The Area We Preserve

The Baraboo Range is a unique example of an exhumed mountain range which is composed of Precambrian Quartzite. The range covers 144,000 acres in Sauk and Columbia Counties. It stands as high as 800 feet above the Wisconsin River and is one of the most ancient rock outcrops in North America. The Baraboo Range includes 55,000 acres of forest. This is the largest tract of mostly unfragmented deciduous forest remaining in the upper Midwest.

The differences in elevation, exposure, and soils of the Baraboo Hills create a variety of ecological habitats including high, dry rock strata where white pine predominates; rocky cliffs covered with lichens and mosses; cool steep valleys and ravines of hemlock; dry and wet prairie, and marshes. At least 28 different natural communities have been identified.  This ecoregion is home to over 1,800 species of plants and animals, including 135 species of breeding birds. Of these plant and animal species 77 of them are rare or imperiled in the state and 23 are on the state or federal lists of threatened or endangered species.

One section of the South Range is widely know for its special natural beauty. The state's second state park — Devil's Lake — was created in 1911 to preserve the unique area where the pre-glacial Wisconsin River cut through the bluffs leaving a deep gorge surrounded by cliffs of quartzite. A second state park in the range is Natural Bridge State Park. This small park with its natural sandstone bridge contains evidence of having been a campsite for prehistoric humans at the time of the glaciers. Humans have lived here and been a part of this ecosystem for hundreds of years.

How we preserve land

Conservation Easements are legally binding agreements between a landowner who voluntarily agrees to sell or donate certain rights associated with his or her property — often the right to subdivide or develop — and a private organization or public agency who holds the right to enforce said agreement.

• Each agreement defines the specific conservation values to be protected

• Donate the value of an easement, certain tax advantages can be claimed

• Public benefit as the environment is protected while maintaining private ownership

An abbreviated history

The Baraboo Range Preservation Association (BRPA) incorporated in 1994 as a grassroots organization of landowners from the "Happy Hill" region of our western Baraboo Range. Future expansion of US Highway 12 became a major concern for folks interested in protecting the qualities and culture of their hills from an influx of development. What started as informal educational outings gradually turned into the formation of a local land trust.

In 2002 BRPA was awarded a capacity grant by their longtime partner, The Nature Conservancy, who offered financial and professional support, enabling us to hire David Wernecke as our first Executive Director. TNC was largely responsible for helping to create a $ 12.5 million dollar fund that would mitigate against the Highway 12 impact.

Inspired by our two local heroes, former Devil's Lake State Park Naturalist Ken Lange, and Loganville farmer/naturalist Harold Kruse, BRPA has evolved into an organization that honors the contributions toward a sustainable future envisioned by so many people all those years ago.