ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PLANNING BEGINS
An ecological restoration plan is being developed for the Hillmoor property in Lake Geneva.
Members of the Lake Geneva City Council have approved to sell about $6 million in bonds to a Minnesota company to help purchase the former Hillmoor Golf Course property.
A 10-year plan to restore native species on about 230 acres of land in the City of Lake Geneva has begun.
Clay Frazer, principal ecologist for Native Range Ecological in Holmen, presented an update about the Hillmoor Ecological Restoration Plan during the Sept. 9 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting.
The plan includes removing invasive plant species, installing new plants and developing a long-term ecological maintenance program for the Hillmoor property, 333 E. Main St.
Frazer said his company has been conducting a plant inventory, identifying invasive plant species and surveying areas.
He said one of the main goals is to remove invasive plant species, such as the black locust, and restore native plants and trees.
"We will be selectively and very thoughtfully removing trees that will end up degrading or somehow reducing the quality of the best trees that exist there," Frazer said. "So, we're selectively removing trees in order to encourage the growth of good trees that remain."
Another goal is to improve wildlife habitats and encourage different types of species to live on the property.
"We got an opportunity to create an amazing bird habitat here with some of the components that already exists paired with some of the other things we're going to add into it," Frazer said. "We're diversifying habitats, creating as many different plant species on the landscape that we can possibly support."
Frazer said the company also wants to improve the White River corridor area and remove some of the invasive species along the riverbanks.
"We know because of the use of the public and the use of that part of the property, it's a high priority," he said.
Native Range Ecological also plans to improve the health of the soil after several areas of the property served as the Hillmoor Golf Course for many years.
"In a golf course scenario, when there's chemical and mechanical inputs over the years, we're going to have to build that soil health back up over time," Frazer said.
The ecological restoration plan is set to be completed and submitted to the City Council in December.
Frazer said the first three years of the restoration project is expected to cost about $300,000.
"We got a piece of land that either has not been actively managed for a long time or possibly been managed improperly in a certain way," he said. "That is going to create some challenges for us down the road."
City Council unanimously approved a $29,830 contract with Native Range Ecological in November 2025 to develop an ecological restoration plan for the Hillmoor property.
City officials purchased the property for about $6 million from White River Holdings LLC in Chicago in late 2022.
