Lawrence University Gives Away Hundreds Of Acres Of Door County Real Estate

More than 300 acres of pristine forestland in northern Door County are being placed in the hands of a conservation group.

Lawrence University has turned over a major portion of its retreat, which spans 440 acres in total, to the Door County Land Trust.

However, “the agreement secures 305 acres of the estate from future development that would degrade the conservation values described in the terms of the agreement,” according to a press release.

The estate, called Bjorklunden, is south of Bailey’s Harbor on the Lake Michigan side of Door County. The Appleton-based school uses it as a retreat for students and the public.

Mark Breseman, executive director of Bjorklunden, said undeveloped land in Door County can go for more than $10,000 an acre, so the large parcel is a rarity in the tourist hot spot.

“So of the 440 acres we are placing 305 acres into a conservation easement agreement with the Door County Land Trust,” Breseman said. “From our perspective and from our guests’ perspective, nothing will be different except we know that nothing will ever be different.”

The deal is the land trust’s biggest in the last five years. It includes roughly a half-mile of Lake Michigan shoreline along with a boreal cedar and maple forest.

Breseman said Bjorklunden’s trails will still be open to the public and the parcel will not be home to condos or private vacation retreats.

“The Door County Land Trust’s responsibility is to ensure that nothing ever changes there,” he said. “So as part of the conservation agreement that organization has agreed (is) to monitor this acreage in perpetuity.”

Breseman said Lawrence University will get a tax benefit from the transaction. It will also retain 135 acres on the site.