Dec. 30, 2025
LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Mississippi Valley Conservancy has expanded the Boscobel Bluffs State Natural Area with the acquisition of Bald Bluff which is an 86-acre property adjacent to the existing nature preserve. The newly acquired land has been carefully stewarded by Jim and Rose Sime who purchased the property in 1985 and spent the last four decades managing it with conservation in mind.
“This acquisition allows us to continue the legacy of stewardship the Simes began,” said Abbie Church, conservation director at the Conservancy. “It also strengthens our ability to conserve this critical habitat in Grant County.”
With the addition of Bald Bluff the Boscobel Bluffs State Natural Area now spans 475 acres creating a contiguous habitat block with expanded opportunities for public hiking, hunting, and nature appreciation. The purchase was made possible with funds from the Wisconsin Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, the National Wild Turkey Federation Hunting Heritage Super Fund, the Wisconsin Land Fund, and a generous donation from the Simes.
“It’s not just for turkey hunters,” said NWTF district biologist Clayton Lenk. “This property provides accessible outdoor space for people from the surrounding Midwest population centers, supporting a range of recreational uses.”
The name Bald Bluff is a reference to the property’s three remnant bluff prairies which Jim and Rose often refer to as the three balds. More than 170 plant species have been documented on the prairies including at least five state-listed species along with notable species such as short green milkweed, cylindrical blazing star, hoary puccoon, smooth cliff brake, Indiangrass, prairie dropseed, and porcupine grass.
The forested portions of the property are dominated by mature bur, red, and white oak with understory species including lead plant, Canada wild rye, panic-grass, upland boneset, alumroot, and Culvers root. The forested blufflands and open grasslands provide habitat for species such as whitetail deer, wild turkey, black-billed cuckoo, yellow-billed cuckoo, blue gray gnatcatcher, gray catbird, barred owl, Cooper’s hawk, and red-tailed hawk.
Jim traced his love of the land to his grandfather who lived on the edge of Soldiers Grove and would take Jim on hikes to look at the flowers.
“Then he’d pretend to get lost and tell me to find my way back and taught me the names of all of the flowers,” said Jim Sime. “Which really enhanced his sense of adventure and appreciation for natural areas.”
As a young man Jim knew he wanted to own some land and finally saved enough to buy 80 acres of steep and rocky pasture and woods in 1965. In the late sixties Jim found out that they were going to put a bike trail through an adjacent area which was filled with prairie forbs and grasses so he started digging up as many plants as he could. He planted them on the 15 acre prairie at the top of the bluff.
“To this day,” said Rose Sime. “People are amazed that he started prairie restoration back in the sixties.”
A self-described amateur botanist Jim started studying everything he could learn about the plants on his properties and discovered that his property has an incredible amount of diversity. Rose cherishes the after-effects of the controlled burns creating a tapestry of greens and flowers as the summer turns to fall.
“It is infectious to work on the land,” said Rose Sime with a laugh as she described working with the chainsaw and running the drip torch during their burns. “And not just for the boys.”
In a recorded interview with students taking an Environmental Conservation in the Driftless course from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse Rose described their years of careful land stewardship as days filled with awe. After 40 years of documenting all of the changes to the land Jim has boxes and boxes of journals to tell the story for generations to come. Jim encouraged the young interviewers to keep a journal as he did recording each day at a property the new things they found and who they did it with.
“It will make you live longer if you do it,” said Jim Sime with a smile. “That’s how Abbie knew the exact date of her first visit to the Boscobel property, it was noted in my journal.”
Over time the couple who are both former teachers in Madison acquired more than 600 acres in the Driftless Area that have been protected through conservation easements or other partnerships with conservation organizations. Taking on the responsibility for habitat management is a big undertaking on disturbance-dependent communities like prairie and oak woodland and Jim and Rose made this possible by generously establishing a habitat management fund to support restoration in perpetuity.
“We’re no longer buying,” said Rose Sime with a laugh. “We have always just enjoyed spending time on the land and working the land was fun.”
They have always dreamed of eventually turning the land over to others who will protect it forever and that time is now. Founded in 1997 Mississippi Valley Conservancy is a nationally accredited nonprofit regional land trust that has permanently protected over 27,000 acres of scenic lands in southwestern Wisconsin by working with landowners, businesses and local communities on voluntary conservation projects.
Once again, congratulations to these fabulous protectors of prairies, Jim and Rose Sime. Through grants bestowed to my fourth grade science students, we were able to visit the Mississippi River Museum and also assist in the harvesting and distributing seeds with UW students, parents, local soil conservation staff, and the Prairie Enthusiasts, guided by the Simes, just outside of Lancaster, WI. Although I have been retired many years, this unifying annual event of bringing people to the prairie will be a highlight!