Spring 2015 Report - Chambers Island Nature Preserve

Chambers Island Nature Preserve
Spring 2015 Report
Greetings from the Chambers Island Nature Preserve Team
Spring has finally arrived and we are beginning to dream of visits to
Chambers Island. We are eager to get out on the water, see the trilliums bloom,
open up cabins and greet island friends.
Thanks to the support of so many of you, the Chambers Island Nature
Preserve effort is making wonderful progress. This report brings you up to date
as we prepare for an exciting summer ahead and progress towards realizing
the dream of a 1,000-acre nature preserve!
What we have accomplished in the past 20 months:
• More than 1/3 of the land needed has been
acquired, or acquisition is in progress. With 115
acres recently purchased along the shore of Lake
Mackaysee, nearly 130 acres of critical wetlands
and forestland are now conserved. In addition,
purchase agreements have been secured covering
another 250 acres.
• More than $1.1 million of the estimated $3.6
million has been raised and grant applications
have been submitted for an additional $408,000.
If this grant
funding is
received,
nearly half the
funds needed
for the 1,000acre preserve
will have been
secured!
Caspian terns walk the south side beach.
Lake Mackaysee is home to
• 107 islanders and
friends have made
abundant wildlife and birds.
donations and pledges,
demonstrating the deep
groundswell of support for protecting much of
Chambers Island from overdevelopment forever.
• We now have a Chambers Island Nature
Preserve website­—with up-to-date information on
our progress, detailed information on the island’s
important role in the Great Lakes, and special
flora and fauna that make it worth conserving.
Go to www.chambersislandnaturepreserve.org
• The partnership between the Door County
Land Trust and the Chambers Island Nature
Preserve Committee combines the Land Trust’s
expertise in fundraising,
land acquisition and land
management with islanders’
passion and hard work.
CHAMBERS ISLAND
Door County, Wisconsin
Chambers Island Nature Preserve
Spring 2015 Report
Nature Preserve
See the lands that have
already been acquired,
and those in progress
and proposed!
From left: Door County Land Trust’s Director
of Land Program Terrie Cooper; Board President
Tim Stone (‘12-’14); and Executive Director Dan
Burke tour the muskeg and wetlands near Lake
Mackaysee.
And, here's
how we are
doing with
funding...
Proposed Land for Acquisition
Land Acquisition in Progress
Acquired Land
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
N
5000
Feet
Total Estimated
In Hand
Funding
(as of 4/30/15)
Needed
Funding
Requests
Pending
Still To Be
Raised
Private
Donations
$1,800,000
$757,335
$0
$1,042,665
Government
Funds
$1,800,000
$405,800
$408,000
$986,200
TOTAL:
$3,600,000
$1,163,135
$408,000
$2,028,865
For the latest information on land acquisition and funds raised, go to
www.chambersislandnaturepreserve.org
The first wave of donations.....
Last spring we began fund raising efforts and
last fall we made a general appeal to islanders
to support the Nature Preserve. Already 107
contributors have responded with donations and
pledges. Because of you, as well as support
from the Wisconsin Knowles-Nelson Stewardship
Program and federal agencies, we are almost
half way there! We thank one and all. This
terrific sign of island support will help us succeed
as we approach foundations and individuals who
may not know Chambers or the Door County
Land Trust as intimately as we all do.
Gifts Received through April 30, 2015
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Ahrendt, Meg Fitzgerald
Barger, Lucia Fitzgerald
Baudhuin, Dick and Joan
Blahnik Investment Group
Blahnik, James and Judith
Brevard, Athelea, John and Vivian
Brevard, Mary
Brevard, Mathew and Julie
Brevard, Ryan and Marianne
Brumder, Robo and Kathy
Busch, Lynn and Sharon
Chomeau, Alice Fitzgerald
Craig, Richard and Barbara
Dauffenbach, Darrin and Dawn
Dauffenbach, Wally and Mary
David and Julia Uihlein Charitable
Foundation
David V Uihlein Sr Foundation
Dhein, Justin
Dobyns, Alicia Stenger
Drake, Thallis Hoyt
Feirer, Russ and Debbie
Fitzgerald, Barbara
Fitzgerald, Carolyn
Fitzgerald, Douglas
Fitzgerald, Roger and Sharon
Fitzgerald, Tim and Myers, Christa
Fletcher, Grant and Keeter, Laura
Fletcher, John
Fletcher, Robert and Suzanne
Frank, Holley T
Frank, John and Sunderland, Elsie
Frank, Peter and Katy
Frank, Reid, Alex, and AvaKate
Frank, Rick and Barbara
Frank, Willow P
Grelck, Dick and Carol
Guthrie, Nina Reza
Haggerty, Mike and Jeanie
John C Bock Foundation
Kant, Karen
Keith, Lloyd and Inge
Kennedy, Patrick
Knowles, Michael and Marilyn
Kuehn, Gregg and Kathy
Laird, Amy
Anyone wishing to make a new
donation or pledge may go to
www.chambersislandnaturepreserve.org
Your gift deserves to be acknowledged. If we have made an error
or omitted your name from the list, please notify us so we may
correct it for future publications.
Thank you.
Laird, Ben and Rintelman, Mary Jane
Laird, Emily and Schafer, Eric
Laird, Lisa
Medtronic
Mueller, Peter
Parkes, Johanna
Persell, Charles and Caroline
Reza, Kevin
Reza, Naseem and Louise
Rintelman, JR (Jim) and Linda
Robert A Uihlein Foundation, Inc.
Rogers, Pete and Fawn
Scheinoha, Chad and Jenny
Spitzley, John and Judy
Spitzley, Kelly
Squier, Robin
Stenger Riplinger, Cynthia and
Riplinger, Mike
Stenger, Michael and Thieda, Su
Stenger, Michele and Gracz, Mike
Thenell, Matthew and Heather
Uihlein, Lynde B
Uihlein, Margery
We also thank the following
who have provided funding
and assistance:
Fox River and Green Bay
Natural Resource Trustee
Council
Knowles-Nelson Stewardship
Program
The Nature Conservancy
US Fish & Wildlife Service,
North American Wetland
Conservation Act Grant
The Chambers Island Nature Preserve
Leadership
In just 20 months, the Chambers Island
Nature Preserve has begun to take
shape. We know we have a long way
to go. But it is good to pause for a
moment, to celebrate what islanders,
friends, and the Door County Land
Trust have accomplished.
Thank you to all who are making this
marvelous dream come true.
Directors
Suzanne Fletcher
Mary Jane Rintelman
Door County Land Trust Staff:
Subcommittees
Terrie Cooper, Director of Land Program
Landowners
Dick Baudhuin (Chair)
Jeff Krause
Lynn Busch
Mike Baudhuin
Pete Rogers
Amy Dwyer, Administrative Assistant
Development
Mary Brevard (Chair)
Barbara Frank
Robo Brumder
Fawn Rogers
Dick Grelck
Drew Reinke, Land Protection Specialist
Finance/Legal
Ben Laird
Discovery & Acquisition
Terrie Cooper (Door County Land Trust)
JR Rintelman
Nature Study
Debbie and Russ Feirer (Chairs)
Robin Squier
Naseem Reza
Tim Fitzgerald
Carol Grelck
Public & Media Relations
Mary Jane Rintelman (Chair)
Suzanne Fletcher
Kelly Spitzley
Dan Burke, Executive Director
Susan Gould, Development Director
Amanda Pyke, Land Stewardship Assistant
Jodi Milske, Land Stewardship Manager
Kristi Rice, Office Manager
Cinnamon Rossman, Communications &
Outreach Coordinator
Julie Schartner, Land Project Manager
Contact:
Suzanne Fletcher
[email protected]
Dan Burke
[email protected]
Door County Land Trust
PO Box 65
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
(920) 746-1359
www.DoorCountyLandTrust.org
All images were taken on Chambers Island.
Branding design by Kelly Spitzley.
Spring 2015
Chambers Island Nature Preserve
Partners in Conservation
One family’s story...
The Uihleins
David Uihlein Sr. built his Chambers cabin on Homer Bay in the 1950’s and came nearly every
summer weekend from Milwaukee, anchoring his boat and swimming ashore. His Model A Ford
was a common site on the baseline road, and in recent years it led the annual 4th of July
Parade. He taught both his children, Lynde and David, Jr., how to drive the Model A before they
were 16.
David became island-famous for his booming voice, infectious grin, and delicious dinners of
beer, bratwurst and corn on the cob cooked on the campfire. David had a deep love of nature
and wildlife. One day when deer still lived on the island, David and his stepdaughter Barbara
spotted a doe and twin fawns. “We have been richly rewarded,” he said quietly.
In the 1960’s, David helped to lead the successful effort to prevent overdevelopment by requiring
a minimum lot size of 10 acres on most of the island. Last year, his wife MM, daughter Lynde,
son David Jr., and daughter-in-law Julie made very generous leadership gifts to the Chambers
Island Nature Preserve. So did cousin Robin Uihlein and his wife Brenda, whose cabin is on the
southwest shore. These gifts and the commitment they demonstrate have given the Preserve a
tremendous start. We thank them for their leadership and generosity.
Top: David and MM Uihlein in their Model A Ford ‘Genevieve’
Above: David Uihlein, decorating for the annual July 4th Parade
Right: David Uihlein and John Squier, “Old Chambers Buddies”
Chambers Island Nature Preserve
Partners in Conservation
One family’s story...
The Fitzgeralds
Carolyn and Ed Fitzgerald sailed their small wooden sailboat to Chambers in the 1940’s, one
year after their marriage. Arriving with a roll each of screening, roof material and a couple
of hammers, they used driftwood to build a 6’ x 9’ lean-to, their first island home. Along with
Bob and Helen Wright and their three girls, Johanna, Suzanne, and Louise, the Fitzgeralds
spent two months living on the island each summer with their growing family, four boys and
four girls. Once a summer, the Wrights and Fitzgeralds held the “island regatta” in which they
circumnavigated the entire island.
Ed was a founder of the Chambers Island Association. In 1961 he, Carolyn, and the eight children
discovered that vandals had broken all the doors and windows of the abandoned Chambers
Island Lighthouse. The family undertook the laborious task of picking up shards of glass from the
broken windows and began restoring the structure. Ed was appointed caretaker of the property
by the US government. The family continued to repair the Lighthouse until 1976. Then it became
the Chambers Island Lighthouse Park, and Joel and Mary Ann Blahnik became its caretakers.
Today Carolyn, who will turn 90 this July, still spends summers on Chambers. Some of her
children show up regularly. Strong and hearty as ever, Carolyn says that at Chambers she
loves the “feeling of being alone in the world with the sky and water. I adore the wind. I love the
thunderstorms.” She supports the Chambers Island Nature Preserve because “I want the island to
stay the way it is.”
Above: Ed and Carolyn Fitzgerald, 1969
Left: Carolyn Fitzgerald in her new
Chambers kitchen built for her by
sons Tim and Doug