Wisconsin family’s 2,000 floodplain acres protected after decade-long fight

Upper Mississippi riverRepresentative image from Canva For generations, the Hoesly family farmed rich bottomland along the Wisconsin and Kickapoo rivers in southwest Wisconsin, growing corn and soybeans on nearly 2,000 acres of floodplain. But as floods grew more frequent and severe, and a 2016 state tax change made it harder to claim agricultural exemptions on frequently inundated land, the family found themselves fighting to keep the farm viable. A decade later, instead of doubling down on drainage and levees, they have chosen a different path: working with conservation groups and the state to permanently protect the land as floodplain forest and wildlife habitat. As reported by The Daily Cardinal, the deal marks one of the largest private conservation agreements in recent Wisconsin history and a quiet admission that some land is better left to the river.A family tied to the floodplainThe Hoesly family’s roots in the region go back more than a century. Their ancestors homesteaded on the fertile river bottoms, drawn by the deep soils and reliable moisture that made the land ideal for row crops. Over time, the farm grew to include close to 2,000 acres spread across multiple parcels...