Schmeeckle Reserve is a 275-acre (1.11 km2) natural land area located on the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. It contains hiking trails, natural land area, a visitor center, multiple habitats, abundant wildlife and a manmade lake. "The Reserve was created to protect and restore native ecological communities, serve as an outdoor classroom for students and teachers, and provide recreational opportunities to all visitors."[1]
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Before 1956 the current Schmeeckle Reserve was farmland (corn and grain) and grazing (dairy cattle) land. This land, however was not fertile enough to support a large plant population for agriculture due to thin topsoil in some areas and insufficient groundwater in other areas.[2]. By the 1950s several farmers had abandoned their efforts to make the ground agriculturally productive (abandoned machinery and building foundations are still visible onsite). The University began purchasing this land, which is located north and east of campus, in 1956, and initially used it as a picnic area. Students from the University's Conservation Department[3] were called out to fight fires many times.[4] By 1969 the University owned a total of 127 acres (0.51 km2) of land, and there was debate on whether to use it for residence halls, housing for married students, athletic fields, or other options. In 1974 the University proposed to use this land for a natural area and hiking trails, with an arboretum.[5] At that time the area presently covered by Lake Joanis was not part of the University's holdings.
At about the same time that the University was proposing its natural area plan, Sentry Insurance, a nationwide company headquartered in Stevens Point, proposed building a new office building on the next major street north of the University campus.[6] The company's environmental impact statement found that the building would significantly increase vehicle traffic on Reserve Street, which ran through the campus at that time. To reduce the danger that this increase would pose to the University's students, the company proposed closing that street and extending Michigan Avenue through the proposed natural area to replace Reserve Street. At first this proposal brought heated resistance, since it would split the natural area, so a compromise was reached: the construction would require significant soil, which was to be excavated from a 50-acre tract east of the University's acreage. The company would leave that excavation open (it would eventually fill with groundwater, creating an artificial lake), and would deed the tract to the University to be added to the proposed nature holdings.
The University agreed with this proposal, and public opposition was calmed. The road extension was completed in 1975. The resulting lake, which covered 24 of the site's 50 acres, was named Lake Joanis, after Sentry Insurance President John Joanis, who paid for its excavation.[7]
Schmeeckle Reserve was established in 1976 with a $250,000 Land and Water Conservation (LAWCON) Grant. The 50 acres (200,000 m2) with Lake Joanis was included within the reserve at this time. The Reserve's first Director was Ron Zimmerman (1977). One of his first acts was to work for the purchase of an adjacent (20 acres) farm.[8] The house on that acreage was converted[9] into the present Visitor Center by 1979.[10]
Over the years, Schmeeckle Reserve has continued to expand its facilities and resources. When the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame was created in 1984, Schmeeckle Reserve became its new home. In 1990, the Hall of Fame constructed a new addition to the Visitor Center with funding from the city's LAWCON fund.
With the 1998 acquisition of the 75-acre Berard Oaks area at the northeast corner of the Reserve, Schmeeckle has grown to 275 acres. The Reserve continues to evolve, as new trails are developed, further land acquisitions are sought, and prairie and oak savannah habitats are restored.
Fred Schmeeckle, the namesake of the reserve, was a professor from Nebraska who taught at the Stevens Point Normal School. He taught agriculture but was also a supporter of conservation education. In the 1930s the School began teaching conservation courses. This program is now the largest undergraduate natural resources program of its kind in the nation.
The habitats within the Reserve are many and varied. Cattails, pine, oak and decidouous forests are found. Wildlife common to the reserve include frogs, deer, rabbits, squirrels, turtles, geese and ducks.