In 1999, a group of neighborhood watch dogs concerned about the impending sale of a 120-acre farm along the east side of Highway C and adjacent to Pine Lake decided to channel their collective resources to purchase the land and ultimately preserve it as open space.
In order to do so they formed a non-profit land trust, originally known as Chenequa Land Conservancy (CLC), which continued its work in land conservation and subsequently protected an additional 238 acres of land in the Chenequa area with conservation easements.
In 2005, CLC broadened its service area and its name was changed to Tall Pines Conservancy to reflect the wider scope of the organization. Hiring their first Executive Director in 2008 assisted the group in taking a watershed protection approach to land conservation with a focus on farmland and water resource protection. In 2015, we reached a milestone by becoming a nationally accredited Land Trust.
Currently, Tall Pines has secured 26 conservation easements and acquired four fee-owned properties, protecting more than 2000 acres of land. Our landscape scale approach to land conservation is actively working within the Oconomowoc River Watershed to promote best land and water management practices and protection through active partnerships with organizations such as the Oconomowoc Watershed Protection Program, Lake Country Clean Waters and Farmers for Lake Country.