Brooklyn Wildlife Area
Brooklyn Wildlife Area has a little bit of everything less than an hour's drive from Madison. This wildlife area is just shy of 3,000 acres of public land with a mix of wetland, prairie, oak savanna and hardwood forest. Adjacent to the state-owned land is approximately 300 acres of private farmland under conservation easement which allows for public access and is protected from development, this creates an impressive amount of acreage of undeveloped land in southern Wisconsin benefitting both wildlife and the public. Access to the property is from Dane County Highway D, 2 miles east of Belleville and off State Highway 92.
Story Creek, a class 2 trout stream runs through the property offering opportunities for fishing. Story Creek Stream Bank Protection project helps protect and buffer the stream by providing funding to purchase several properties in the Brooklyn Wildlife Area as well.
Brooklyn Wildlife Area also hosts 3.5 miles of Ice Age Trail which is a popular spot to hike year-round.
Friends of Brooklyn and the Dane County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance [exit DNR] are active volunteer groups helping to maintain and improve Brooklyn Wildlife Area
Management Objectives
The acquisition of Brooklyn Wildlife Area began in 1945. Since 2004, the department has been making a concerted effort to convert annual public hunting ground leases of private lands to easements in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Farm and Ranch Protection Program. These easements allow public hunting and fishing in perpetuity while allowing the landowner to continue agricultural use of their land. This program depends on good hunter conduct for its success. Please be on your best behavior while using leased and eased private land and be careful not to damage soybeans or other crops before harvest.
The DNR’s Wildlife and Fisheries Management programs as well as a dedicated volunteer base are heavily invested in improving habitat in the Brooklyn Wildlife area. Wetland restorations of previously ditched areas have been completed and will continue as funding allows. DNR staff and volunteers frequently treat and remove invasive brush and plants from the property using a combination of mechanical forestry mowing, herbicide, and handwork. Prescribed burns are used on the property to improve grassland, wetland, and oak savanna/woodlands. Timber sales are occasionally used to improve oak and hardwood stands.
Story Creek has also received a great deal of habitat improvement work from department fisheries staff using Trout Stamp funding. The work includes re-meandering stretches previously channelized and installing lunker structures to provide bank cover for trout, significantly improving fishing.
For more information on master planning for this and other wildlife areas around the state, visit the property planning page.
Recreation
The Brooklyn Wildlife Area offers many recreational opportunities:
- Auto travel (on public roads through and adjacent to the property)
- Biking (on public roads through and adjacent to the property)
- Birding (known for yellow-breasted chat, Bell's vireo, cerulean warbler and Henslow's sparrow)
- Fishing (Story Creek, a quality trout stream runs through the property)
- Canoeing (Story Creek, limited to small canoes during high water due to brush and logs)
- Hiking (Ice Age Trail [exit DNR] runs through the property)
- Cross-country skiing (along the Ice Age Trail)
- Hunting (noted for stocked and wild pheasant [noon closure], deer, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, some waterfowl, quail, gray partridge and mourning doves)
- Trapping
- Wild edibles/gathering
- Wildlife viewing
Note: Dogs must be leashed from April 15 to July 31.
Amenities
- Bathroom - none.
- Parking lot - There are many parking areas throughout the property.
- Campground and size - none.
- Trails, Types and Lengths - The Ice Age Trail runs through this property as well as mowed access lanes.
Maps
Download a map of this property.
Brooklyn Wildlife Area and Stream Bank Protection Area, Story Creek Fishery Area and Scattered
If you are interested in exploring this property further, you can access an interactive map.
