Riveredge grows with land gift

Riveredge Nature Center in the Town of Saukville just grew by 40 acres with the gift of the Sandhill Lake Wildlife Sanctuary from the Hepburn family of Cedarburg.

The sanctuary is about a mile from the main Riveredge property and includes a wide variety of habitats, including marshland, forest, agricultural land in production, post-agricultural prairie, a stream and access to Sandhill Lake.

The land is home to a number of species of wildlife, Riveredge officials said, noting that initial inspections have found a number of badger dens and more than 50 species of birds on the property. It is also excellent turtle breeding habitat.

“It’s interesting the range of ecological diversity it offers,” Ed Makowski, Riveredge’s marketing and communications manager, said. “That makes this property pretty unique.”

“I’m so thrilled for Riveredge to have this opportunity to care for an additional, and ecologically different, property so close by,” Riveredge Executive Director Jessica Jens said. “We’re excited for the expanded footprint of Riveredge and for making sure this land is preserved forever.

“This is a priceless opportunity.”

Makowski said the Hepburn family has been talking to Riveredge about the gift for the last year, with the transfer of ownership taking place on June 29.

Mal and Jill Hepburn are longtime supporters of Riveredge — Mrs. Hepburn is a former member of the Riveredge board — and the gift demonstrates their confidence in Riveredge to care for the land in perpetuity, Makowski said.

The land is covered by a conservation easement, which prevents it from being developed.

Corn is being raised on about 13 acres of the sanctuary by a farmer who leases the land, and Jens said that will likely continue.

“We know that food production is very important in the area,” she said. “We value agriculture and our farming community. It will be meaningful and fun to see how sustainable agriculture can continue on that land.”

While not contiguous to the main Riveredge property, the sanctuary will be incorporated into the nature preserve’s mission. 

Jens said that although public trails probably won’t be created on the land, at least not in the immediate future, it will likely be used as an educational area where small groups can visit to learn about the ecological features.
Riveredge’s main property is divided into similar so-called nodes so classes, Scout groups, summer camps and research groups can enjoy the land without bumping into each other.

“You can explore a part of Riveredge and feel like you’re alone there,” Jens said. “This ensures we can continue to protect the restored land and ensures we don’t love it to death by overuse.”

Makowski said Riveredge will spend the next year or so conducting an inventory of the land and planning for its future.

“We haven’t spent a whole lot of time on the property yet,” he said. “We’re just getting to know it.”

And that, said Jens, is part of the fun.

“It’ll be fabulous and fun for the staff and volunteers at Riveredge to have a new piece of land to examine and explore,” she said. “We’re excited to have a new project to play with. And it feels so good that they (the Hepburn family) trusted the organization with this piece of land.”

The new property brings Riveredge’s total land holdings to 402 acres.