Donna DeNardo, President of the Board for the Door County Land Trust, says that merger discussions with The Ridges Sanctuary have slowed in recent weeks. The initial thought was that talks would be wrapped up by the end of the year, but DeNardo expects a decision won’t be made until March.

DeNardo says that public comment is welcome, but she is hoping for it to be very specific and related to the matter at hand. She says that ideas like changes to trail fees or allowing dogs on the property aren’t germane to the merger issue. If there is a theme to the comments received so far, Denardo says it revolves around making sure The Ridges remains a vibrant enterprise and doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of a larger organization. When asked if the merger talks came about due to financial concerns, DeNardo said that was not the case. It was spurred on by the resignation of Ridges Executive Director Steve Leonard.

Photo of Door County Land Trust board courtesy of the organization's website.