Westport Prairie is a 227-acre wildlife area on the east side of Waunakee, WI. With 1.5 miles of trails, visitors are invited to explore the prairies and 14-acre drumlin. Recreation opportunities include wildlife viewing, cross country skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, hunting and trapping. Land at Westport Prairie is protected by the Wisconsin DNR and Groundswell Conservancy.

Groundswell manages Westport Prairie in partnership with local residents, The Prairie Enthusiasts, nearby Waunakee High School, Wisconsin DNR, and local governments. We maintain and improve Westport Prairie to connect people to the land and to each other.

conifer forest. CBow Ridge supports important plants and wildlife, many of which are Strategy Species in the OCS. The

property's size and connectivity to public forest lands make it an exceptionally valuable refugia and corridor for

wildlife.

River restoration is planned for 2026. Primary goals for restoration include, improve suitable area for juvenile salmonid rearing habitat, increase in-stream habitat complexity, improve riparian conditions, and protect existing high-quality wetland and spring habitat. BMLT is currently working on a prescriptive forest management plan for forest thinning in 2026 to improve upland habitat and increase the fire resiliency of the property.

The surrounding neighborhood is comprised of single family residences and conserved forest lands, as well as commercial and industrial properties, including March’s Point across the bay which is home to several large petroleum refinery operations.

The management goals of the Carsten Conservation Area are to provide connectivity and sense of belonging, maintain public access to nature, maintain ecological integrity, protect nearshore habitats and species, and improve shoreline function due to man-made hard armoring.

Much of the land area is within a public drinking supply wellfield and covers a certifiable vernal pool. Current conditions include beech, pine, and oak woodlands with vernal pool on the western side. Limited invasive species pressure. No public use at present; one encroachment issue is being rectified. Regional impacts include: Damage from insect pests or pathogens, increases in nonnative plant species, sea level rise, changes in species assemblages, and shorter, warmer winters. Local/site-specific impacts include Beach Leaf Disease, the threat of Southern Pine Beetle–already on Martha’s Vineyard, working its way up, and the threat of sea-level rise/coastal flooding. Nearly all beech trees are suffering from beech leaf disease, first discovered onsite in 2022. Currently observing trend, but likely to have to cut our losses as treatment is too costly (allow Transition). A field trip to Martha’s Vineyard will be conducted this week concerning the Southern Pine Beetle, and we are hopeful to gain insight on how to implement Resistance strategies. There is now a low-level foothold for invasive species on this property–a good opportunity to proactively maintain control of invasive growth.

Notes for implementation from Adaptation Strategies and Approaches menu (Forested watershed):

• Enhance floodplain and wetland sites with a seed mix of species tolerant to both wet and dry conditions to enhance recovery after extreme or recurrent flooding to maintain system as species turnover and accommodate changing conditions (Brotherton and Joyce 2015).

• Remove unhealthy individuals of a declining species in order to promote other species expected to fare better. This does not imply that all individuals should be removed, and healthy individuals of declining species can be retained as legacies

• Anticipate and manage rapid decline of species with negative prognoses in both the short and long term (e.g., hemlock, ash) by having adequate seed stock of a desired replacement species expected to do well under future climate conditions.

• Favor or plant species in wetlands that are resistant to desiccation, such as perennial species that spread by runners, and those with deep tap roots.

• Favor or plant species in flood-prone settings that can tolerate more severe or lasting periods of inundation.

• Underplanting a variety of native species on a site to increase overall species richness and provide more options for future management.

• Planting flood-tolerant species, such as swamp white oak and silver maple, on sites that are expected to become more prone to flooding and that are currently not occupied by flood-tolerant species.

The main climate related threat to the property include pressures from invasive pests such as hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), multiflora rose, phragmites and narrow leaf cattail. Other threats include longer periods of hotter drier weather and more frequent intense flooding.

To allow the land to be more resilient to these factors, we plant to treat specific stands of hemlock for HWA, restore a 17 acre ag field to forest using species that are predicted to be better suited to our future climate and increase species and structural diversity in 25 acres of even aged forest using silvicultural practices.

The site contains some native habitat, while a majority is dense non-native grasses, mustard, and verbesina. The site was entirely used as a citrus orchard as late as the 1940's, however the concrete irrigation piping and lack of vegetation is the only evidence that remains onsite.

The site is affected by drastic changes in annual weather patterns including multi-year drought periods and multi-year wet periods. Also, consistently hotter summers varying between dry or humid.

This affects restoration by increasing weed loads with heavy rains or decreasing seeding/planting survival in years of drought. We have tackled this by using a mix of methods including broadcast seeding, seed basins (small depressions where seeds are watered by hand in years lacking enough rain), and transplanting seedlings from one site to another (helpful in years when rain is lacking).

The John W. Chanler Island Preserve in the village of Geneseo is a 59 acre parcel of land in Western Upstate New York. The parcel is divided into two sections, north and south of Cavalry Drive. The project was made possible through a landowner donation by siblings Oliver Chanler and Elizabeth Chatwin.

The Island Preserve is located in the Genesee Valley, a glacial valley just west of the Finger Lakes region. This region is considered a classic eastern American landscape consisting of rolling hills, centuries-old farms and forests, waterfalls and gorges, and the Genesee River (https://exploregeneseevalley.com/about)

The Island Preserve property features native grassland, shrubby fields, a forest 'island', and an idle agriculture field. The preserve neighbors Geneseo Central School District and is frequented by students of The State University of New York College at Geneseo.

The diverse ecosystem provides habitat for many birds, bats, pollinator insects, deer, and other animals.

Climate Adaptation Goals include restoring pollinator habitat by converting the idle agriculture field to a wildflower meadow. Combined, the native grassland and wildflower meadow provide a unique habitat refuge in Upstate New York, provides an opportunity for soil carbon storage, and can act as sink for both precipitation and heat.