Imagine working on a puzzle in your home for over 15 years and still be years away from completing it. That is life at the Door County Land Trust, which is celebrating its latest four-acre acquisition in the Kellner Fen Natural Area, located north of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. Executive Director Emily Wood calls the acquisition “a small, but mighty one,” as it links two parcels together to form one large, contiguous parcel to give the organization better access to the property for land management and public recreation. Wood says the acquisition is the perfect example of the long game land stewards like the Door County Land Trust have to play to protect an ecosystem.

According to the Door County Land Trust, a fen is a type of peat-producing wetland that is fed by groundwater. Fens are ecologically rich wetlands where plant and animal communities vary depending on groundwater chemistry, which thanks to the area’s limestone bedrock, is considered rich. The Kellner Fen helps feed organisms like pitcher plants, rare orchids, and the endangered Hines emerald butterfly. You can explore the Kellner Fen Natural Areas during a guided hike on August 21st.