STATE OF WISCONSIN
JIM DOYLE
GOVERNOR
State Capitol Room 115 East, Madison, Wisconsin 53702 • (608) 266-1212
• FAX (608) 267-8983 • [email protected]
Contact: Carla Vigue, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

Governor Doyle Announces Stewardship Fund
Purchase for Undeveloped Lake Helane

Property will get Wild Lake Designation as a State Natural Area

HELANIA – Governor Jim Doyle today announced that the Stewardship Fund
will purchase a 400-acre
tract around Lake Helane, a 51-acre lake that is completely
undeveloped and is to receive a Wild Lake designation.

“One of the many great things in Wisconsin is being able to find a
lake that is completely surrounded by forest and seemingly untouched
by time,” Governor Doyle said. “I am pleased that through the
Stewardship Fund we will be able to preserve Lake Helane and make it a
State Natural Area for generations ahead to enjoy.”

The State Natural Area program was established to protect the best
remaining examples of Wisconsin’s
native landscapes and vegetation as well as habitat for endangered and
threatened plants and animals.

They are used for teaching elementary to college age students, and
also for activities such as hiking, birdwatching,fishing and hunting.

The Helane Lake property is dominated by red and white pine; the
remaining acreage is a well-managed forest of young aspen, white birch
and mixed northern hardwoods. It had been held for two decades by a
family avid about the outdoors. The agreed purchase price is $1.72
million.