DNR wetland program acquires first Columbia County easement from Portage area farm

More than 40 acres of former farmland northwest of Portage will be restored to wetland next year, the first Columbia County property to join the state’s Wetland Mitigation Program.

Owner Mark Heinze bought the land in Lewiston township a few years ago to grow corn, alfalfa and soybeans, but the wet ground wasn’t ideal for farming even though that had been its use since at least the 1870s, Heinze said. When his family heard that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was interested in getting more land for wetland easements, they thought it made sense — both practically and financially — to offer theirs.

“As a farmer, it’s a little hard to see land come out of cropping that had been farmed forever, but I think it was a good fit this time for that land,” Heinze said....
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Ken Notes: I`ll renew my pitch for putting more land in conservancy`s across the State. This could be a win-win as more and more small farm operations are being sold (not that I like that) putting wetlands, shoreline, and prairie into the public trust is a good idea.