Buena Vista Unit – Lower Wisconsin State Riverway

Buena Vista Unit – Lower Wisconsin State Riverway is a 1,038 acre property located in Richland County. Find it 1 mile west of Gotham on Hwy 60. Scattered parcels along north shore of Wisconsin River between Gotham and Lone Rock and Orion. The property is comprised mostly of bottomland hardwood forest, wetlands, prairies, savanna, bluffs, and sloughs. The Gotham Jack Pine Barrens State Natural Area is located within the Buena Vista Unit.

The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway is located in the Western Coulee and Ridges Ecological landscape. It is a Conservation Opportunity Area and a Large River Corridor of Continental Significance in the Wisconsin Wildlife Action Plan. [PDF 103KB]

The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway is an Important Bird Area (IBA) and a Land Legacy Place.

Management

Management Objective

The goal of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway as stated in the 1988 Master Plan is to provide a quality public use area for unique river corridor activities and compatible recreational pursuits; maintain the generally natural and scenic landscape of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, and manage the corridor’s natural resources for the long-term benefit of the citizens of the area and state.

Management objectives include prairie and oak opening restoration and maintenance, management of floodplain forest, preservation and management of bluff communities and control of invasive species. The native prairie and wetland species are managed actively through tree/shrub control using tree harvest, brushing and especially fire to mimic natural disturbance patterns.

The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board, [Exit DNR] a unique and separate State agency, is responsible for the scenic protection of the river valley.

Over 285 bird and 45 mammal species are abundant within the LWSR.