In 1994, the City of Wausau proposed the construction of a new municipal sewer line that would have run through 21 acres of forested property owned by D.J. and Mary Clare Freeman. Like many of you, the Freemans loved their land and wanted to protect it from degradation. With support from their neighbor, Jane Raymond-Wood, and the Lakeland Conservancy, the Freemans protected their property with a conservation easement (now held by NCCT). This small group gained new volunteers who were interested in land protection, and in 1996 they formed the original North Central Conservancy Trust!
In early 1999, a different exploratory group began meeting at the College of Natural Resources at UWSP to discuss the development of a land trust in central Wisconsin. In some notes they referred to themselves as the “Central Wisconsin Land Trust,” though the name didn’t stick long term. Later that spring, they attended a regional meeting facilitated by Gathering Waters, along with NCCT from Wausau, the Northeast WI Land Trust, and others. Soon after, a merger between NCCT and the Stevens Point-based group was suggested.
In the summer of 1999, the groups made the merger official, expanded their joint board of directors to 11 members, and established the standing committees that still serve NCCT today! NCCT’s first mission was to, “preserve worthy natural resources of north central Wisconsin for future generations in partnership with landowners.” They worked in Marathon, Portage, Adams, and Wood Counties.
NCCT hired Jo Seiser as its first executive director in 2007 and has since been served by three more fantastic directors: Betsy Kerlin, Janet Smith, and Chris Radford. With the help of former board member, David Worth, NCCT moved into its first office space at The Worth Company in 2013. At that point the organization had protected nearly 3,000 acres of land.
In 2019 NCCT gained its first two nature preserves: Mumford (donation), and the Bukolt properties. With the support of many of you, NCCT moved into its first full office building in 2020, the former DNR Ranger Station in Whiting, where the office remains! NCCT’s most recent nature preserve, Suszko Ridge, was donated by Harry and Lisa Suszko in 2021.
Today, three decades after NCCT’s grassroot start, the organization has had the fortunate opportunity to work with more than 60 landowners in our now eight-county service area, protecting more than 5,000 acres of land. NCCT has been served by many dedicated board members, committee members, and volunteers. There isn’t a more perfect way to celebrate these milestones than national Land Trust Alliance accreditation! On behalf of NCCT, thank you for all that you do to make this important work possible. Cheers to the next 30 years!
To donate to NCCT’s $30,000 for 30 Years of Conservation fundraiser, click here: https://www.ncctwi.org/donate/
