The Baraboo Hills

BARABOO HILLS

The Baraboo Hills of Sauk and Columbia counties are all that remain of one of the most ancient rock outcrops in North America. A forested sanctuary underlain by durable rock called Baraboo quartzite, the Hills are an ecologically unique part of the Midwest.

The oak, maple, and basswood forests of the Baraboo Hills constitute the largest block of upland forest still standing in southern Wisconsin. They provide habitat for more than 1,800 kinds of plants and animals.

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) first came to the Baraboo Hills in the early 1960s at the request of local residents and university professors who knew how ecologically unique this area was and who wanted TNC's help in protecting the area. We continue to work with partners to protect the exceptional diversity of animals and plant communities in the Baraboo Hills at places like Baxter’s Hollow and Hemlock Draw.

CONSERVATION GOALS

Protecting the large block of forest from scattered rural residential development (TNC concentrates its efforts on the forest block west of Devil's Lake State Park).

• Managing our preserves to support healthy populations of wildlife, in particular, songbirds that need to nest in large blocks of forest.
• Providing information about the plants and animals of the Bluffs forest and compatible forest management to area residents and other interested parties.
• Working with other organizations concerned with the health of the Bluffs forest.
• Working to protect the forest block while balancing human needs and economic health in the region.

HOW WE ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS

Land acquisition from willing sellers and generous donors (TNC pays fair market value; contact the Baraboo office for more information).

• Conservation easements (voluntary legal agreements that compensate landowners who protect the conservation value of land by permanently limiting its future uses while keeping it in private ownership).
• Land/Forest management (research, removal of non-native plants; forest stand improvement).