Grazing for Birds - Plum Creek Conservation Area - Crawford County
Join Krysten Zummo, Range Ecologist for the National Audubon Society, on Saturday, June 27th from 9 am - 11 am at Plum Creek Conservation Area to see the birds of the Conservancy's Plum Creek Conservation Area and learn about how cattle can be used as a management tool to create healthy grassland bird habitat!
Every year, grassland birds return to the Driftless Area in search of the perfect open grassland to nest in and raise their young. Over the last 50 years, grassland birds in North America have declined nearly 50%, with most of the decline due to conversion of grasslands to commodity crops, urbanization, and the removal of historical natural impacts (grazing and fire). One of the unsung heroes of creating healthy grassland habitats is rotational managed grazing that creates a mosaic of grassland vegetation for birds to use.
Michael Reitz, the Plum Creek Conservation Area manager and restoration ecologist will guide participants on a tour of a 210-acre field that, only a few years ago, was planted to corn, eroding at an alarming rate, and devoid of habitat. As part of restoration efforts to find overlap between conservation and agriculture, 170 acres were planted to pollinator prairie and 40 acres were planted to pasture that incorporates native prairie plants.
Krysten is a lifelong birder and bird nerd who grew up in New York and has lived in 7 different states across the U.S. to study and manage habitats for birds. She came to La Crosse in 2018 to work with Mississippi Valley Conservancy and joined the National Audubon Society in 2023 where she works with beef and bison graziers through Audubon's Conservation Ranching program. This certification program works alongside graziers to take a birds-eye-view of their grazing operation to improve grassland habitat for all!
Located in Crawford County near Wauzeka, Wisconsin, the Plum Creek Conservation Area's property includes over five and a half miles of frontage along the west bank of the Kickapoo River and over two miles along both banks of Plum Creek, a Class I trout stream. The property has transitioned away from row crops to perennial cover, and renters are grazing cattle on the property. It is located adjacent to the DNR's 1,927-acre Kickapoo Wildlife Area-Wauzeka Unit that includes the 635-acre Kickapoo Wild Woods State Natural Area, and it is known to be along a major migration route for birds.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED for this FREE event by June 25th on the events page. Questions? Contact Karen Solverson at [email protected] or call 608-784-3606 ext. 8.
This event is part of the Conservancy’s 2026 “Linked to the Land” series of outdoor experiences on the many nature preserves it protects for wildlife habitat, scenic beauty, outdoor learning and recreation in the Driftless Area. The program is supported by the generous donations of our members and the in-kind support of WXOW News19.
Learn more about grazing for birds in this article by Krysten Zummo: https://www.mississippivalleyconservancy.org/wild-reads/grazing-its-birds
(PHOTO: Landowner Jim Munsch has found a balance between raising cattle and still providing habitat for grassland nesting birds and will be on hand to talk about his experience.)