Ecologically Rare Nevins Property Donated to Door County Land Trust

Two parcels of shoreline property with high ecological significance have been donated recently to the Door County Land Trust by the Nevins family’s third generation owners. Once full-time residents of Door County, Susan, Nancy, and Lori Nevins donated property totaling 9.27 acres near the Village of Egg Harbor in memory of their conservationist parents.

The County of Door Land Use Planning Department conservation study ranks this property as “high concern for protection” for a variety of factors: migratory bird habitat, an important ecological corridor; coastal wetlands, natural communities and wildlife habitat; bedrock beaches, landscape connectivity and movement of wildlife, surface and groundwater, and a mix of mature northern hardwoods, and wet mesic and wet cedar forests.

According to Terrie Cooper, Senior Land Protection Manager, the Nevins’ property holds a rich and rare combination of features. “These little pockets of land are real treasures ecologically,” she said. “There are very few pieces of undeveloped shoreline along Green Bay with wetlands that provide this type of conservation impact that protects water quality, mature woodlands, and important wildlife habitat, including nesting sites for waterfowl like blue-winged teals, green herons, and sandhill cranes.”

The property contains 385 feet of undeveloped Green Bay shoreline, consisting of alkaline dolostone, which creates a rocky beach ridge and wetland swale. Alkaline dolostone helps to buffer the acid effects of rainwater and snowmelt, improving shoreline water quality. The protection of undeveloped shoreline and adjacent wetlands plays an important role in reducing surface and groundwater pollution and runoff from the ever-increasing residential and commercial development along Door County’s shorelines.

Door County lies along one of the five major North American migratory bird flyways: the Lake Michigan flyway. These properties provide important stopover habitat for migratory birds to rest and refuel. The Nevins donation of high-quality forest and wetland habitat offers an abundance of insects, small amphibians, berries, and nuts for migratory and nesting birds, as well as other wildlife.

With the acceptance of this land donation, the Land Trust now protects nearly 9,000 acres.

To complete the acceptance of this generous land donation, Door County Land Trust is in the process of raising $150,000 for both the immediate and long-term care of this critical wildlife habitat.

The Land Trust seeks support from the community to enable future land protection projects that benefit both the people and wildlife of the peninsula. Join the Land Trust’s effort to protect the lands and waters you love by donating at www.DoorCountyLandTrust.org/donate.

See the full press release HERE.