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Would Walworth County embrace a National Wildlife Refuge?

An effort to make a National Wildlife Refuge more accessible to urban areas like Chicago could have a significant impact on Walworth County's conservation efforts.

Read the story HERE

The Trust for Public Land, this week released a feasibility study for a National Wildlife Refuge that would include parts of Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties, and stretch into McHenry County.

One of the goals, according to the report, is to make such areas accessible to more people by acquiring land adjacent to larger urban populations.

Just a short drive west of Chicago, the refuge would serve more people than those in more remote parts of the country.

Walworth County already is served by a variety of conservation groups, such as the Kishwauketoe Nature conservancy, the Lulu Lake Nature Preserve, The Kettle Moraine Land Trust and the Geneva Lake Conservancy.

Although the report emphasizes that the designation as a National Wildlife Refuge has no effect on the rights, privileges and responsibilities of adjacent private landowners, it will certainly have an impact.

Preservation and development have long clashed in Walworth County, particularly near Geneva and Delavan lakes, arguably the county's most treasured natural assets.

National Wildlife Refugee lands are acquired and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition, they partner with landowners and conservation groups.

There has been strong interest over the past decade of local landowners setting aside and preserving land.

One of the largest transfers was the Turtle Creek Nature Wildlife Area with stretches along Turtle Creek across the mid-part of Walworth County. This could provide property owners with new opportunities to preserve their land.

Of course the reason Walworth County draws interest in development is because our natural resources draw people here. How we preserve those resources will ultimately set the course for our future.