Dane County, Wisconsin

Cyclists, hikers and cross-country skiers can start in Dane County and travel east for 52 miles on the Glacial Drumlin State Trail, built on an abandoned railroad grade.

The City of Madison and its region are experiencing growth pressure. That pressure partly results from the area’s healthy economy and the quality of life associated with the Wisconsin State Capitol and the University of Wisconsin. But the attraction is also driven by the surrounding lakes, woods and farms, which explains why Dane County communities consistently appear on the “top-ten” lists of numerous publications. Fortunately, Dane County and many of its municipalities recognize the threat created by their own popularity and are taking steps to protect environmental areas, trails and farmland using traditional tools as well as innovative strategies including County conservation grants and purchase/transfer of development rights programs.

The State of Wisconsin owns over 18,000 acres of Dane County, primarily in wildlife areas and fisheries. But the seven state parks in Dane County, while relatively small, are exceptional. The Ice Age Reserve near Cross Plains offers excellent examples of the topography created where the Wisconsin Glacier ground to a halt. The Reserve is one stop on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail which currently totals 500 miles but is planned to ultimately follow the entire 1,200 miles of the glacier’s southernmost advance. The State of Wisconsin also operates two multiple-use recreation trails that use abandoned railroad rights of way: the Military Ridge Trail extends from the Madison suburb of Fitchburg west for 40 miles and the Glacial Drumlin Trail begins in Cottage Grove and heads east for 52 miles through villages and farmland. Finally, the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway invites canoeists and tubers to explore the islands and floodplains of the Lower Wisconsin River, which is unimpeded by dams for its last 92 miles before joining the Mississippi River.

A fisherman is lured by Lower Mud Lake, acquired by the Dane County in 1995.

Dane County owns another 5,200 acres, primarily in 21 county parks. When municipal parks and other publicly-owned natural areas are added, the parks and natural areas owned by all levels of government increases to 34,394 acres, or roughly 4.4 percent of Dane County’s total acreage. Despite this progress, Dane County launched a Conservation Fund Grant Program in 1990 which acquired $22-million worth of land by the year 2000 using County appropriations and the cooperation of philanthropic landowners, the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson State Stewardship Program, the Dane County Natural Heritage Foundation and the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation. Based on that success, Dane County voters overwhelmingly approved an advisory referendum in 1999 for an accelerated program intended to triple the historic rate of land preservation. Specifically, an additional $30 million of funding will be applied over ten years toward the preservation of another 9,000 acres of land identified in the County Parks and Open Space Plan. Of this $30-million total, most will be used to buy land or easements directly from the owners of qualifying land. But ten percent would be available to municipalities and ten percent to non-profit organizations who compete for 50-percent matching grants.

A plaque commemorates the preservation of the Sinaiko Farm by Dunn Township as the first purchase of development rights transaction in Wisconsin.

Many Dane County municipalities have been preservation pioneers. In 1996, the voters of Dunn Township, four miles south of the Wisconsin State Capitol, approved a property tax increase of one half of one percent to fund the acquisition of agricultural easements from willing landowners. In 1997, this purchase of development rights (PDR) program protected its first property, the Sinaiko Farm. This is the first farm in Wisconsin preserved by PDR. In 2000, the program won a national award for environmental sustainability from Renew America. As of July 2007, the Dunn PDR program had permanently protected 22 farms with a total of 2,729 acres. In addition, applications were pending on another 32 farms with a total of 2,000 additional acres.

An apple orchard in the Township of Cottage Grove, which has adopted a transfer of development rights ordinance to encourage the preservation of farmland.

Other Dane County municipalities are experimenting with less traditional preservation techniques. The Township of Cottage Grove, six miles east of Madison adopted a transfer of development rights (TDR) program, which allows developers additional density in suitable parts of the township in return for permanently preserving agricultural land.

Finally, non-profit organizations are also having success in Dane County. The Natural Heritage Land Trust, originally known as the Dane County Natural Heritage Foundation, has preserved over 4,300 acres of land since its formation in 1983. Together, public officials, private organizations and the general public are discovering ways to get ahead of the growth surge and protect the best remaining environmental areas and farms in Dane County.