July 25, 2007

Leopold’s Legacy Leads Travelers to
a Green Wisconsin

Looking for a great destination to catch summer before it ends or to enjoy fall colors? Consider making a trip to Leopold country the heart of a green vacation.

Visitors will be able to explore the land around Aldo Leopold’s historic shack on guided or self-guided tours, gaining knowledge of Leopold's contributions to conservation science and philosophy.

“Visiting here, people really have a chance to re-connect with the land when they walk through the pines and prairie the Leopolds planted around the Shack,” said Buddy Huffaker, executive director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation. “At the Legacy Center, they can experience the comfort and beauty that can be found in a sustainably-designed building. They also begin to see connections between our modern lifestyle and the ways we influence thousands of unique places via our economy. We want them to go away with tools they can use to make positive choices.”

Tours of the Leopold Shack and Farm and the Legacy Center only take an afternoon, so visitors can easily combine a trip down Rustic Road 49 with other green destinations. Southern Wisconsin’s scenic beauty, fertile farms, and abundant natural areas attract not only environmentally-conscious visitors but residents who care for the land, leading to an impressive number of eco-entrepreneurs, organic farms, conservation organizations, land trusts that call the area home. With a little searching, visitors can enjoy the landscape and support green businesses and organizations.

The world-renowned International Crane Foundation is just a few minutes away from the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center. Wisconsin’s most popular state park Devils Lake is just 30 minutes away, offering camping, canoeing, swimming and an extensive trail system with great opportunities for solitude, nature study, and wildlife viewing.  Enjoy Wisconsin’s ongoing agricultural renaissance with the free Farm Fresh Atlas—a great guide for sampling local and organic foods in Sauk County and the surrounding area; pick up a paper copy during your visit or find it on-line here.

Wisconsin’s excellent tourism web site is also set up to help you find businesses certified through the new Travel Green Wisconsin program, launched in 2006. Each directory listing can be narrowed to show only businesses certified by Travel Green—or narrow your search by many other criteria using the orange “Show Me Only Listings With” box on the left. Click here to start your exploration of the possibilities.