Landmark Conservancy was born of a 2018 merger between two nationally accredited land trusts: West Wisconsin Land Trust and Bayfield Regional Conservancy. Representing over 50 years of conservation work, their mission is to conserve Wisconsin’s natural legacy for everyone, forever. Through a network and partnership with private and public landowners, and passionate, engaged citizens, they work to preserve the natural and scenic landscapes. They were recently selected from over 40 member organizations as the 2019 Land Trust of the year, being recognized for ‘outstanding leadership and commitment toward the protection of Wisconsin’s land, water, wildlife, and way of life’.
Landmark has a strategic planning process underway, with a focus on developing an effective business model that ensures the organization will have the resources to sustain operations and adequate reserves to build their
land protection fund and maintain the stewardship requirements of their land protections. Being that they are a regional organization, endowment earnings would be used for conservation and outreach efforts in Dunn County, specifically noting the Devil’s Punchbowl Preserve as a near-term initiative for the funds. The Community Foundation has funded Devil’s Punchbowl initiatives in the past, and it is a 3-acre property they own just outside of Menomonie and is historically underfunded. Long-term, they anticipate funds meeting additional needs to support stewardship or monitoring of other owned land “ambassador sites” of recreational lands and/or ecological reserves, or outreach efforts. They have a few initiatives in motion to raise awareness and funds for the Devil’s Punchbowl which they would incorporate the matching efforts into.
“This endowment challenge grant will enable Landmark Conservancy to develop a dedicated funding stream for conservation projects and outreach in Dunn County. Establishing this fund will allow us to plan for the long-term needs of properties like the Devil’s Punchbowl, which is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. We look forward to engaging the community in this effort to support us in protecting the natural legacy of Wisconsin for everyone – forever.” -Kristin Thompson, Advancement Director for Landmark Conservancy.
To contribute towards Landmark’s $5,000 fundraising effort for their Agency Fund, please visit: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/landmarkconservationprojects?code=CFDC.
