By Douglas Kurtzweil
I was raised on a small dairy farm in Marathon County. It was my grandfather who first introduced me to the natural world—what I consider the “real world.” He took me fishing for the first time when I was five years old, and a few years later I began to tag along with him on small game hunts.
Grandpa knew we had to take care of the land, the water, and the forests if we wanted the earth to continue to sustain us. He was one of the first farmers in the area to keep the cattle out of the woodlot, and the first to start fencing off a buffer along the stream bank. I helped him plant hundreds of trees by hand, peel pulp, and make firewood. That was almost 50 years ago.
Years later I took an introductory wildlife course from Ray Anderson at UW-Stevens Point. That was when I first heard of Aldo Leopold, and read A Sand County Almanac. I learned there were words to define the philosophy and practices Grandpa was teaching. Words like carrying capacity, sustainability, and “hoop of the earth”—the idea that all the life and ecosystems of the earth are interconnected.
 Inevitably, development came to the rural areas of Marathon County, and with it came decreased fishing opportunities. Those were just some of the reasons behind my decision to move farther north to Sawyer County 30 years ago. But things have changed here too. Throughout the 1990s, small seasonal cottages were being replaced with palatial “show” houses. Near-shore areas were being developed both above and below the high water mark. The ecological consequences were predictable and discouraging, but I thought, “What can one person do?”
I found my opportunity not long after moving again, this time to a small year-round cabin on a backwater bay of the Chippewa Flowage. The Chippewa Flowage is a wide, sprawling body of water with 230 miles of shoreline and nearly 200 islands—a rare gem of a place in which wildlife, nature, and recreation seem to have struck a balance. Because of the farsighted vision and responsible stewardship of past decades, 90 percent of the flowage remains wild and undeveloped, and will stay that way. But a few key pieces were left in private ownership, and when a rezoning application threatened high-density development on two islands in the wildest part of the flowage, I knew I had to get involved.
I had joined the Chippewa Flowage Area Property Owners Association, and we began speaking out against the proposed development at zoning committee meetings. At one of these meetings a member of the committee suggested that if we didn’t want development on these islands, then we should buy them. Immediately, the wheels of what would soon become the Chippewa Islands Project were set in motion. Our objective: the preservation of Big Timber and Moonshine Islands, to be enjoyed in their natural state by generations to come.
A whole team of people quickly rallied behind the Chippewa Islands Project. With the advice of DNR staff, and cooperation between the property owners association, the Couderay Waters Regional Land Trust, and members of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band, we began to raise the funds we would need in order to secure a match from the Stewardship Fund for the purchase of Big Timber Island. By 2004 we had successfully raised $50,000 in private donations, with which we were able to leverage with the Stewardship Fund at the incredible rate of 8 to 1! The DNR purchased the property outright, and the goal of preserving Big Timber Island became a reality.
We celebrated the success of our efforts with a dedication in May of 2004, but there is still work to be done. The Moonshine Island phase of the Chippewa Islands project has required a great deal of time and resources, but the existence and availability of the Stewardship Fund makes it possible for local groups like ours to achieve conservation goals that would otherwise be out of reach.
Being involved in these efforts, I have learned that one person can indeed make a difference, but rarely by working alone. By reaching out, cooperating, collaborating with individuals and organizations, great and enduring accomplishments can result. Without the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, however, both Big Timber Island and Moonshine Island would very likely be multi-unit developments today.
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