A Thousand Pieces of Paradise: Landscape and Property in the Kickapoo Valley

Illustrations

figures 1. Kickapoo Valley study sites 13 2. Absentee land ownership in Liberty, 1930–95 22 3. Township of Liberty land cover, 1939–95 23 4. Contour strip cropping in Liberty, 1939–67 27 5. Beef ranches in Liberty, 1965–95 48 6. Land fragmentation in Liberty, 1978–95 63 7. Oak-hickory to maple-basswood forest succession in Liberty, 1939–95 76 8. Amish land ownership in Clinton, 1966–95 86 9. Clinton topography and Amish settlement, 1995 105 10. Oak-hickory to maple-basswood forest succession in Clinton, 1939–95 119 11. Spatial history of oak-hickory forests in Liberty, 1939–95 120 12. Spatial history of oak-hickory forests in Clinton, 1939–95 121 13. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land in Stark, 1995 135 14. Private land turnover around Corps of Engineers land 160 15. Expansion of forests in Stark, 1939–95 162 illustrations A rectangular Kickapoo Valley field alongside a field in contour strips 28 “Dairyland Contour Plowing Contest” 35 A classic Driftless Area scene 43 Local Valley farm 49 Illustrations vii Small dairy operation, much rarer after the end of the Soil Bank 51 Kickapoo Valley beef ranch 53 Trout fishing in the Kickapoo River 57 Kickapoo Valley panorama attracting urbanites 64 Timber harvesting on steep slopes 74 Recreational vehicle in an old field on Woodland Farms Road 77 After Woodland Farms, continued recreational development 81 A prosperous Amish farm in the Kickapoo Valley 89 “God’s Country, Guard’s Country” 101 “Roar” 102 Small-scale Amish agriculture in the Kickapoo Valley 108 Sugar maple tapping 109 Cattle grazing and erosion on an Amish farm 115 An Amish sawmill near Clinton 118 “In Memory of Those Who Sold Us down the Kickapoo River” 130 “Sharing Hardships of Flood Victims in Western Wisconsin” 131 Canoeing, a favorite pastime in the Valley 139 Cliffs around La Farge, habitat for rare plants 146 La Farge dam intake tower 151 Springhouse ruins on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land 153 Riparian regeneration along the Kickapoo River 155 Muddy, rutted pickup tracks through the Kickapoo Valley Reserve 157 Horseback riders in the reserve 157 Old fields regenerating to forest 163 Edges where fields and forest meet are ideal for white-tailed deer 164 The La Farge dam intake tower preserved for its historical significance 191 A landscape vision 192 Last words from the Kickapoo Valley 204 viii Illustrations ...