Ecological Stewardship Prospectus

N8976 Kaufman Lane, Crivitz, WI 54114 - Marinette County

36.0 acres | Park-grade stewardship | Rare-species habitat

Location is via Parkway Road, Wisconsin Rustic Road 32 along the waterfall tour.

Centrally positioned: north of Veterans Park, south of Governor Thompson State Park, east of the fabled Thunder Mountain—an enclave of ecological and historical richness, west of High Falls Flowage and within minutes of public recreation yet visually secluded.

Land Composition & Topography

• Total area: 36 surveyed acres.

• Extensive mowed trail network (ATV-compatible) permits discreet circulation without compromising the forest understory.

• Western boundary: a 60-foot ridge overlooks Handsaw Creek, a Wisconsin Class-A

trout stream; a broad natural valley provides riparian seclusion.

• Eastern sector: manicured clearings in thick forest with orchard infrastructure.

• Mature, seven-acre red pine plantation; needle layer supports prolific mycological fruiting.

Botanical Inventory

Edible & Fruit-bearing

– Pear: 5 trees (standard cultivars).

– Apricot: 1 mature standard + 2 smaller.

– Plum: 5 trees (European and American hybrids).

– Apple: 13 trees—Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Yellow

Transparent, Macintosh.

– Nut: 2 Chinese chestnuts, 2 English walnuts, 8+ acres of wild hazelnut bushes.

– Mulberry: 2 Russian Mulberry (Morus alba var. tatarica).

– Berry & cane fruit: blueberry (distinctive northern Wisconsin ecotype), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), raspberry, blackberry, Pixwell gooseberry (dozens of bushes), grapevines (3), cherry bush, honeysuckle (ornamental, Lonicera spp.).

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Medicinal/Herbal

– St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) (2), Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora), Lions Mane

(Hericium erinaceus).

Canopy & Ornamental

Mature pin oak, red oak, blue spruce, pink crabapple, Bradford pear, purple-leaf plum, black cherry, hawthorn, basswood, red cedar, jack pine, scots pine, white ash, quaking aspen, juniper (transplanted Thunder Mountain ecotype), lilacs, naturalized orange day-lily, and ornamental grasses.

Mycological Resources

Seasonal abundance of morels, puffballs, chanterelles, lion’s mane, chicken-of-the-woods, and Indian-pipe (Monotropa uniflora) documented across mesic hardwood and conifer zones.

Wildlife Observations

Regular sightings: black bear (documented winter denning), coyote, ruffed grouse, gray squirrel, red squirrel, southern flying squirrel, eastern chipmunk, wild turkey, red fox, porcupine, blue-spotted salamander.

Avifauna: pileated woodpecker, barred and great horned owls, scarlet tanager, American goldfinch, rose-breasted grosbeak, northern cardinal, blue jay, black-capped chickadee.

State-listed or regionally rare species observed: pileated woodpecker (priority species), eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) (endangered), Karner blue butterfly (Plebejus melissa samuelis), Kirtland’s warbler (migrant).

Summary

This property represents a fully integrated park-style agroforestry reserve offering immediate recreational utility, long-term botanical yield, and significant ecological value within a premier Northwoods setting on Handsaw Creek in the heart of Marinette County’s Recreation Zone in the sunset shadow of Thunder Mountain.

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