The Dane County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 21 approved the purchase of 80 acres in the town of Verona from the Allison Family Limited Partnership for the Sugar River Wildlife Area. The property sits between the recently purchased 625-acre Duerst farm and the 300-acre Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Forest.
Acquisition of this property will create an area of approximately 1,000 contiguous acres of public land. The cost of the property is $3.6 million. Funding for the purchase will be provided through the Dane County Conservation Fund. The resolution indicates that a future partnership with MMSD’s School Forest would allow for shared opportunities in public education and recreation and in land management.
The board also recognized Nov. 18–22 as American Education week, and it approved a resolution affirming the 2024 Dane County Affordable Housing Development Fund (DCAHDF) awards. The Dane County Department of Human Services Housing Access and Affordability program plans to award funding to 10 projects through the DCAHDF to support the creation of 442 affordable housing units. The fund had over $16 million available for distribution through an application process. The selected projects will generate 272 new affordable housing units for Madison, as well as 170 units for the communities of Monona, Stoughton, and Verona.
