DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – More forest and wetland habitat is now protected by the Door County Land Trust.
The trust announced Tuesday that it bought land in the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp State Natural Area. The wetland corridor extends from Eagle Harbor on Green Bay along the peninsula’s west side to Baileys Harbor on Lake Michigan on the east side of the peninsula.
Land trust officials say natural filtration in the wetland influences water quality in Eagle Harbor. The area also provides migratory and breeding habitat for birds, including rare and threatened species. It also provides habitat and foraging ground for the endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly.
“Large-scale conservation efforts like this one at Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp benefit everything we hold dear: the plants and animals, the beauty of the landscape, the health of our waters, and so much more,” Julie Schartner of the Door County Land Trust said in a news release. “Protecting places like these is so important to the environmental health of our region overall, and is significant to our local community.”
With the latest addition, the land trust protects 400 acers in the swamp.
Funding for the land purchase came from Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A grant from the John C. Bock foundation will cover a portion of the long-term care costs.
The Door County Land Trust is still looking for more donations for future care of the property.
