EMAIL Tall Pines Conservancy

This year, the Tall Pines conservancy will focus on expanding our reach in the Lake Country area and spreading awareness of our mission through various outlets. As our organization has grown in its membership base, manpower (with the important addition of our new Administrative Coordinator, Janet Hoeft) and property acquisitions, the aforementioned need of spreading awareness has become apparent.

On March 19th, our group participated in the Lake Country Community Fest at Arrowhead High School, providing information at a booth along with more than 100 other local organizations and businesses. There were nearly 1,000 attendees at the Lake Country Community Fest, mostly local residents, but also prospective residents interested in learning more abut our community's offerings. This venue was an excellent launching pad for our commitment to reach out to area residents who were not yet aware of our existence and those that wanted to learn more about what they can do towards the preservation of our precious natural commodities.

The TPC Board of Directors have targeted future community events in our area over the next 6 months to provide a similar presence and further our awareness efforts. It is our intention to continue such efforts as part of our standard operating procedure, with the goal of not only educating the community on our mission, but also the benefits of conservation and the positive impact that all Land Conservation organizations have on our quality of life.

In addition to providing a presence at area events, for our outreach goals, the TPD is also interested in trying to get area youth more involved in our mission. Since the children are our future, what better way to further the strength of our message than to educate the younger generation on the impact of development on our lakes and community, instilling an early passion towards preserving our environment.

The first step towards our youth outreach is providing an opportunity for students to volunteer with TPC, in various capacities such as assisting with land surveying, monitoring existing properties and helping out at some of our events. Additionally, we are in the process of contacting specific local schools to gauge their interest in encouraging their students to get involved and chronicle their experience and gain knowledge in essays or papers, either for extra credit or as part of the curriculum in complementary classes. University Lake School has already expressed interest in adding a Land Conservation component to its curriculum.

TPC would also like to encourage schools and teachers to contact us to discuss potential field trips, conservation, and getting involved with nature. Placing a birdhouse or two on the TPC property, then visiting periodically to see what type of bird is nesting in the birdhouse is a great way to get more involved and be in touch with nature. They can track and monitor the birds by keeping a journal over the year(s).

This spring we will begin preparing the soil for flower gardens on the Tall Pines Conservancy property. We welcome the participation from anyone in the community who would like to lend a hand and learn about gardening, share his/her expertise and for those of you who are master gardeners to share your knowledge.

This is a very exciting project and we would also like to have involvement from local Garden Centers as well as Florists. We have a natural synergy with these groups and working together on our passion would benefit all.

As we continue to achieve our mission and uphold our commitment to all of our members to work hard towards preserving the unique character of NW Waukesha County, we encourage all of you to spread the word in your own way. An excellent way to do this is to educate your children or grandchildren on the impact of open space on our quality of life and the quality of our lakes. Talk to them about the importance of land conservation in preserving the beauty of our community for future generations. It is one of the easiest and best contributions you could make to our community.

We encourage you to come in to meet Janet and share ideas with her on how we can become more visible in the community. Get involved in this great opportunity and thanks for your continued support!

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Janet K. Hoeft, most recently a Client Services Manager with AQS, Inc. has been named Administrative Coordinator for Tall Pines Conservancy. Prior to AQS, Janet was the Circulation Manager for USA Today for 6 years and worked for 10 years with Tandem Computers, Inc. Janet brings us experience in project and process management, in addition to her creativity and organizational skills. Janet is warm hearted, outgoing and extremely interested in supporting our community and surrounding areas.

Currently, Janet's salary is funded by a grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Part of Janet's job description is to grow the Conservancy memberships and find new sources of revenue to help support additional property acquisitions and operations.

Janet will help to further our mission by accelerating our land preservation efforts, community education and awareness activities. We at Tall Pines Conservancy are very excited for the future of our Conservancy and we invite you to get more involved or learn more about our activities. If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to contact Janet at 262-369-0500 or email jhoeft@tallpinesconservancy.org. Plus, be sure to hold the date of Thursday, June 16, 2005 for the Tall Pines Conservancy's 7th Annual Picnic to meet Janet.

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On May 2nd, the Tall Pines Conservancy, and our conservation cause lost one of our true pioneers in land conservation, John Pritzlaff. As a past member of the board of the Nature Conservancy, John had first hand and national knowledge of the importance of land conservation.

He and his family were one of our first donors of a conservation easement to the Tall Pines Conservancy, now the Tall Pines Conservancy. Their beautiful bog and forest between Beaver and Pine Lakes is one of our most precious easements. The bog acts as an important filter bed keeping the water of these two pristine lakes clear.

Our hearts and prayers go out to John's family and we thank them for their vision and contribution of the easement on their property for future generations.

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Tall Pines Conservancy is pleased to announce we helped protect another property. The Eschweiler family has donated a conservation easement to TPC protecting 7 acres of prime environmental corridor. The property is a ridge of land separating Mud Lake from North Lake with over 780 ft. of frontage on North Lake. This property is critical to the health of both North and Mud Lakes. Without the easement, three home sites could have been developed on this ridge of land. With the easement donated by the Eschweiler family there will never be any homes built on this property and the extended Eschweiler family will have use of the property for swimming and family gatherings for generations to come. What a great way to leave a legacy to your family and future generations!

TPC is grateful to the Eschweiler family for their generosity and their foresight to protect their property.

In addition to the easement donated to TPC, the Eschweiler family has placed approximately 28 acres of their property into the Wisconsin Managed Forest program. The property in Managed Forest is located on the corner of Hwy 83 and County K. You may have noticed the clearing activity and some cutting activity on this property. This is all in conjunction with a DNR approved management plan to insure the health and longevity of this forest area.

TPC is grateful for the Conservation vision that the Eschweilers have demonstrated through their actions with property under their control. The actions taken by the Eschweiler family will benefit the entire community for future generations to come.

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I was fortunate enough to attend a recent lecture by Steven McCormick, the President of the Nature Conservancy, where he described his view for the future success of his organization as follows:

If we can begin to view our landscapes as mosaics that accommodate the needs of all living things, we can start to see conservation as a core value throughout society in all places - not only in the Last Great Places. People clearly present substantial challenges to the health of our planet, but they are also at the core of each and every solution. He went on to say that the old goal of protecting nature from people missed the critical need to include mankind, their traditions, culture, and economic activities in any planning for conservation of the biosystem.

Our local community, the lands, waters, and lifestyle we so love and hope to sustain, is a microcosm where this broader view of conservation will need to be applied. All of us as members of the community need to be part of the effort to sustain our setting and lifestyle. In order to do this, conservation needs to have a place at the core of our everyday lives. Our needs for space, travel, and earning a living must operate within a framework that encourages the preservation of our natural surroundings.

Tall Pines Conservancy hopes to be a catalyst for cooperative conservation efforts in our community. To be effective in this, we need you as members of the community to become members also of Tall Pines, to learn, to participate, to make your views about our environment known, and to be part of the preservation process.

We ask that you send in your membership reply card and check today. Then stop in to our office or log onto our website to access information about conservation in general and our local activities as well. We look forward to your participation.

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We need your help in getting the word out on invasive species! What could be easier than downloading one of the press-ready articles from the Wisconsin Council on Invasive Species website and submitting it to your local community newsletter, weekly, LISTSERV or electronic newsletter? Choose the article that interests you. Then reproduce in its entirety or in part! It's that easy!

Lob on to http://invasivespecies.wi.gov and download fact sheets, news releases and action alerts. Plus, don't forget to check out the image library too!

If you have an article you wish to publish on the Wisconsin Council Invasive Species website, please email copies to astaffen@tnc.org. Please include where and when the articles were published.

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My father, John C. Pritzlaff Jr., passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 2nd. His immediate family was all able to be with him. My Dad was born in Milwaukee on May 10, 1925. He spent much of his youth at Pine Lake in my grandmother's house which was on the hill above Ted Yewer's place. That house had been in the Gallun family since the early 1900's.

In those days there was a path around the lake and one was able to explore at will.

My father told me about many happy summer days spend playing at different cousins' houses. He also told of the occasional sibling abuse, like being frightened by his older sisters who would leave him blindfolded somewhere in the woods. Such is the lot of being the youngest.

My dad became an avid birder while he was young. I think this began or was a part of his later passion for land conservation. After moving my family to Phoenix, Arizona in 1958, after the sale of the hardware company that had been in my family for over one hundred years, he became a state legislator. In this capacity he was able to help preserve Camelback Mountain and initiated several state land conservation funds and private/public partnerships which today are the backbone of land and water conservation in Arizona. He also served as Treasurer and a long time member of the Nature Conservancy's National Board of Governors.

Therefore it is not surprising that he and my mother donated the first conservation easement to the Tall Pines Conservancy, (formerly CLC). This easement permanently protects about 50 acres of meadow through which water from Beaver Lake runs into Pine Lake. This ability to set aside some land to help protect Pine Lake was a source of pride for my dad, and we are all proud that my parents took the initiative with the help of the TPC. It was a selfless act for which we can all be grateful.