Along the river bluffs south of Osceola, some 1,500 acres of prairie and forest are permanently protected by Standing Cedars Community Land Conservancy. Beginning in 1995 with the acquisition of the 1,100-acre Englewood property, Standing Cedars has since added other properties, providing outdoor recreation, wildlife habitat, and a valuable buffer between the Wild and Scenic River and the outside world.

The group has a new accomplishment to celebrate this year, a project which leaders hope will play an important part in its future. Four months ago, the organization purchased 10 acres of land that is surrounded on three sides by the conservancy’s largest preserve, and on the fourth side by other properties under permanent protection through conservation easements held by a regional partner, Landmark Conservancy.

A football field wide and a quarter-mile long, the property includes a farmstead and a fallow field, and is the final piece of a protection project that began three decades ago. While smaller than most of Standing Cedars’ acquisitions, this property is special for several reasons, including that it fills a hole in a doughnut of protected lands.

“This completes so much,” says Dan Guenthner, a nearby organic farmer and longtime board member of Standing Cedars. “It was the last link tying together all this protected land.”

If the group hadn’t purchased the land, it could easily have become an unnatural island in the middle of a broad landscape of prairie, small farms, forested bluffs, and the river banks.

“It would have changed the character of a very large area,” says Guenthner. He adds that in winter, houses on top of the bluffs across the river and downstream, five miles away, are visible from a high point on the land.

But, instead of being developed, the farmstead will now be restored to more natural conditions — and Standing Cedars will have a home for the first time in its history, as existing buildings are repurposed to serve the group’s stewardship work.

Focus on facilities

Various buildings that are part of the farmstead. (Greg Seitz/St. Croix 360)

Over the past 30 years, the volunteer-run Standing Cedars Conservancy has acquired, managed, and opened to the public several unique and beautiful lands. They remove invasive species, burn prairie grasses, and promote native ecosystems and their flora and fauna. They also mow hiking trails and provide parking lots for visitors. Last year, volunteers contributed more than 1,000 hours of work to help — representing about half a year of 40-hour workweeks.

But the organization still has very little infrastructure — no maintenance shed, garage, or visitor center. There’s nowhere to store and maintain equipment or have a volunteer meeting.

“Right now, we have stuff at six people’s houses,” says Deb Murphy, the organization’s president.

So, while some buildings at the farmstead will be removed because they are dilapidated or unneeded, and much of the land will be sown with prairie plants, some structures, including a new two-story garage with upstairs rooms, will be retained to provide storage and gathering space.

More than anything, the Standing Cedars board hopes the acquisition helps them bring more people into the land and the work of managing it.

“It’s a new chapter of expanding our public profile,” Guenthner says. “It’s a focal point.”

By having a dedicated base of operations, Standing Cedars hopes to make it easier for people to get involved, whether it’s cutting buckthorn or attending a walk guided by a bird expert. The facilities are intended to help attract more people to the land, and to become active stewards of it.

‘A monumental task’

Purchasing the new property was a “monumental task,” according to Guenthner. The previous owner contacted Standing Cedars last November, saying he wanted to sell. It gave the group a chance to quickly pull together a plan and purchase it.

They started fundraising in February and closed on the sale on May 15.

“There were a lot of very lengthy conversations at board meetings,” Guenthner says.

The Englewood Property that surrounds the new property was originally platted for a major development in the 1980s, but construction never began. Eventually, people from both Minnesota and Wisconsin banded together to purchase the land and permanently protect it.

Standing Cedars has been supported by people from both sides of the river ever since. For example, the Alice O’Brien Foundation, connected to communities on the Minnesota side, has already made a contribution to the farmstead campaign.

Seeking support

While Standing Cedars moves forward with restoring the natural ecosystem of the property and getting the farmstead ready to serve as its new home base, the organization is also still trying to pay for the acquisition. The board took the bold step last spring of borrowing from its own endowment to quickly acquire the property, and is now asking for help paying that loan back so the endowment can continue providing financial support far into the future.

“There’s a misconception that it’s public land and gets DNR support,” Guenthner says. But Standing Cedars is a private nonprofit responsible for its own budget. The organization has received some state funding in the past for acquisition, but management costs come from its own coffers. Those costs keep coming.

So far, Standing Cedars has raised about $200,000 in its campaign to repay the endowment — or about half the price of purchase. They’re still seeking to raise the rest, and are asking people on both side of the St. Croix to contribute.

“It takes the full river community to do this,” Guenthner says.

While this acquisition completes the contiguous acreage of the Englewood preserve, Standing Cedars will continue adding to its properties whenever possible. The endowment helps the group focus on its mission of protecting the St. Croix River and the sensitive lands along its banks.

Wild oasis

One sunny September day, bluebirds fluttered between trees and power lines, migrating monarchs breakfasted on goldenrod, green darner dragonflies swarmed above the prairie. It was a rich scene of color and life.

The conservancy’s lands are renowned for the wildlife habitat they provide. Standing Cedars has been part of a project to restore the endangered Karner Blue butterfly, while the threatened Kitten Tails plant is also found here. The lands are also one of the most popular places for birdwatching in Polk County, with 129 species spotted here over the years.

Standing Cedars’ properties have grown in popularity with all kinds of visitors in the past few years. Guenthner says starting during the COVID pandemic, as public lands got crowded, more people started seeking out other options. There was an influx of new visitors, many of whom have kept coming, and some who have become involved with the organization.

“We have a lot of work to do, but also a lot of energy,” Guenthner says.

Standing Cedars hosts volunteer work days the third Saturday of every month, from 9 a.m. to noon, as well as occasional Thursday work evenings. Email Standing Cedars (standingcedarsclc@gmail.com) to be added to the volunteer email list. There will be an open house at the new property sometime next year. St. Croix 360 will alert readers when event details are available. Click here to contribute to the land acquisition campaign.