In early March Marathon County landowner, Mary Binkley, donated her 30-acre property in the Town of Texas to the North Central Conservancy Trust (NCCT). The nonprofit land trust organization plans to retain ownership of the property and open it to the public for gentle recreation and nature exploration, making this NCCT’s fourth nature preserve within its central Wisconsin service area.
Binkley grew up in Wausau and now resides in Dane County. She is a dedicated supporter of conservation initiatives around the state. She served on the Board of Directors for the Groundswell Conservancy in Madison from 2020 until 2023 and is an active volunteer with Dane County Parks and the Friends of Cherokee Marsh. Binkley frequently leads nature outings in Dane County that focus on everything from plants and insects to making maple syrup.
Binkley inherited the property from her parents, Richard and Doris Bartholomew, who purchased it in the early 1960s for family recreation. Together, they enjoyed creating trails in the woods by cutting brush with lopping shears and small trees with an ax. They cooked (burned) foil wrapped hamburgers in the fire, fished, tried unsuccessfully to cross the creek in a new place, and slid on the frozen stream until someone broke through the ice (there were many wet feet out there). The family built a plywood lean-to with balsam fir branches for the roof, and, of course, learned about new plants and birds.
Historically, the high ground of the property was used as a hayfield. Back in the 1960s, there were remnant stumps from very large pine trees on the property, a few large enough to hold a couple of kids at once.
Of her donation, Binkley says, “My four siblings and I are very happy to have NCCT own and care for the property we learned so much from while growing up.”
With more than one quarter mile of Big Cain Creek flowing through it, this 30-acre property has remarkable value to conservation. East of the creek, the habitat is northern hardwood forest with sugar maple trees. West of the creek are about 10 acres of forested wetlands with balsam fir.
Big Cain Creek is classified by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) as both a Class 1 trout stream and an Exceptional Resource Water (ERW) to the state. Class 1 trout streams have high-quality waters that can sustain natural populations of trout. Waters classified as ERW provide outstanding recreational opportunities, support valuable fisheries and wildlife habitat, have good water quality, and are not significantly impacted by human activities. According to the WDNR, only 11% of Wisconsin’s stream mileage is designated as ERW.
Big Cain Creek is in the Trappe River watershed, which has an overall medium rank for the impacts of runoff on streams, lakes, and groundwater. The permanent conservation of this property will ensure that its forested and wetland habitats remain intact, which will help to buffer Big Cain Creek and continue to provide good water quality before the creek drains into the Trappe River, a tributary of the Wisconsin River, and ultimately the Mississippi River.
“We are truly grateful to Mary for this incredibly generous and inspiring gift. It is an honor to have the opportunity to permanently protect this special place and the natural resources found within for future generations,” said NCCT’s Executive Director, Chris Radford.
NCCT Board President, Jill Falstad, adds, “It’s a beautiful property and we share Mary’s vision to protect this important habitat forever. NCCT is sincerely thankful for this generous donation.”
Mary’s donation also helps NCCT surpass an exciting milestone: more than 500 acres protected in Marathon County. Located about 16 miles southeast of the Binkley property off WI-52 in Aniwa is NCCT’s first public nature preserve called the Mumford Preserve. The 160-acre property was donated to the organization in 2019 by Luigi Mumford. It has more than a half mile of the Eau Claire River going through it and a one-mile loop trail for visitors to enjoy.
For the organization’s first year of ownership of the Binkley property, Executive Director Chris Radford stated, “We’ll start by inventorying the plants, animals, and natural features on the property, and develop a plan for long-term management. We are hoping to have volunteers out there this spring to do some basic maintenance and would love to hold a community event in the summer as a grand opening. Stay tuned!”
