Here we are on a little piece of paradise, just three miles from the center of Winona, a land developer's dream with about 60 flat acres and 115 more ranging from a slight to very steep slope, but much still buildable. We could have sold out and made both a developer and ourselves very rich. We could have moved out a little further, bought another farm and lived on the interest from the change. But there is more to life than money, and what a loss that would have been to Winona; this is the last of the 4 large valleys converging on Winona to remain largely untouched.
On January 3, 2002 The Conservation Easement authored to forever protect the farm from development was signed, so this part of this beautiful valley will always connect Winona to it's past, and hopefully will always have an open gate, welcoming visitors to a family farm with a diverse range of animals.
The Conservation Easement prohibits the sub-division of the farm, and disallows any building that is not homestead or farm related. Any building must be restricted to a designated 12 acre building envelope and can never be more than double the footprint of the existing buildings. Even agriculture is restricted to 55 acres, protecting the riparian areas, hillsides and creeks from damage that can be done by grazing livestock and farm machinery.
Many of you will know the ugly scar on our farm, and wonder how this can fit in with the ideals of conservation. This is a valid question and you will receive no argument from us about the aesthetic degradation it causes, plainly shown below. However the other picture below will give you an idea of what the area will look like after the restoration is complete. This area was restored about seven years ago, and by adding a pond we have made a wildlife haven where deer and other animals come down the hill in to get a drink, without the need to cross the road to get to the creek.
If you look closely of the pond picture you can see the pair of Canada Geese; the gander is swimming while his partner is on the nest. This gander is a goose who was hatched in the wild, while the female is one who hatched on a farm. Some of the Canada Geese on the farm were released here by the DNR in 1998. Because they are all in essence wild creatures in their natural environment they need some protection, especially during molting season when they can't fly, so the US Fish and Wildlife Department supplied "Goose Crossing" signs to be erected to warn motorists that there could be geese on the road. Unfortunately someone decided that one of these signs would make a good conversation point, and removed it from its post. Before the geese molt we will be getting a replacement sign and reinstalling them on stronger posts cemented into the ground. Please do not remove them as you are in reality stealing from yourself and your fellow tax paying neighbors and friends.
The only problem we see with a total restoration of the quarried area is that the bank swallows will lose a home, if anyone has any sugestions on how to leave a section of bank while grading the rest to a more natural look, without the swallow area looking out of place please feel free to email us with your suggestions.