In 135 Photos: Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, Williams Bay
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, 251 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay, was dedicated in 1990 and encompasses a 231-acre campus featuring a variety of habitats including woodlands, wetlands, marshes, wet and dry prairies, wet meadows, oak openings and an 8-acre arboretum. Kishwauketoe is home to 386 different plants, as well as a variety of birds, animals and insects. Two wetland-cleansed creeks, Harris and Southwick, run through Kishwauketoe, part of a 20-square-mile watershed feeding into Geneva Lake, considered one of the top 25 most beautiful lakes in the U.S. The Geneva Lake Conservancy's Helen Rohner Children's Fishing Park preserve adjoins Kishwauketoe.
Kishwauketoe Bumble Bee Feeds on White Snakeroot
Kishwauketoe Honey Bee Feeds on White Snakeroot
Kishwauketoe Bittersweet Nightshade
Kishwauketoe Blue Vervain
Kishwauketoe Boneset
Brown Eyed Susan coneflower blooms at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay is home to a wide variety of blooming native wildflowers, including the brown-eyed Susan coneflowers pictured here.
Kishwauketoe Bull Thistle
Kishwauketoe Calico Aster
Kishwauketoe Canada Goldenrod
Geneva Lake Conservancy Cardinal Flower Lobelia
Kishwauketoe Climbing False Buckwheat
Kishwauketoe Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Mile Post
Kishwauketoe Railroad Spur Trail On Old Chicago & Northwestern Railway Right-Of-Way
For the nature-loving railfan, Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy's walking trails include Kishwauketoe's C&NW Historical Railroad Bed Trail, accessed off Harris Road, just off Geneva Street near Geneva Lake. The former Chicago & Northwestern Railroad right-of-way linked Williams Bay to Chicago with freight and passenger rail service from 1888-1965. Observant, eagle-eyed railfans might spy an old "C&NW Green" milepost marker or the remnant wood pilings for a long-demolished trestle bridge over Harris Creek along the route, while peels off at the end of the line onto a "Railroad Spur" wetland boardwalk.
Kishwauketoe Common Milkweed
Kishwauketoe Devil's Beggarticks
Kishwauketoe Evening Primrose
Kishwauketoe Hymenochaetaceae Fungi
Kishwauketoe Giant Ragweed
Kishwauketoe Giant Sunflower
Geneva Lake Conservancy Sneezeweed
Geneva Lake Conservancy Wetland Boardwalk
Geneva Lake Conservancy Cardinal Flower
Geneva Lake Conservancy Wetland
Kishwauketoe Gray Dogwood
Kishwauketoe Great Blue Lobelia 2
Kishwauketoe Great Blue Lobelia
Kishwauketoe Guelder-rose (European Cranberry Bush)
Kishwauketoe Harris Creek at Geneva Lake
Passing through the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay, picturesque Harris Creek is seen here as it empties into Geneva Lake.
Kishwauketoe Hedge Bindweed (Wild Morning Glory, Granny-pop-out-of-bed)
Geneva Lake Conservancy Hymenochaetaceae Fungi
Kishwauketoe Ladies Thumb
Kishwauketoe Main Entrance, 251 Elkhorn Road, Williams Bay
Kishwauketoe Missouri Ironweed
Kishwauketoe Motherwort
Kishwauketoe Orange Jewelweed
Kishwauketoe New England Aster
New England Aster is among the 386 varieties of plants waiting to be discovered at 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, 251 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay.
Kishwauketoe Ninebark
Kishwauketoe Obedient Plant (Lionshearts)
Kishwauketoe Orange Jewelweed Close-up
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay is home to an array of 386 different plants on its 231-acre campus, including colorful orange jewelweed.
Kishwauketoe Oriental Ladies Thumb
Kishwauketoe Pale Indian Plaintain
Kishwauketoe Panicled Aster
Kishwauketoe Prairie Dock
Kishwauketoe Railroad Spur Trail Bridge at Harris Creek
Chicago & Northwestern Railway remnant railroad trestle bridge supports
For the nature-loving railfan, remnant supports for a long-demolished railroad trestle bridge over Harris Creek provide a glimpse into Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy's former use, in part, as a Chicago & Northwestern Railway right-of-way from 1888-1965.
Kishwauketoe Riverbank Grape
Kishwauketoe Scenic View from Railroad Spur Trail
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy sign and Thomas B. Johnson Bridge, 251 Elkhorn Road, Williams Bay
The circa-2010 Thomas B. Johnson Memorial Bridge over Southwick Creek is seen at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy's main trailhead at 251 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay. The 231-acre conservancy was established in 1990 to preserve and protect Geneva Lake's 20-square-mile watershed, which is drained through cleansing Kishwauketoe wetlands by Southwick and Harris lakes.
Kishwauketoe Soapwort
Southwick Creek empties into Geneva Lake
Tiny yet also mighty important, Harris Creek and Southwick Creek (pictured here emptying into Geneva Lake) play a vital role in maintaining the high water quality of Geneva Lake, numbered among the top 25 lakes in the nation. Passing through 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay, the two creeks filter water from a 20-mile watershed through the conservancy’s wetlands, with millions of gallons flowing into Geneva Lake daily.
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek Trail 2
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek Trail
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek
Kishwauketoe Spotted Joe-pyeweed
Kishwauketoe Stiff Goldenrod
Kishwauketoe summer intern Joel Myers performs boardwalk repairs
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy summer intern Joel Myers, of Elkhorn, repairs a stretch of boardwalk in the wetlands near Geneva Lake. Myers is a UW-Madison chemical engineering student.
Kishwauketoe Velvetleaf (Indian Mallow).jpg
View from observation tower toward Geneva Lake at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy
A low-rise observation tower on the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay offers this sweeping view of prairie and wet meadow. Geneva Lake is in the distance behind the tree line. The Kishwauketoe campus, home to a diverse variety of habitats, wildlife and plants, includes a system of rustic wilderness trails and wetland boardwalks.
Kishwauketoe Observation Tower
Kishwauketoe Virgin's Bower Clematis
Wetland Boardwalk off Railroad Spur Trail
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay offers a variety of habitats. Here, a Harris Creed-fed wetland features a boardwalk accessed off a walking trail on former Chicago & Northwestern Railway right-of-way.
Kishwauketoe Wetland Off Railroad Spur Trail
Kishwauketoe White Snakeroot
Kishwauketoe Wild Bergamot
Kishwauketoe Wild Campion
Kishwauketoe Wild Cucumber
Kishwauketo Bridge Over Southwick Creek
Kishwauketo Nature Conservancy founder and chairman Harold Friestad
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy founder and chairman Harold Friestad, Williams Bay village president from 1987-1993, spearheaded the village's $1.75 million 1990 purchase of the land comprising 231-acre Kishwauketoe for preservation in perpetuity as a lakeside ecological area. Recalls Friestad, “A lot of different groups tried to redevelop the property. All of that could have had a very negative impact on the lake. Everything would have been totally changed with major development.”
Kishwauketoe American Elder
Kishwauketoe American Elm
Kishwauketoe American Pokeweed
Kishwauketoe Bee Feeds on Common Chicory
Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy Site Director Jennifer Yunker
Town of Geneva resident and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater alumnus Jennifer Yunker serves as the full-time site director of 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay. The first full-time employee in the conservancy's history, Yunker has served in her current role for just over a year after serving part-time for three years as a field worker and helper with the “Kish Kids” children’s educational program.
Kishwauketoe Blue Vervain
Kishwauketoe - Broadleaf Cattail
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Bur Oak (Mossy-Cup Oak)
Kishwauketoe - Calico Aster
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Chinquapin Oak.jpg
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Common Buttonbush
Kishwauketoe - Common Crownvetch
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Common Hackberry
Kishwauketoe - Evening Primrose
Kishwauketoe - Grass Leaved Goldenrod
Kishwauketoe - Indian Hemp Dogbane
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Kentucky Coffee Tree
Kishwauketoe Arboretum sign
Located along Harris Road between State Hwy. 50 and East Geneva Street in Williams Bay, the 8-acre Kishwauketoe Arboretum is among the natural amenities to be explored on the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy campus. Dedicated in June 2000, the Kishwauketoe Arboretum was a project by the Lake Geneva Garden Club and the Friends of Kishwauketoe.
Kishwauketoe - New England Aster
Colorful New England Aster blooms at 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, 251 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay. Offering a variety of diverse habitats including woodlands, wetlands, savanna, prairie, meadows and oak openings, Kishwauketoe is home to 286 different plants.
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Northern Catalpa.jpg
Kishwauketoe - Late afternoon Observation Tower view looking toward Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Orange Jewelwood closeup view
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Paradise Apple.jpg
Kishwauketoe - Scenic view of Southwick Creek with flowering Boneset and Brown-Eyed Susan
Kishwauketoe Smooth Sumac.jpg
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Southern Crab Apple
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek at Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek late afternoon view
Kishwauketoe Southwick Creek early evening view
Geneva Lake Conservancy/Helen Rohner Children's Fishing Park - sunning turtle in wetland
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Sycamore
Kishwauketoe Virginia Creeper vine
Kishwauketoe Wild Black Raspberry
Kishwauketoe Wild Carrot (Queen Anne's Lace)
Kishwauketoe - Arrowleaf Ragwort
Kishwauketoe Arboretum - Bitternut Hickory
Kishwauketoe - Wild Cucumber
Kishwauketoe - Williams Bay School Bur Oak "wish tree" Arbor Day project
For more than a decade, Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy has partnered with area elementary schools for Arbor Day tree planting activities, including this "wish tree" bur oak planted by Williams Bay Elementary School students.
Kishwauketoe - American Burnweed (Fireweed, Pilewort, White Fireweed, Eastern Burnweed, Butterweed)
Kishwauketoe - American Groundnut (Potato Bean, Cinnamon Vine, Indian Potato, Hopniss)
American Groundnut, also known as Potato Bean, Cinnamon Vine, Indian Potato and Hopniss, blooms in a wetland area on the 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy preserve in Williams Bay.
Kishwauketoe - Bee feeding on Joe-pyeweed
Kishwauketoe - Blue Vervain
Kishwauketoe - Boneset (Feverwort, Sweating Plant, March Sage, Wild Sage)
Kishwauketoe - Canada Goldenrod
Kishwauketoe - Cup Plant
Kishwauketoe - Cutleaf Coneflower (Green-headed Coneflower, Wild Garden Glow, Thimbleweed)
Kishwauketoe - Devil's Beggarsticks
Kishwauketoe - Evening Primrose
Geneva Lake Conservancy/Helen Rohner Children's Fishing Park, 159 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67), Williams Bay
The Geneva Lake Conservancy’s Helen Rohner Children’s Fishing Park nature preserve, 159 Elkhorn Rd. (State Hwy. 67) in Williams Bay, adjoins 231-acre Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, 251 Elkhorn Rd. Children can enjoy angling for brown trout in Southwick Creek or explore the preserve’s many amenities, including a boardwalk wetland area and amphibian pond, butterfly garden and native plant garden. The Geneva Lake Conservancy is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of environmentally-sensitive lands, open space and the unique character and quality of life in Walworth County.
Kishwauketoe - Great Blue Lobelia (Blue Cardinal Flower, Great Lobelia, Big Blue Lobelia, Blue Lobelia)
Kishwauketoe - Green Ash
Kishwauketoe - Guelder-rose (European Cranberry)
Kishwauketoe - Hedge Bindweed (Wild Morning Glory or Granny-pop-out-of-bed)
Kishwauketoe - Wetland scene near Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Wetland view near Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Main wetland boardwalk near Geneva Lake
Kishwauketoe - Missouri Ironweed
Kishwauketoe - Purple Loosestrife
Kishwauketoe - Red Osier Dogwood
Kishwauketoe - Riverbank Grape
Kishwauketoe - Silky Dogwood
Kishwauketoe - Southwick Creek mid-afternoon view
Kishwauketoe - Spotted Joe-pyeweed
Kishwauketoe - Spotted Water Hemlock
Kishwauketoe - Tall Beggarsticks (Big Devils Beggarsticks, Common Beggarsticks, Tall Bur-Marigold)
Kishwauketoe - Virgin's Bower Clematis (Woodbine, Italian Clematis, Devil's Darning Needles, Devil's Hari, Wild Hops, Love Vine)
Kishwauketoe - Virgin's Bower Clematis
Eric Johnson
Reporter
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