Legacy Center is an apt tribute to naturalist Leopold (WI)

Fond du Lac Reporter
April 19, 2007
By Mary Bergin

We are surrounded by wood: a cherry hardwood floor, a red maple ceiling, white oak doors, a black locust deck.

But most of the panels, posts and beams are pine – Leopold Pine, a reference to the thousands of evergreens planted by the legendary environmentalist in the 1930s and '40s in what is today the Leopold Memorial Reserve located northeast of Baraboo between the Wisconsin River and I-90/94.

The new $5 million Leopold Legacy Center on the reserve's eastern edge will open on Earth Day (April 22). It is about one-half mile from The Leopold Shack, a national landmark revered worldwide because of "A Sand County Almanac," Leopold's 1949 ode to conservation and respect for the land.

"The Shack is an engaging place but it doesn't receive people well," says Wellington "Buddy" Huffaker, executive director of The Aldo Leopold Foundation. "This helps us provide a bookend to the experience."

Inside, a visitor center of modest size contains interpretive materials and a PBS-produced video to acclimate travelers to Leopold's work and land ethic. Outside will be a three-season classroom to teach conservation principles and coach volunteers. The topic could be using a chainsaw properly, dealing with invasive species or managing a prescribed prairie burn.

Environmentalists and work parties will meet here and researchers will use the center's library materials. Administrative offices also are a part of the 14-acre complex.

"We don't envision ourselves as a tourist destination per se, but Leopold's life and ideas really need to penetrate a wider circle of people," Huffaker says.

What is not wood is glass, such as skylights that invite sunshine indoors and windows that frame a towering grove of trees.

"Only seven sticks of wood are not from here," Huffaker says with a hint of exasperation about the building construction. He points to a septet of trusses in the administrative wing and shrugs. "Long story," he says.

Throughout are timbers that are sturdy and smooth but full of knots and blemishes. Had this been a traditional house project, many of the wood planks would have been deemed unusable because of their appearance.

"We're suggesting a new aesthetic" where natural flaws have character value, observes Huffaker.

"It's been very different from going to the lumber yard and saying 'this is what we need' and 'if we run out, we'll just get another pallet,'" he said

The harvesting of trees from the Leopold Reserve also is woodlands restoration. The forest is thinned so the remaining trees can thrive. Stone for fireplaces and the exterior is either from a nearby quarry or reclaimed from a Madison project.

"We wanted to robustly and efficiently use these precious materials that are available to us," Huffaker explains. The foundation also addresses energy issues in an aggressive manner.

A goal is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at the platinum level, the highest level of sustainable design possible and a distinction not yet earned for any building in Wisconsin.

What does this mean?

"It's a net zero building," Huffaker says. "We will produce as much as we'll consume in energy" because of a rooftop of solar panels, underground "earth tubes" for building ventilation, geothermal heat and other conservation measures.

"We have a lot of experience in LEED-certified construction," says Gregg Tucek, project manager for Oscar J. Boldt Construction of Appleton. "But from Day 1 we were breaking new ground on this project."

The designer is Kubala Washatko Architects of Cedarburg, whose specialty is environmentally friendly buildings.

The foundation's intent is to open the new center to the public Thursdays through Saturdays with tours at 1 p.m. (reservations advised) and self-guided touring.

Visitors are welcome from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 22 for tours, seminars and remarks by several speakers, including Nina Leopold Bradley, daughter of the environmentalist.

Huffmaker says there is a growing interest in Leopold's life and philosophy based on an increase in Leopold book sales, and "exponential growth" of citations of Leopold's work and writings.

"If we had seen a decline I don't think we'd have thrown ourselves into this effort," he says.

The foundation's Land Ethic Campaign has reached $7.25 million of its $7.75 million goal.

For more about Aldo Leopold Foundation projects and programs visit www.aldoleopold.org, 608-355-0279. The Leopold Legacy Center is at E13701 Levee Road, two miles east of the roads intersection with Hwy. T.

NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for research and educational purposes.

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