What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
A quiet conservation success story is unfolding in the forests north of Land O’Lakes. Joe Hovel, a private landowner with a vision for protecting Vilas County‘s wild character, just added another piece to a wildlife puzzle that’s been decades in the making.
The Upper Wisconsin River Legacy Forest now spans 1,233 acres of protected land — pine barrens, conifer wetlands, and two miles of river winding through some of the most diverse habitat in the Northwoods. The latest addition, a 191-acre parcel across County Highway E, creates an uninterrupted corridor linking private conservation land to state and county forests.
“People do not come north to see development,” Hovel said. “They come north to see the forests and the lakes. Economically, socially and environmentally, that’s the future of the area.”
Hovel purchased the original 1,042-acre tract about a decade ago from a landowner who wanted to see it preserved rather than subdivided. Back in 2015, it became Vilas County’s first Forest Legacy project — a federal conservation program that helps keep working forests intact while allowing public access.
The land stays in private hands, but a conservation easement held by the Wisconsin DNR ensures it’ll never be carved up for development. Funding came through the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, the state’s longtime land protection initiative, combined with federal Forest Legacy dollars.
The forest itself reads like a Northwoods ecology textbook. Black spruce and tamarack grow thick in the lowlands. Cedar pockets dot the landscape. Pine barrens open up in drier spots, creating habitat diversity that’s increasingly rare as development creeps northward.
When the 191-acre parcel came up for sale, Hovel had just completed a separate conservation project in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He redirected those funds and moved quickly.
The timing worked out for another reason. This tract qualified for a federal program category called “Strategic Small Tracts” — parcels under 200 acres that punch above their weight by connecting larger protected areas. The Forest Legacy Program kicked in $145,000 to help secure the easement.
Location matters here. The new addition sits within a quarter-mile of Spruce Grouse Swamp State Natural Area and shares borders with Wisconsin state properties and Vilas County Forest land. It fronts U.S. Highway 45, giving the public easy foot access to over 1,200 acres of trails, fishing holes, and hunting grounds.
Wildlife doesn’t respect property lines. When you stitch together protected parcels, you create movement corridors that let animals range freely across seasons — deer following food sources, waterfowl nesting in undisturbed wetlands, rare bird species finding the old-growth habitat they need.
For Northwoods residents and visitors, the expansion means more space to explore:
The forest also protects water quality. Wetlands here feed both the Wisconsin River (which flows to the Mississippi) and the Ontonagon River system draining to Lake Superior. Keeping this land undeveloped means cleaner water downstream.
“There’s a vast mosaic of intertwined wetlands — conifer forest, black spruce, tamarack, and cedar. The Wisconsin River winds through a couple of miles at the north end. It’s quite a diversity of complex habitat.” — Joe Hovel
Hovel’s work extends beyond this single forest. As part of Northwoods Alliance Inc. and Partners in Forestry Cooperative, he’s developing the Border Lakes Forest Legacy Project — another 1,300-acre conservation effort in Vilas County.
Last year, the Vilas County Board voted 19-0 to support conservation easements on over 1,200 acres in the Land O’Lakes area. Local trail groups, forestry cooperatives, and conservation organizations backed the projects. That kind of unanimous support reflects a growing understanding that protecting forests isn’t anti-development — it’s pro-economy in a region where tourism and outdoor recreation drive the tax base.
The projects completed amid what Hovel called “misguided attacks” on conservation funding. Programs like Knowles-Nelson and Forest Legacy have protected Wisconsin lands for decades, but they face periodic political pressure despite broad public support.
Conservation easements don’t lock land away. Hovel can still manage timber on his property — cutting trees sustainably, generating revenue, keeping forestry jobs viable. The easement just prevents subdivision and development while guaranteeing public foot access forever.
That’s a win for multiple interests. Timber production continues. Property taxes still get paid. The public gains recreational access. Wildlife gets unbroken habitat. And the scenic character that makes people want to visit (or move to) the Northwoods stays intact.
Vilas County’s 2025-2034 Land and Water Resource Management Plan emphasizes balanced woodland and wetland management. Projects like this fit that vision, connecting to larger conservation efforts including the Nicolet National Forest, which shares a 1.25-mile border with the legacy forest.
Drive Highway 45 north of Land O’Lakes and you’re passing through a landscape that could’ve gone a different direction. Every undeveloped mile you see represents choices — landowners who valued long-term ecological health over short-term development profits, policymakers who funded conservation programs, communities that recognized forests as economic assets.
The Upper Wisconsin River Legacy Forest joins a growing network of protected lands in the Northwoods. It won’t be the last. As development pressure increases and climate changes alter forest ecosystems, creating connected wildlife corridors becomes more critical every year.
For now, another 1,200 acres of Vilas County stays wild, walkable, and working as forest. That’s something worth celebrating — and protecting — for the generations of hikers, hunters, and wildlife that’ll call it home.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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