Big conservation deal in Door County

DOOR COUNTY - Hundreds of acres of well-preserved wildlife areas in Door County are now available for public use.

The Door County Land Trust purchased the 483 acres in Sevastopol this week.

"It's just a neat jewel right here in Door County," said Dick Baudhuin.

Baudhuin has hunted and enjoyed these nearly 500 acres of the Shivering Sands area for more than 30 years. Now in his late 70's, Baudhuin says he was ready to sell the property. But, he wanted it put to good public use.

"The original interest was to protect and preserve it and fortunately we've had it to enjoy for 30 years. And we have a lot of good memories. Now it's time to move on,” he said as he showed FOX 11 the eastern edge of the property on Tuesday.

Baudhuin and his ownership group sold the virtually untouched wildlife habitat to the Door County Land Trust for $1.2 million. It's the largest purchase ever made by the Trust, both in size and cost.

• Photos: Door County land purchase

"Just the sheer size it's just thrilling. Door County is an ecological hot spot. There are more rare and endangered plants and animals than anywhere in the state,” said Dan Burke, the executive director of the Door County Land Trust.

Beyond these beautiful forests lie two small lakes and the Land Trust hopes to put in more walking trails to enjoy them.

"It will be open for all seasons of hunting. There will be hiking trails, cross country ski trails, if people choose to do that and people can just come out and enjoy nature,” said Burke.

The Department of Natural Resources will take stewardship of the land this summer. The Baudhuin family says they didn't sell the land to make money. They sold to make an impact on the area's ecosystem.

"What I envisioned was it would stay intact, which I'm comfortable now that it will," he said.

And they hope these little pines will flourish into these majestic trees for generations to appreciate.

The Door County Land Trust says there will be occasional tree harvests on the land. The trails right now are unmarked, but the land is officially available for public use.