Board backs Landmark Conservancy's grant application to acquire Maxwell property; county to submit coastal grant

Landmark Conservancy and Bayfield County presented a proposal for Ashland County to submit a Wisconsin Coastal Management Program grant to help acquire the 131-acre Maxwell property owned by Northland College. The property includes roughly 90 acres in Ashland County and about 40 acres in Bayfield County, and meeting presenters said it contains roughly 4,000 linear feet of White River shoreline.

Sarah Hudson, Bayfield County recreation coordinator representing Landmark Conservancy, told the board the conservancy has applied for a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship acquisition grant and is seeking a complementary coastal-management grant to fund the purchase. She said the current asking price is $427,000, pending a second appraisal, and that neither county would be on the financial hook for the acquisition while both grants are pending.

Hudson described conservation benefits including permanent protection from development, continued public access with primitive angler trails, and transfer to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) at a later date for inclusion in the White River fisheries area. She also described existing primitive trails, a small parking area off Highway 118, an old building and observatory on the parcel, and basic well and septic systems.

When the board voted on a resolution supporting the Landmark application and authorizing the county's grant submission, several supervisors declared conflicts or abstained because of adjacent property ownership. Supervisor George said he had to abstain because he is an adjacent property owner; two other supervisors announced abstentions as well. The motion carried.