The Ozaukee Washington Land Trust is currently working to protect more than 130 acres of land and nearly a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline in Port Washington—one of the last undeveloped, large-scale parcels on the shoreline in the area. It will serve as a community destination and wildlife haven similar to Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve, the 73-acre parcel that was protected by OWLT in 2002 and is managed by Ozaukee County Parks and Planning.

The organization began in 1992 when a group of concerned citizens banded together to save a parcel of land along the Sauk Creek River in Port Washington—now the Sauk Creek Nature Preserve. With more than 34 nature preserves and more than 7,000 acres of conserved property (including private easements), OWLT is protecting nature’s health, providing wildlife habitats and supporting communities within the Lake Michigan, Milwaukee River and Menomonee River watersheds in the northern Greater Milwaukee Area.