In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

3 Implementing a Management Plan 45 Despite the commitment of the founders of the Leopold Memorial Reserve to broad conservation principles, many practical concerns about their new endeavor could not easily be resolved. How, for instance, would a foundation in Madison effectively oversee a property near Baraboo? Who would be hired to manage the land? How would Leopold’s guiding principles be applied in practice? e founders attempted to address these issues by hiring in January 1968 one of the reserve’s participants , Frank Terbilcox, to be the resident manager. Funding for Terbilcox ’s position was provided by the Madison-Kipp Corporation, of which Reed Coleman was president. Ongoing support from Madison-Kipp enabled the Head Foundation to continue to devote resources to land management and outreach activities in its early years.1 Soon after Terbilcox assumed the position of manager, the Head Foundation hired Robert Ellarson, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin– Madison and a former Leopold student, to write the first management plan for the reserve. Ellarson continued to serve as a consultant to the foundation for the next twenty years. During the reserve’s first decade, those in charge of stewardship there balanced its increasing visibility in the community with the desire to manage the land according to ecological principles. e approach to conservation Ellarson proposed in his management plan resembled that of his mentor Leopold, with a focus on prairie restoration plantings, wildlife management, and controlled burns overseen by a small management team. Frank Terbilcox, as the manager and main representative of the reserve to the surrounding community, quickly learned public-relations skills beyond those required in his previous job running a greenhouse business in Baraboo , such as how to negotiate with individuals and town officials who had differing visions for land use and management. Early Management Plans After consulting with key stakeholders, Bob Ellarson submitted his first management plan for the reserve in September 1969. In it he suggested four objectives for managing the Leopold Memorial Reserve: (1) to maintain the biological health and productivity of the reserve; (2) to maintain and create a diversity of ecological communities consistent with the land resources available on the reserve; (3) to provide a demonstration area where various land-management techniques would be employed in the interest of creating a landscape both aesthetically pleasant and economically productive; and (4) to provide opportunities for scientific research, aesthetic appreciation, recreation, and economic endeavors such as farming and forestry.2 Given his expertise in ecology, Ellarson’s objectives went beyond the idea of collectively protecting the land from development by adding speci fic management actions to the principles outlined in the 1967 agreement . He started by recommending ways to continue nursing the land back to health through the planting of native prairie and wetland plant species, the use of controlled burns to maintain and expand prairie landscapes , and the establishment of small wildlife food-patch plantings of corn and soybeans interspersed with the prairie restorations. He proposed that the existing trail network be expanded to provide easy access for nature study and observation. He suggested as well that artificial ponds be constructed on the reserve and that nest boxes be installed to aid in the recovery of wood duck populations. At the same time, management of the reserve’s deer herd emerged as an important issue. Like other wildlife managers of the period, Ellarson recommended a reduction of the size of the deer herd in order to prevent damage to native forest vegetation and to crops on nearby farm fields. is could be accomplished, he maintained, through the establishment of a game-harvest reporting system.3 Implementing a Management Plan 46 47 Bill Elder, Bob Ellarson, Nina Leopold (Elder) Bradley, and Estella B. Leopold (l-r), 1968. (Frank Terbilcox) Frank Terbilcox and Bobette Helland talking with Catherine Coleman. (Frank Terbilcox) Initial planning meetings Frank Terbilcox had already begun to implement some ideas of his own during the previous year. Before signing the reserve agreement, he had worked with the Sauk County Soil Conservation District to develop a soil and water conservation plan on his own 300-acre property that included, among other things, digging artificial ponds.4 Terbilcox was therefore familiar with the cost-sharing policies of federal and state agencies for increasing waterfowl habitat, and within weeks of being hired, Terbilcox explored the feasibility of digging new ponds on the Leopold Memorial Reserve. Along with several others who contributed management...

Share