Recipes for Helping People Help the Land

Background

Since their initial Rock County property purchase in 1985, Gary and Penny Shackelford have been stewards of land conservation. Though their initial interest in purchasing a plot of land was to have a place to explore their bird watching and wildlife photography hobby, the Shackelfords attended several conservation tours where they got a taste of prairie restoration and conservation. This led to their vision; the dream to return the land back to natural habitat.

Seven years after their initial purchase, they acquired more acreage adjacent to their existing property, and in 1995, the rare Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid was found growing on their land. The discovery led to the designation of a portion of their property as a State Natural Area through a conservation easement. From that point forward, their vision was reimagined to maintain the natural land communities based on some of the earliest land surveys of their property done in 1837.

Highlights

The Shackelford’s first began working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), a voluntary financial assistance program last active in the early 2000s. With financial and technical assistance from this program, NRCS staff and resources, they were able to remove old commercial apple orchards, cut about 1500 trees, seed with prairie plants and practice regular prescribed burns. These ingredients came together on a recipe for restored habitat for wildlife, native prairie plants restoration and natural control of invasive buckthorn.

With guidance from NRCS staff, the Shackelford’s added a helping of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and a serving of the Environmental Qualities Incentive Program (EQIP) in 2010 to their conservation “cookbook.” They continued forward with forest management and associated NRCS practices, peppering in brush management and tree plantings. “We have had a great experience working with NRCS who have offered us lots of suggestions, such as how to approach weed control and steered us to valuable programs,” said Penny. She found the Conservation Practice Standards to include just the right ingredients of NRCS program conservation practices to leaven their vision of restoring their land. Today, the Shackelford’s own over 380 acres of restored prairie, sedge meadows, wetlands and woodlands in Milton, Wisconsin.

Future Plans

The Shackelfords have whipped up an impressive recipe out of common conservation elements, reestablishing a delectable habitat for indigenous flora and fauna. Though their initial interest in purchasing land was influenced by their desire to explore their hobbies more easily in retirement, they also wanted a place to call home. Like the (not-so) secret ingredients to all the best recipes, the Shackelford’s dedication and love of the land is palpable. Looking forward, they would like to see increased hydrological connectivity to improve riparian areas and wetlands and envision regular prescribed burns and continued control of invasive species in the future management of their property. When they are no longer able to manage the land themselves, Gary and Penny would like to see their land go to a non-profit organization who will continue using the NRCS conservation “cookbook” they have been compiling for their land over the last 30 years.