prairie

Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp Prairie Restoration Project

Fallhall Barrens

A Prairie Restoration at Fallhall Glen begun in 1999 on sixty-five acres of Pine and Oak Barrens above the 'ridge' of our Easterly property.

After three-annual attempts that failed due to bad weather conditions, on Friday May 29th, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife under the direction of Mike Engel, Private Lands Biologist and his 'burn manager',Terry Severson, skillfully and successfully supervised a total of seven different agencies in our second 'Prairie burn'.

After the March, 2000 burn the Barrens

was green again and full of

wildflowers blooming by mid June. With

the late spring rains we expect the same

sight by early July.

This time we did not burn the area around

our Serenity firecircle because of all the

young Red and White Pine trees we have

planted there. Among the thirty-two

different wildflowers now blooming at

Serenity is Lupine that attracts and nurtures

the Karner Blue butterfly that is on the national

list of endangered species.

WCYC is pleased to participate in the efforts to

provide good and sustaining habitat for that

small blue butterfly.

Several Black River Falls area community

organizations and others from the Midwest have

visited our Fallhall Barrens Prairie and we

provide walking lecture tours for them. This

provides an excellent opportunity to introduce

to them the Wisconsin Christian Youth Camp

and this ministry to kids nine to eighteen.

WCYC has been honored in Washington DC for its

participation in the environmental program 'Back From The Brink' and efforts to befriend

God's Nature. Others have recognized WCYC for its private owner stewardship of river, land, forest and wildlife environments.

Mike Engel, our state rep from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service always quotes, (and we always appreciate) at the bottom of his communications: "To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." Henry David Thoreau

We thank Mike for all his efforts in leading WCYC through environmental programs that help us affect the quality of Fallhall Glen days.

On the morning of the burn

we coaxed six deer (doe

and fawn) and a fox out

of harms way and even

then two fawn were carried

out by firefighters as the

fire approached. The fawn

pictured here found its

way back to the ash

covered thicket; after all,

the mother had given