Day 35

I didn't know what GIS maps even were until we decided to attempt and acquire this property. Geographic Information system, or GIS, maps display different features about areas of land, including information about water features, zoning details, topography, historical photos, and property lines. We were told that these maps were easily accessible online and easy to navigate.  Once we learned about this mapping system, we spent time exploring it even though a good deal of information provided was not something we were familiar with. 

One particular dive into the maps provided us information that solidified that what could be our new neighborhood needed to be.

The property owner that shared part of the northern border was a nature preserve managed by the Waukesha County Land Conservancy (WCLC). Since we were already closely aligned with this group (see day 34), this felt like a sign from above. 

After researching the WCLC website and finding little information about this preserve, we reached out to our WCLC contact to find out about it. Named Lisbon Low Woods, this nearly 28-acre parcel of undeveloped land was protected as part of a land agreement when a neighboring golf course was developed. Being surrounded by this golf course and private properties, the land was donated to the WCLC. That same reason made it a more difficult preserve to explore and restore.

That could all change when we became the preserve’s neighbors. We saw this as a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only would we be able to provide direct access to the preserve, we may also be able to work jointly to restore and improve both properties simultaneously.

We realized we could be the adoptees of this preserve and have a nearly fifty acre natural space available in our backyards. 

Literally.

Once we acquired the property, one of our first guests was the executive director of the WCLC. We walked our land and a portion of the preserve and started thinking about the possibility of working together in the future. It would be something we still discuss to this day as we look for ways to help protect, maintain, and improve the land for the plants and animals that call it home.