Byways Fund. After a master land management plan was in place, ownership of the property transferred to the town of Liberty Grove with the agreement that the town would manage and maintain it with support from the trust. Among the stewardship efforts that have taken place are invasive species control and the planting of native wetland forbs and shrubs.

Barbara Fuhrmann said in the press release the couple's dream is to establish a corridor of protected land in Ellison Bay that extends along the Niagara Escarpment from State 42 to Ellison Bluff County Park.

A Grand View for the land trust's gathering

The land trust's Annual Gathering will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 9 at Grand View Park. During the event, land trust executive director Emily Wood will share the story of the protection of the Fuhrmann property along with details on the more than 20 land protection projects the trust currently has in its plans. A fine art auction and raffle will be held and a picnic and dessert buffet will be on hand.

Tickets are $55 for adults, $25 ages 12 and younger, and the public is invited to attend. All proceeds from ticket sales and the art auction benefit the trust’s 2024 Conservation and Stewardship Campaign to fund land protection projects. For tickets or more information, call 920-746-1359 or visit doorcountylandtrust.org/gathering.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County Land Trust acquires land to protect in Ellison Bay, Ephraim