Since 2022, Sand County Foundation has helped landowners restore prairie and oak savanna ecosystems and improve forest management in the ecologically important Driftless Area of Wisconsin. This work is made possible through a five-year Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) award from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Our efforts have delivered forest management plans for 60 landowners, covering nearly 2,000 acres including areas of remnant oak savanna. These plans are written by professional foresters certified by the NRCS as technical service providers, and tailored to the restoration goals of each landowner.

To date, approximately 40 of these landowners have initiated restoration activities including brush management, herbaceous weed control, woody residue treatment, prescribed burning, and forest stand improvement.

Another seven landowners have initiated prairie restoration on dozens of acres, creating diverse native plant habitat on odd-shaped fields, lowlands, or steep slopes that are difficult or uneconomical to farm.

We have also delivered prescribed grazing plans and funding for fencing, water delivery, and pasture seeding to livestock farmers managing hundreds of acres across eleven farms in southwestern Wisconsin. Read more about our livestock grazing efforts here.

By targeting conservation funding and technical assistance for these practices together with the NRCS and our project partners, Sand County Foundation is reducing erosion from vulnerable landscapes, and increasing habitat for grassland birds and pollinators.

Funding for these efforts is provided by the USDA-NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program, with matching contributions from private sources and in-kind support from our project partners.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.