The fascinating story of “how the Kickapoo Valley Reserve came to be” has been shared with the public by the Reserve’s first executive director. Marcy West, who midwifed the singular experiment in co-management and ownership between descendants of European settlers and the Ho-Chunk Nation through its birthing, has shared the “insider’s” story in her new book, ‘Protecting Paradise in the Driftless.’
The book can be purchased at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Visitor Center, at littlecreekpress.com, or at amazon.com.
West served as the Kickapoo Valley Reserve’s (KVR) first executive director, from December of 1996 to April of 2021.
In her book, West refers to the co-management agreement and co-ownership as an “arranged marriage.”
“There were no examples anywhere in the United States of a sovereign nation and a state government sharing the ownership and management responsibilities of a publicly held property – and to my knowledge, the Kickapoo Valley Reserve (KVR) is still the only model of this kind of cooperation,” West wrote of the challenges presented in forging the agreements needed to see the property transferred from the Corps of Engineers to the State of Wisconsin and the Ho-Chunk Nation.
All the hard work of West and many others came to fruition on May 11, 2001, when a dedication ceremony and celebration was held to mark the transfer, and begin the process of implementing the agreements that had been reached. The event was held at the site of what would become the KVR Visitor Center.
In the section of her book, ‘An Arranged Marriage Takes Work,’ West wrote, “Parallels to what the displaced residents and the Ho-Chunk Nation ancestors had been through were obvious. The Ho-Chunk ancestors and the descendants of white settlers had both been removed from their land, and it was now returned for them to care for on behalf of the public.”
When the dam project was discontinued in 1975, after a turbulent history of starts and stops, the property languished until 1996 with no vision for its final disposition.
Of the 8,600 acres the Corps of Engineers had purchased from 149 local families in order to build a flood control dam and a recreational lake, 1,200 acres was entrusted to the Ho-Chunk Nation, held in trust by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The acres to be held in trust were carefully selected by the tribe to ensure protection of their people’s most important sacred sites on the property.
Book launch
At a book launch event, held at the KVR on Saturday, Nov. 9, West made clear that her purpose in writing the book was not to detail the history of the LaFarge Dam project, which she said had been put forth by others. What she wrote about was the history of creating the KVR, and the history of what it took to make the singular partnership work.
“Developing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ho-Chunk Nation took time, and getting this agreement right was vital to the future success of the project,” West observed. “Working with the Corps was difficult because so much of the power to move things forward rested on the whims of elected representatives, and the agreement reached with the State of Wisconsin was also vital to the success of the project, and required constant vigilance.”
West waxed eloquent on the worthiness of the property to be a ‘Reserve.’
“The property contains significant, contiguous wildlife habitats between the KVR and Wildcat Mountain State Park,” West pointed out. “It is an ecological marvel, with bird areas, the dark sky initiative, and rare dragonfly and bee species. The property is protected, but also impacted by human activity, and flooding continues to be an issue. The property needs to continue to pursue resilience, and an inventory of the diversity of species the Reserve supports needs to be updated – we can’t become complacent.”
Native stories
Bill Quackenbush, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and Cultural Resource Division Manager for the Ho-Chunk Nation spoke at the book launch event following West.
“Before going to press, Marcy asked the Ho-Chunk Nation to review the draft for her book to ensure that names were correct and the Nation was represented in the right way,” Quackenbush told the crowd. “We try to educate outside of our community about our true history, heritage and lifestyles. It’s important to note that history didn’t begin in 1634 when Jean Nicolet, a French explorer, became the first known European to reach Wisconsin when he landed at Green Bay. Learning the history of the tribes in this area is essential, and the Driftless Region was a refuge for our people during periods where glaciers covered the rest of the region.”
Quackenbush explained that the whole Driftless Region could be a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site because it has that much significance to native peoples.
“The Ho-Chunk people lived here and then were removed,” Quackenbush said. “The Kickapoo, and the Sac and Fox came through and developed a connection, became a part of the area, ate local foods, breathed the air, drank the water, socialized, and became part of this region.”
Quackenbush told the group that the Ho-Chunk Nation doesn’t put their knowledge of culture and heritage into writing because it is too ephemeral. Instead, he said, his people preserve their knowledge through an oral tradition that is passed between generations.
“Nevertheless, this book is very important because it explains the shared management model,” Quackenbush said. “It highlights the ‘Three P’s,’ - protecting, preserving and perpetuation – that is, protecting through shared management, preserving so we can pass it along to future generations, and perpetuation which is supported through the oral history and this book.”
Quackenbush said the book shows how West navigated between disgruntled tribal members and disgruntled former landowners.
“The tribe could have gotten the whole property, but could we have managed it?” Quackenbush asked. “It would have looked like we were taking it away from the community even though it had been taken away from us.”
Quackenbush said that the Memorandum of Understanding and the Joint Management Plan negotiated prior to the transfer of the property ensure that the Ho-Chunk Nation’s cultural resources are protected both at the state and federal level. He said his uncle John Greendeer had summed it up – “there’s good in everything our mother gives us, and the pandemic let us see the value of a book like this.”
Public comments
Ron Johnson is a rural Rockton resident, and was one of the original members of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Management Board.
“Political bipartisanship was crucial to bring the KVR to be, and the other crucial ingredient was hiring a great executive director who had the knowledge and political connections to help a difficult process come together,” Johnson observed. “I worked with Marcy West for 25 years as chair of the board, and that relationship worked well.”
Bill Quackenbush said that establishment and maintenance of the horse trails on the KVR is a great example of the collaboration that has made the success of the KVR possible. Susan Cushing, a board member for 15 years and an avid horsewoman, echoed Quackenbush’s comments.
“Once motorized vehicles were banned from the Reserve, it took a lot of work to repair the trails,” Cushing said. “We had to set an example, and we had to put work into it. Eventually, the Reserve had to adapt to a greater variety of user groups, and the concept of multi-use trails, with horses, hikers and bikers came to be. At the same time, we learned how to build more sustainable trails and were able to build trails that would be more long-lasting.”
Cynthia Olmstead commented that the KVR is “a great jewel” that has brought her peace and joy over the years.
“This effort couldn’t happen in today’s political partisan atmosphere, with the amount of cooperation between people and politicans required,” Olmstead observed. “With the pandemic, we saw more people getting outside to enjoy the outdoors, but with increased use comes new challenges.”
Current executive director Jason Leis weighed in on the current challenges the KVR faces.
“We have seen a lot more impact on the land in the last five years,” Leis told the group. “We have acted to address increased use through improved placement of trails, sustainable trail design, and archaeological surveys. Our approach provides a management example statewide, for example, closing our trails when conditions are too wet.”
Leis said that there are lots of balancing acts involved in allowing increased use while continuing to protect the property. He said that allowing multiple uses on the trails is always a balancing act, and that the compromises reached never make everyone happy.
“Everyone has their own reason for loving this place, and wanting to explore it,” Leis said. “We just have to share it and protect it.”
