Breaking News: Protect Pebble Beach

Door County Land Trust

Protecting Door County’s Exceptional Lands and Waters...Forever

PROTECT PEBBLE BEACH Generations have come here to enjoy this small beach at the end of a dead-end road.

Views from the scenic shoreline are treasured by the community.

We now have the opportunity to protect an additional 600 feet of shoreline and 17 acres of land for all to enjoy.

The limestone and pebble foundation of the land contains thirteen late- and post- glacial beach ridges extending a distance of about 1,000 feet between today’s shoreline and the wave-cut bluff. The dolomite limestone shoreline naturally buffers increasingly acidic rains.

On a summer day you’ll find a boat or two anchored in the harbor, sun-bathers lounging on the shore, and even an angler or two.

At completion of the protection of the property, Pebble Beach will be owned and managed by the Village of Sister Bay and open to all to enjoy.

Northern white cedar trees create a solid canopy that provides nesting and forage for birds like the cedar waxwing and pine siskin, and other critters like the northern flying squirrel. Northern white cedar forests along the Niagara Escarpment are home to some of the oldest trees east of the Mississippi River.

You can make a difference forever...when you donate today.

Join the effort to protect Pebble Beach. www.DoorCountyLandTrust.org/PebbleBeach

Photo by Mary Van Dyke

Will you help protect this geologic gem?

THE STORY OF A SCENIC SHORELINE AND THE COMMUNITY CALL TO PROTECT IT. A GEOLOGIC GEM IN JEOPARDY

17 acres at Pebble Beach is listed for sale, leaving the fate of the iconic shoreline unknown.

In December 2018, Pebble Beach was thrown into the spotlight when local government considered a proposal to divide the undeveloped shoreline into four lots for private development. Public sentiment for protecting the beach from development was voiced loudly in letters to the editor, across social media, and throughout the community. Door County Land Trust was on the receiving end of many of these comments, with members and the public alike expressing their concern for the future of the treasured shoreline.

The resonating message was clear; protect Pebble Beach for all to enjoy. But, the prime real estate carried a $3.6 million price-tag, which seemed an insurmountable hurdle to protecting the land.

Door County Land Trust responds to the community and lays the foundation to conserve Pebble Beach.

CONSERVATION FOR THE COMMUNITY Landowners who have cared for this property for many decades wished to see the property conserved. In Spring 2019 they offered to lower the sale price—if the property would remain natural. The Land Trust office buzzed with hushed fervor, energized by the dream of protecting this geologic gem. But, funding the land purchase still remained a major obstacle. Land Trust staff reached out to conservation partners and grant funders to search for funding.

In a lucky break, a conservation partner helped the project move forward. The Land Trust’s contact at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources passed on a tip about a grant through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that would provide $1 million—if the property were owned and managed by a local unit of government. The Land Trust pitched the idea to the Village of Sister Bay who began considering the project, and the dream of protecting the property inched closer to reality.

To respond to the community, Door County Land Trust and the Village of Sister Bay created a plan for a partnership to create public access to the shoreline and to protect Pebble Beach from development.

With a grant of $1 million tentatively secured and a reduced sale price, the Village of Sister Bay and the Door County Land Trust entered into an agreement to protect the property as a publicly accessible natural area.

A PLAN TO PROTECT PEBBLE BEACH

Door County Land Trust will partner with the Village of Sister Bay to protect 17 acres of natural land and 600 feet of shoreline for the community...forever.

To help the project succeed, Door County Land Trust, with support from the Village, will raise approximately $500,000 to support the purchase and long-term conservation of the property.

If successful, the land will be owned and managed by the Village of Sister Bay. The Village of Sister Bay intends to apply for a reimbursement grant through Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to fund up to $1 million of the purchase price. Door County Land Trust will hold a conservation easement agreement which will ensure the property remains natural. The Land Trust will work with the Village to preserve native plants and wildlife habitat. The Village will manage the recreational use of the property and any amenities, so as to preserve the natural state of the land.

Once completed, Pebble Beach’s beautiful views, extraordinary shoreline and cedar forest will be preserved for all to enjoy.

GEOLOGICALLY UNIQUE.

“Pebble Beach is

really a hidden gem.

Locals have known, loved and respected it forever. This project means those traditions can continue for generations.”

— Brian Frisque

Community Member

LOVED BY ALL. You can make a difference forever... when you donate today.

Join the effort to protect Pebble Beach!

Photo by Dan Eggert

www.DoorCountyLandTrust.org/PebbleBeach

Photo by Dan Eggert

Protecting important coastal wetland habitat in northern Door County.

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A��������� T�� L��� A����������� �� G��������-E������ S���� N������ A��� Door County Land Trust is pleased to announce two properties within the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp Natural Area were permanently protected in spring 2019! The two properties total 120 acres and contain wetlands, springs and streams that comprise portions of the headwaters which drain westward into Ephraim’s Eagle Harbor and the bay of Green Bay. The protected lands are at the heart of a larger wildlife corridor that contains a mature white cedar swamp forest—a fragile and vital ecosystem that supports many unique plant and animal species.

Conservation partners recognize that Gibraltar-Ephraim swamp contains some of the best remaining coastal wetland habitat in northern Door County. Door County Land Trust is actively working to expand land protection within the Gibraltar-Ephraim Swamp State Natural Area due to its high ecological value. Nearly 800 acres contain high-quality habitat for land protection and with these two properties, about 280 of the targeted acres are now permanently protected.

According to Door County Land Trust Land Program Director Julie Schartner, “The cedar swamp naturally filters water before flowing into Eagle Harbor and the bay of Green Bay. Protecting wetlands is important to maintain the diversity of natural communities, but also plays a vital role in providing benefits to our human communities, such as filtering water and flood control.”

One property, an 80-acre parcel containing streams and an upland glacial deposit, was purchased from landowners Dennis and Sue Bhirdo, who wanted to conserve the property and chose the Door County Land Trust to ensure their property remained in its natural state. The property holds many memories for the couple. Dennis recalls memories from his youth hunting and exploring the property with his father. Sue planted trees on the land shortly after her marriage to Dennis in 1962.

The second property is a 40-acre parcel containing cedar swamp and some of the deepest portions of the wetland.

The family, who wish to remain anonymous, chose to work with Door County Land Trust because they desired the property to be conserved in honor of their family history with the land.

Funding for the two land purchases was provided by grants from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and from Wisconsin’s KnowlesNelson Stewardship Program.

The long-term care and maintenance of the properties will be supported through the Land Trust’s Stewardship Endowment Fund. $6,000 has been raised to support the care of the newly protected properties, and the Land Trust seeks to raise an additional $19,000 to complete the endowment contribution necessary to care for the properties forever. Contributions from members and the community make conservation projects like this possible.