Wheeling Township and Nerstrand: Landmark of the Past and Symbol of the Future

8/14/2019 Wheeling Township and Nerstrand: Landmark of the Past and Symbol of the Future

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Wheeling Tow nship

and Nerstrand:

Landm ark of the Past

Sym bol o f the Future

Elizabeth Weintraub , Lola Scho enrich and Katie Davidso n,

August, 2001

S

om etim es peop le need a sign to get invo lved in their com m unity.

For residents of Wheeling Tow nship and Nerstrand, 10 m iles south

of Northfield, that sign said "For Sale," and it sat on the 11 0 acres

surrounding the Valley Grove Church. What follow ed that sighting

w as a successful local init iative to preserve that open sp ace. The Valley

Grov e Preservation Society invo lved residents from the com m unity and o thers

w ith t ies to the ch urch and in six m onths, from June 20 00 to January 2001 ,

raised ov er $400,000 to p urchase the land and keep it open space forever.


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Introduction

The Minneso ta Project

Ken Sahlin and Peter McKinnon, bothneighbors of Valley Grove Church, noticed thefor sale sign on the farm next to the church inearly June of 2000 and knew something had tobe done immediately to prevent the sale of theland to a developer. For Sahlin especially, as

treasurer of the Valley Grove PreservationSociety, maintaining the area around the churchwas vital. The Valley Grove Church actuallyhas two buildings, the old church, which islisted on the National Historical SocietyRegister, and a newer building. The church isin Wheeling Township, just outside the City ofNerstrand, and is just one mile from theentrance to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.The property for sale sat right between thechurch and the park.

Nerstrand is a small city of about 250 just 10miles from Northfield. Its rolling farmland isfacing development pressures as Northfield andthe nearby Twin Cities grow and expand. Eventhough the city and township are small (450township residents), the communities arestrong, and people are committed to preservingthe rural and small town feel of the place.

For Sahlin, the preservation effort was logical:"We were already taking care of the building,so we went on to take care of the land,otherwise the church would've been desecratedwith big houses around it. We couldn't stand thethought of loosing the beauty of the silhouetteof the two churches facing each other on thehill. Especially with the park right there."Gary Wagenbach, a biology professor atCarleton College, concurs. "One needs to thinkof the natural context of land and soil and howpeople relate to it....the seventh-generation ruleshould be the standard for decision-making for

use of resources."

The reason for the sale was a common one.The farm passed from one generation to thenext, and the heirs were not interested infarming. They put the land up for sale, hopingto make as much as they could. Developmentpressures being what they are, the most likely

buyer was a developer. The PreservationSociety had to act fast.

The Fundraising ChallengeThe Fundraising Challenge

The challenge was to come up with the money

to buy the land. The sellers were asking $3,726per acre. After seeing the Edina Realty sign inJune, the Preservation Society decided to buythe land. They put $3000 down as earnest

money and signed a purchase agreement thatgave them six months to raise the remainder ofthe money. Where were they going to come upwith $414,750 by January 2, 2001?

They were starting with nothing, and getting

money from other non-profit organizations wasunlikely because most usually don't awardfunds to groups trying to buy land. Businessbased foundations were no help at all, as theylike to focus on people rather than land. Sixmonths of fundraising, including directmailings and phone calls, began immediately.

Sahlin and McKinnon both spoke of going into

Valley Grove historic church

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Case Studies of Sustainability in Rural Minnesota Communities


the project already assuming it wasaccomplished. "We were going to make it nomatter what; it was going to happen,"McKinnon said. Not everyone was asconvinced. Wagenbach admits that, "at first,there was turmoil and uncertainty." But there

was a small group who believed strongly in theproject, and others began to come around aswell when those few "rose to the occasion" andcontributed their time and funds because theyfelt strongly that a response was needed.

However, not everyone in the Nerstrandcommunity was a believer - or a supporter - ofthe project. Some residents were upset that theland would no longer be used for agriculture.They saw little benefit of an easement

preventing development. All they saw was thatthe land was no longer going to be farmed.Others just thought the Preservation Societywas crazy -- that they could never accomplishtheir goal. McKinnon insists there was littleactive opposition, but there was indifferenceand a belief that the endeavor would fail.

Once word of the project got out, however,there was little doubt that they would succeed.An article by Carleton graduate Karin Winegar,a writer who was married in the Valley GroveChurch, appeared in the Minneapolis StarTribune and increased enthusiasm for theendeavor. More than 400 peoplefrom around the country donatedmoney to help purchase the land,and many became repeat donors.People who had been married inthe church, who had ancestorsburied in the churchyard, evenone who had been arrested therenearly 30 years earlier, wrote

moving letters along with theirdonations. Twin Cities' areaorganizations held fundraisersfor the project.

Again, however, support fromNerstrand residents wasdisappointing, especially from

older, more established members of thecommunity. The best support came either fromthose who had been in the community less than25 years or those who had moved away.Donations were strong at the beginning, thenthere was a lull. Near the project's end, when it

became clear that theirs would be a successstory, the pace picked up again.

An Oak SavannaAn Oak Savanna

One of the early ideas was a hope that the statewould buy the 31 acres at the back edge of theproperty and make it part of adjacent BigWoods State Park. The Preservation Societyworked with the Minnesota Parks and TrailsCouncil, a non-profit organization, on this idea.

The deal, however, fell through. The state wasunable to come up with the necessary funds,and would have only been able to pay $500 peracre in any case. In addition, the Parks andTrails Council did not want to place easementsagainst development on the property, importantto the Preservation Society.

The Preservation Society was thrown for aloop. "It's important to know where the moneyhad to stand at any time," McKinnon says.

They knew they had to have $414,750 byJanuary to purchase the land. The McKinnonsstepped in again, buying the 31 acres that the

Oak Savanna

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Introduction


group had hoped would become a part of theState Park. McKinnon's construction companyand residents Doug and Mary Jones both gaveloans that served as a bridge until the rest of themoney could be raised.

When Dirk Peterson of the Department ofNatural Resources mentioned the DNR's ForestLegacy Program, the Preservation Society wasinstantly interested. The Legacy Program pays75% of the value of the land, $238,000 in thiscase, in exchange for an easement placed onthe deed of the land. The easement specifiesthat there will be no development, farming orany other changes to the land - ever. Inaddition, the owner promises to preserve orrestore the original landscape. The program fit

the Preservation Society's goals and providedneeded funding. It was a match.

They enrolled the land in the program and, inMarch, were awarded enough money thatcombined with the donations theyreceived; they were able to buy theland.

The funding also helped to pay forplanting the oak savanna, and will helpto cover the costs of maintenance forfive years. In five years the prairie andthe trees will have grown enough thatthey can sustain themselves. Whenthey started, they hadn't even beenthinking of a prairie. Now, ValleyGrove Church is surrounded by one ofthe largest oak savannas ever createdfrom scratch in Minnesota. ThePreservation Society and theMcKinnon properties are both protected underthe easement and were planted as one

contiguous parcel.

Im pacts on the Com m unityIm pacts on the Com m unity

The Valley Grove Preservation Society'spurchase of the land is already having animpact on the Nerstrand/Northfield area in

more ways than one. Wagenbach says, "Anumber of people who were involved with theproject are using Valley Grove as an exampleof what a non-governmental organization cando in terms of stepping up to the line to buyproperty and to put out the call for support."

More importantly, the project preserves theland and strengthens the community.Wagenbach insists that people need to thinkabout how they utilize the land. "There's therural context where people are tied to the landin direct or indirect ways. The people involved[in projects such as this] should be nearbyneighbors or a larger set of people who careabout or value a particular place in thelandscape and who look to the long-term."

Wagenbach calls the Valley Grove project an"example of what's possible in terms ofcommunity response. The crisis helpedmobilize people."

McKinnon sees the Valley Grove's purchase ofthis land as an anti-sprawl tactic. By buyingthe land, the Preservation Society let peopleknow that there are alternatives to simplyselling off the land to developers. As a resultof this project, he says, a number of peoplehave become interested in conservationeasements. They see what is happeningelsewhere, with land being eaten up bydevelopment, but Nerstrand residents have the

Oak Savanna dedication


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Case Studies of Sustainability in Rural Minnesota Communities


chance to do something before it hits them."100 years from now, that's going to be a 110-acre prairie. There may be houses all aroundit, but that piece of land will still be there."

Words of AdviceWords o f Advice

Peter McKinnon points to Ken Sahlin as thedriving force behind this project. Part of hisadvice to communities interested insustainability work is, "Make sure you haveone person like Ken Sahlin.... Ken worked dayand night on this project. Without him,nothing would've happened." He jokinglyclaims that the rest of them were just there tosay, "Whatever you need, Ken." While this iscertainly an exaggeration, Sahlin, McKinnon,

and Wagenbach all expressed belief in the needfor a small group of people who are especiallycommitted to and passionate about any projectbeing undertaken. According to Sahlin, everyproject needs "one or two people who have thevision and can see the end. Most organizationshave two or three people really active, and therest are just there."

But McKinnon stresses that there needs to be"a whole group or network of people involved.

Small groups fail because of burnout." This,according to Wagenbach, is key to the successof similar projects. "There has to be a broadbase of participation by not only interestedcitizens who step forward at first, but a broadbase of perspectives, viewpoints, andparticipation. Any organizing effortneeds a wide variety of inputs. Civilsociety requires informed citizens."There will be arguments, of course.But if people "agree to disagree, to airdisagreements," they will end up

contributing. And "if everyonecontributed even in a small way to thecommunity around them every year,amazing things would happen."McKinnon agrees. While he admitshe's frustrated by not seeing morepeople from the immediate area help

them, in a way he understands. "People wantto know: how does this affect us? It's rightnext door to us, so I'm looking right at it. Itaffects Ken, too, because he sees the churchfrom his driveway." Others on thePreservation Society Board have ties to the

church. The key is making people appreciatehow the preservation of the land benefits them.

McKinnon and Sahlin also emphasize theimportance of staying organized. Throughoutthe project, Sahlin kept a binder with recordsof every action and transaction they undertook.He was also responsible for sending out thank-you letters to donors and invitations to variousevents. "You have to keep all your ducks in arow," McKinnon says. "Don't forget anyone;

be professional, take care of accounting. Youcan't go off half-baked."

Most of all, everyone stressed the importanceof a positive attitude. "I'm an optimist,"McKinnon said. "There was no question in mymind that this was going to make it."Wagenbach entered the project knowing they'dlose nothing by trying and that they intended todo their best. And Sahlin advises othercommunities in similar positions to "Just go,and go until you get it done, no matter whatpeople say. Believe that you're going toaccomplish it."

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Introduction


FinallyFinally

On Saturday, June 9, 2001, the Valley GrovePreservation Society hosted a dedication for thenew oak savanna. Between 150 and 200 peoplewere present, including writers Karin Winegar

and Peter Moore, Minnesota Public Radio'sMichael Barone, and of course, many membersof the Nerstrand and Northfield communities.The afternoon's events included traditionalNorwegian folk songs, a jello contest, and toursof the prairie led by Professor Wagenbach.The dedication itself culminated with thepresentation of three burr oak trees that havebeen planted in honor of Ken Sahlin'sboundless energy and persistence for thisproject.

For More Information:

Ken Sahlin at [email protected]

Fax no.507-645-9402

Gary Wagenbach [email protected]

Valley Grove Preservation Society at

(507) 645-0551.

Dirk Peterson, Department of Natural

Resources, Forest Legacy Program,(507) 362-4223


Cemetery

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Wheeling Township and Nerstrand: Landmark of the Past and Symbol of the Future

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