Lake Chippewa Flowage Vacation

On January 27, 2004 the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board unanimously approved the acquisition of the privately owned parcel on Big Timber Island. On February 4, 2004 Governor Jim Doyle signed the purchase agreement. Documents and deeds have been signed and recorded. It’s a Done Deal!

Your gifts, totaling over $50,000 made this possible. One can give without loving but no one can love without giving. The hundreds of people who gave what they could have proven they truly love this wonderful semi-wilderness resource. You have proven to everyone the Chippewa Islands Project is for real. You have made the first half of the Chippewa Islands Project a rousing success!

Thanks to the vision and stewardship of people in prior decades, 90% of the shoreline and nearly all of the islands on the Flowage are undeveloped and will stay that way.

There are, however, two significant, undeveloped, island properties that are privately owned, one on Big Timber Island, the other on the “Moonshine” island. Developers have targeted both in the last year. A coalition of property owners, the WDNR, the Lac Courte Oreilles Band and other concerned citizens have been able to thwart these efforts to date, but the margins of victory have been too close. At a Sawyer County Zoning Committee hearing on l2-20-02 a committee member suggested that if we did not want development on these islands, then “buy them.” That is exactly what the Chippewa Islands Project is going to bring about.

Our immediate focus is the parcel on Big Timber Island. Under l0 acres of land, but with over 2000 feet of shoreline, the parcel is listed for sale. The WDNR is going to be the lead agency in this acquisition. A covenant will assure daytime public use and ban development forever.