Hillside Prairie
Today’s rolling landscape was formed by the ice of glaciers, shaped by the fire management practices of the Ho-Chunk people, and farmed by five generations of the Gunnulson family. As fencerows come down and prescribed burning is reintroduced, get a glimpse of the grand open prairies with pockets of bur oak savanna that once covered much of southern Wisconsin.
Join us for an open house on September 19 & 20!
Explore the property and learn more about our plans to restore this incredible landscape to habitat for birds and other wildlife. Registration opens August 1.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Work is underway to make the property open and accessible to the public. Until then, we will host guided tours to explore existing habitats and share a vision for the future. Keep an eye on our calendar or click the “upcoming events” button below.
For questions, please email info@swibirds.org or call our office at 608-255-2473.
A land steeped in history
View of the East Koshkonong Church from Jean’s Prairie, a newly restored section, in August 2017 (SoWBA photo).
In south central Wisconsin, moraines, kettles, and drumlins were formed when ice from the last glacial period (also responsible for forming the Great Lakes) receded. These glaciers also ground down rocks, clays, and minerals, depositing them and making fertile, tillable soils.
Located on the ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk people, the original sweeping prairies and oak savannas were maintained by Indigenous peoples through fire management and other traditional ecological practices. Fire in particular helped improve the richness of the soil while creating diverse habitat niches which allowed many species of plants and wildlife to thrive.
Those rich, fertile, tillable soils also made the area attractive to European settlers arriving in the 1800s. In this area, which settlers had named the Koshkonong Prairie, Gunnul Olson arrived from Norway with his family in 1839. The site of the original settlement on the property, a dug-out home, can still be found in the southwestern section. Nearby, a few towering Norway spruce trees, brought over by the family, can still be found standing nearly two centuries later.
Over the next two centuries, five generations of the Gunnulson family continued purchasing adjacent land, growing the property to 348 acres.
Becoming a Sanctuary
In late 2015, David Gunnulson, Gunnul Olson’s great-great-grandson, approached Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance (then Madison Audubon) about permanently protecting the land for future generations. By then, David had been employing ecologically conscious agricultural practices to the great benefit of many grassland bird species. Hayfields—which had been retained or converted back from row-cropping—were abundant with Bobolinks, Dickcissels, and Sedge Wrens. The fields in hay would be left alone during nesting season and cut after the young birds had fledged and moved on.
(L to R): Matt Reetz, SoWBA executive director; David Gunnulson; and Mark Martin, Goose Pond sanctuary manager, stand in a restored prairie on the property in July 2024 (photo by Kaitlin Svabek/SoWBA).
In 2016, our organization’s board of directors acknowledged the importance of this property, especially as a haven for grassland birds, and voted to pursue acquisition. Since then, David worked with the organization to preserve the property’s natural characteristics and collaborate to begin restoring ecosystems. In November 2016, staff and volunteers planted 20 acres to prairie. That site now provides refuge a diverse array of native species, including the federally endangered rusty-patched bumble bee.
After nearly a decade of hard work and planning, in December 2024, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance officially acquired the property. The acquisition was made possible with generous grants from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program, Dane County Conservation Fund, and North American Wetlands Conservation Act (Ducks Unlimited/US Fish & Wildlife Service).
Currently, SoWBA staff and volunteers are working hard to restore native habitats at the sanctuary to benefit even more species of birds and other wildlife. We are in the process of planning trails, signage, and other infrastructure to improve visitor access at our newest sanctuary. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months!
Explore our other sanctuaries and lands:
Banner photo: The grasslands of Hillside Prairie in summer, with whorled milkweed in bloom (photo by Emma Raasch/SoWBA).
