NORTHWOODS LAND TRUST HELP LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY FOR THE NORTHWOODS Hold the date: please help us celebrate our 10th Anniversary of conserving the northwoods on Saturday, July 30th! P.O. Box 321, Eagle River, WI 54521-0321 Spring 2011 A Subdivision Reunited Buffers the Sylvania Wilderness Area By Trisha Moore, Conservation Specialist At the close of 2010, Lee and Margo Popovich of Land O' Lakes, WI signed their nearly 60-acre property into a perpetual conservation agreement. The property borders the Ottawa National Forest and is within one- quarter mile of the Sylvania Wilderness Area. Bryan Pierce, Executive Director of the Northwoods Land Trust, further explained the value of conserving this property: "This is totally unique for us. This is the first time we have had a 20-lot subdivision with town roads come back together." The property will now be protected as one contiguous Celebrating Lee and Margo Popovich’s protection of their 58.7-acre tract of land. The current home, garage and a future guest wooded property, in the town of Land O’ Lakes, Vilas County are (from cabin will be the only structures allowed on the property. left) John Huppert, Trisha Moore, Mary Schwaiger, Mary Hovel, Lee Popovich, Margo Popovich and Bryan Pierce. Lee Popovich has been visiting the area since he was five years old. In 1957 his parents bought land on North home. In 1995 he worked with Joe Hovel of Conover, WI, Twin Lake for $17.50 per frontage foot and in time to design and build a log home on Spectacle Lake. swapped some of that land for neighboring land with a Margo, originally from southern California, moved to cabin that Lee's mother and father fell in love with. While Baltimore to pursue her career. Lee and Margo met in Lee and his family loved the property, they desired a log Baltimore and were married in 2002. While they loved their northwoods lake home, it began to feel less like the northwoods to them as more development occurred around Spectacle Lake. In 2007 they began looking for larger acreage around the Land O' Lakes area. The desired property, now protected with a perpetual conservation easement, was discovered by Lee and Margo in the spring of 2007. The couple described what attracted them to this particular parcel of land: "We loved that it was wooded, but still had some views with roads already going through it. It is close to town and yet we still see a lot of wildlife: coyotes, bears and a variety of birds." Lee stated that being off of the water is a nice change from the noise and crowds that a northwoods lake can attract. "My parents said they would never want off-water Sylvania Lane was one of several subdivision roads already developed property. Here we are, fifty years later, thinking that this is on the woodland property before the 20 lots were purchased and combined by Lee and Margo Popovich into one protected property. pretty nice!" (Continued next page) mission: The Northwoods Land Trust (NWLT) promotes conservation by private landowners of natural shorelands, woodlands, wetlands and other natural resources, as public benefits for present and future generations in Vilas, Oneida, Forest, Florence, Iron and Price Counties and the surrounding region. Phone: (715) 479-2490 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.northwoodslandtrust.org Northwoods Land Trust Popovich property - continued Purpose: Lee Popovich To provide education and commutes to the utilize voluntary conservation northwoods from his options with private landown- work in Chicago as ers. Senior Vice President To preserve natural shorelands for Structural on lakes, rivers and other Preservation Systems. waterways for protection of He is working towards water quality, fish and wildlife retirement as Margo habitat, erosion control, and is living up north full- natural scenic beauty. time. To conserve private woodlands and encourage landowners to While she is manage their forest lands in an retired, Margo keeps very busy volunteering Margo and Lee Popovich worked with Joe and Mary Hovel of ecologically sustainable Conover to have a beautiful new log home constructed on the manner. for organizations like property. The Popoviches moved in just a few days before To accept perpetual Partners in Forestry. finalizing their conservation agreement with NWLT. stewardship for secure Margo has also spent conservation agreements with a lot of time helping with the planning and building of their second Hovel home on private landowners, such as the protected property. "I actually got to be involved in the process of the easements, land donations and building of the home and it was such a great experience," exclaimed Margo. property acquisitions. The designing and building of those two log homes forged a friendship To annually monitor NWLT land protection agreements. between the Popovich and Hovel families. Joe and Mary Hovel discussed with To seek support through Lee and Margo the benefits of putting the new property into a Managed Forest donations, grants, endowments Law Plan. The Hovels also planted the seed of a conservation easement to memberships and volunteers. ensure this property would forever remain as one contiguous piece of land. To leverage our conservation Margo and Lee quickly realized that keeping the land together was a benefit efforts through partnering with for many reasons: forestry management, taxes, conservation of the natural other organizations and resources on the land, a buffer to the wilderness area, and scenic beauty. agencies. Several organizations besides the Northwoods Land Trust partnered in Newsletter Editor: Bryan Pierce assisting the Popovich's in their decision to place their land into a conservation Staff Writer: Trisha Moore easement. Lee and Margo have been involved in Partners in Forestry (PIF) for many years. They learned a great deal about land and forest management through the workshops and outings that PIF has held. Several PIF members have worked with the Northwoods Land Trust to protect their properties and manage for sustainable forests. Two other groups who contributed financially to the project included the Northwoods Alliance and Friends of Sylvania. With four children and three grandchildren collectively, Lee and Margo made a decision to not only protect their own land investment, but to leave a legacy for generations to come. Lee explained to his children that they were giving up their development rights for the tax benefits and that it will be kept as one tract of land that can never be divided. He also explained that the woodland will be managed for timber and wildlife. Margo and Lee shared these words for their children and grandchildren to reflect on into the future: "This is an opportunity to save the forests from getting broken up and subdivided. These beautiful woods and all of the wildlife…this is what the northwoods looked like years ago." Left: The northern boundary of the Popovich conservation property provides a natural buffer for the Sylvania Wilderness Area and Ottawa National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. You Can Help! The Northwoods Land Trust is a non-profit, tax exempt conservation organization. Your gift of cash, stocks, bonds or other financial support is fully tax deductible as charitable contributions under federal law. Donations of property or conservation easements may also provide tax benefits while promoting the conservation of our northwoods. 2 The Best Use of the Land… Conserving a Farmstead on the Wisconsin River By Trisha Moore, Conservation Specialist When David and Minka Dawson signed their 26-acre property into a conservation easement at the end of 2010 they agreed to have their land protected in perpetuity. While this is definitely a big decision for any landowner, for the Dawsons it was simply taking action on something they had always lived and believed in. "I dedicated my life to conservation and it has always been a big part of our lives, so this is just something we would do," explained David Dawson. David grew up in Calumet County and immediately entered the military after high school. He was educated at West Point and was an Army Ranger in World War II. After returning from war he finished his degree in forestry at Michigan State University and later obtained his PhD. His career with the U.S. Forest Service, and earlier with the Soil Conservation Service, is what led the family to Rhinelander in 1967. David worked as a forest geneticist for the US Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Rhinelander Dr. David and Minka Dawson have protected forever their 26-acre developing hybrid poplar trees for agricultural cultivation. farmstead property on the Wisconsin River in Oneida County. He retired from the Forestry Sciences Laboratory as Chief-of-Staff in 1982, but continued as an environmental David and Minka, who was raised in Cadillac, MI, met policy consultant for the Environmental Science Division at Michigan State where Minka studied psychology. They of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and married and raised three daughters and one son. Minka elements of the United States Congress. worked for the Human Service Center organizing and directing crises intervention, respite care and supportive care for the elderly projects. She also worked for the Oneida County Department of Social Services on other grant-funded projects. The family settled on Crescent Lake where they lived for fifteen years. While they loved the lake, David and Minka always desired more space and land they could manage for forestry and other uses. In 1984 they bought the, now protected, 26-acre farmstead. One of the attractions of the land was the ability to work toward bringing it back to its natural state. This included allowing for natural and managed forest succession as well as the unique trout ponds on the property.