New Central Wisconsin Nature Preserve Has Protected Trout Stream
Newest addition to North Central Conservancy Trust, which protects 5,500 acres of private property.
A portion of the Big Cain Creek Preserve in Marathon County. Photo courtesy of the North Central Conservancy Trust
A new 30-acre nature preserve in northern Marathon County is now open to the public, giving visitors access to a protected stretch of trout stream, forest and wetlands.
The North Central Conservancy Trust recently opened Big Cain Creek Preserve, a property donated in spring 2025 by Mary Binkley, who grew up in Wausau. Her parents bought the land in the 1960s for recreation, said Chris Radford, executive director of the North Central Conservancy Trust.
“Our primary interest is protecting the natural resources that make it so special, but we also want to provide access for gentle recreation activities such as hiking, bird-watching and exploring,” Radford said in an interview on WPR’s “Morning Edition.”
The nonprofit land trust protects natural areas across central Wisconsin through conservation easements and land ownership. Radford said NCCT conservation easements protect more than 5,500 acres across more than 60 privately owned properties. The organization also owns four preserves that are open to the public.
Big Cain Creek runs for more than a quarter-mile through the new preserve. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources classifies the creek as a Class 1 trout stream, meaning it supports a self-sustaining trout population, and as an Exceptional Resource Water, a designation for waterways with high water quality and significant ecological or recreational value.
Before opening the preserve, NCCT volunteers, staff and partners surveyed the property and planned public access around sensitive areas.
“We established the trail route based on what would provide a good visitor experience while having the least impact on the natural resources there,” Radford said.
The preserve now includes a roughly half-mile trail leading toward the creek, several benches and an interpretive kiosk with a trail map and information about the property.
The preserve is open during daylight hours. Motorized vehicles are prohibited, and visitors are asked to respect the property’s natural features so it can remain open for public recreation while continuing to serve its conservation purpose.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Shereen Siewert: What is a land trust, exactly?
Chris Radford: A land trust is a community nonprofit dedicated to the protection of land. We are the North Central Conservancy Trust, or NCCT, a nonprofit conservation organization. Our mission is to conserve the natural heritage of central Wisconsin through the protection of land.
We do this primarily by working with landowners to develop permanent conservation easements that protect the natural resources found on their properties — forests, wetlands, portions of farmland, prairies and shoreline. We also own properties like these as nature preserves.
We’re one of about 40 land trusts in Wisconsin and roughly 1,400 across the country, all with a similar mission of protecting land and natural resources. Each organization has its own geographic service area.
SS: How did you decide where to place trails, benches and signs while protecting the most sensitive parts of the property?
CR: All of the work accomplished through our land trust happens with the support of incredible volunteers, our board and committee members, our three staff members and our many partners and supporters.
That includes people with different areas of expertise — ecologists, botanists and people with a lot of experience in trail installation and maintenance.
We visited the preserve and conducted an inventory of the natural resources on the property.
SS: Tell me what makes Big Cain Creek and the surrounding forest ecologically significant. What is it about this place?
CR: This property has a lot of wonderful features from a conservation perspective.
First, there’s more than a quarter-mile of Big Cain Creek flowing through the middle of the property. The creek is classified as a Class 1 trout stream and an Exceptional Resource Water, or ERW, by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
In addition to all of that, the habitat surrounding the creek consists of diverse forests with oak, spruce, elm, sugar maple, red maple and yellow birch. There are sections of forested wetlands with a lot of balsam fir, tag alder and many other species.
Collectively, that provides good potential habitat for a wide variety of local and migratory wildlife. It also provides an excellent natural buffer around the creek to help maintain water quality.
SS: The conservancy describes the preserve as a place for “gentle recreation.” What does that mean for people who visit?
CR: For us, it means no motorized vehicles on the property. We have some basic rules, and what we’re really trying to do is ensure that public use and our conservation initiatives can continue to coexist at this property.
The only real infrastructure is the hiking trail, a few benches and the kiosk at the entrance. Other than that, it’s a natural place that we plan to continue to protect.
New central Wisconsin nature preserve opens along protected trout stream was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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