Bald Bluff is an 83-acre property adjacent to Mississippi Valley Conservancy’s Boscobel Bluffs State Natural Area (BBSNA) in Grant County, Wisconsin. For the past 40 years, Jim and Rose Sime lovingly cared for this land, conducting burns and meticulously documenting native species and restoration efforts in scores of handwritten journals. Atira Conservation is partnering with Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Wisconsin Land Fund to acquire Bald Bluff, which will create a 472-acre block of contiguous habitat and with expanded public access opportunities for hikers, hunters and nature lovers.

The acquisition of the Bald Bluff Addition aligns with several regional conservation priorities, including Wisconsin’s State Wildlife Action Plan, the Grant County Comprehensive Plan, and the Town of Boscobel Comprehensive Plan. Each of these recognizes the importance of protecting natural areas, wildlife habitats, wetlands, woodlands, and groundwater resources.

More than 160 plant species have been documented, including notable species such as short green milkweed, cylindrical blazing star, hoary puccoon, smooth cliff brake, Indiangrass, prairie dropseed and porcupine grass. The forested portions of the property are dominated by mature bur, red, and white oak with understory species including lead plant, Canada wild rye, panic-grass, upland boneset, alumroot and Culvers root. The forested blufflands and open grasslands provide habitat for species such as whitetail deer, wild turkey, black-billed cuckoo, yellow-billed cuckoo, blue gray gnatcatcher, gray catbird, barred owl, Cooper’s hawk, red-tailed hawk and many more. 

Mississippi Valley Conservancy plans to continue the management legacy that was started by Jim and Rose on the Bald Bluff property by implementing habitat management actions of invasive-species control and prescribed burning. The addition of Bald Bluff to BBSNA also improves access to help manage the rare natural communities. This acquisition will protect the grasslands found on the property from future residential development, which, had the land not been acquired, would have had a significant impact on the Conservancy’s ability to manage BBSNA. The combination of Bald Bluff’s juxtaposition to BBSNA, its high-quality natural communities and its management history make the property an exceptionally valuable acquisition for the Conservancy. 

• Property Cost: $211,000
• Atira Conservation Funding: $2,005