Map of the land donated to the Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve by John and Patty Noel. (Photo courtesy of UW-Stevens Point)
TOWN OF HULL, WI (WSAU) — A Portage County non-profit focused on preserving a local conservancy area has gotten a recent land donation.
The Friends of Schmeeckle have been given a 33-acre parcel of land from John and Patty Noel that is located at the headwaters of Moses Creek. The area of land contains a sedge meadow wetland that is a habitat for sandhill cranes and northern harriers near Yulga Park.
Friends of Schmeeckle Board President Jerry Lineberger says the group plans to connect the new area of land to the Green Circle Trail that goes around Stevens Point. “The Green Circle runs immediately adjacent to this. The Friends have a Tuesday morning chainsaw group that has been working diligently to create a trail that goes from the crushed granite path that runs next to Yulga Park in the town of Hull.
“We will eventually put in a crushed granite path and boardwalk over the wetlands area so that people can walk out there and eventually we will create an overlook so that people can go out there and see this beautiful piece of land.”
Lineberger says the non-profit is grateful to the Noel’s for donating the land to the Friends for their care. At a dedication ceremony for the donation Patty Noel said, “This community was incredibly kind to us and kind to our family, and because of that, we were able to have a company that thrived. We have dedicated, loyal employees who were educated in schools here. We owe everything to Stevens Point and Portage County.”
And when it comes to community, Lineberger says they have been very generous to the Friends despite the hard financial times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “People have donated to help Schmeeckle Reserve because, over the course of the pandemic, our trail usage has gone up about 40 to 50 percent. It’s been a place where people could get outside and be with their friends, be socially distanced, and save their sanity.”
The Friends of Schmeeckle will be seeking donations in the future to develop the new trails and observation areas. More information on the project can be found on the organization’s website.
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