Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center – Wisconsin Campus

Wildlife abounds in the restored prairie and wooded bluffs on our 300-acre Wisconsin Nature Preserve. Situated on the St. Croix River bluffs south of Hudson, Wisconsin is a broad prairie and a wooded hillside, an old farmstead and an oak savanna, linked together by winding trails, which are loved by all who walk them. Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center’s WI Campus is home to the brand new Al & Laurie Hein Visitor Center. There is no entrance fee to ensure people of all economic backgrounds can connect to nature.

We have worked to acquire land in Wisconsin in partnership with area residents, expanding on an initial 98-acre donation by Laurie Hein in the 1980s. It is protected and managed for native species. On our Wisconsin property, many threatened animals, insects, and plants rely on the protected land for  survival: the Henslow’s sparrow, a bird species that has drastically declined, still nests among the grass; Kittentails flowers, designated rare or threatened in each of the few states where it grows, blooms each June; Big bluestem grass waves above your head as you walk the trails in late summer.

An important facet of this center is continuing to protect and  preserve the land, ensure its long-term accessibility, and promote healthy habitat and the unique landscape of prairie and forest, which made up a mosaic in this part of Wisconsin before European settlement. With property on both the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides of the scenic St. Croix River, we can preserve wildlife habitats while providing educational experiences for community families.