The former Badger Army Ammunition Plant comprised 7,354 acres at the base of the Baraboo Hills, located between Sauk City and Baraboo. Since its decommissioning, four major landowners have received land transfers. This map shows the different property owners at Badger. Those landowners include:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (3,385 acres). DNR has named this parcel of state land the Sauk Prairie Recreation Area (SPRA) and is finalizing a master plan for the property. Go to here for more information about the master planning process and the opportunity for public involvement. In the meantime, the SPRA is open to the public, with some limitations. This is a regional map showing the location of the SPRA. This map is specific to the SPRA and identifies locations within the property (since it is a confusing landscape!).
U.S. Department of Agriculture Dairy Forage Research Center (2,105 acres). The Dairy Forage Research Center (DFRC) has been using land at Badger for many years, dating back to ownership by the Army. DFRC has a research facility south of Badger along Highway 78, and an office on the UW-Madison campus. Their land at Badger is used for row crop production, manure management and grazing experiments. The DFRC land is NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Please be respectful of the property owner.
Ho Chunk Nation (1,553 acres). The most recent land transfer of land at Badger was to the Ho Chunk Nation (December 2014). Badger lands represent ancestral homeland to the Ho Chunk who were subsequently displaced from the area. Acquisition of land at Badger is an important step toward recreating a new homeland. Although their master plan for the land is still being prepared, a large portion of the property will be restored and managed as native grassland. The Ho Chunk land is NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Please be respectful of the property owner.
Bluffview Sanitary District (163 acres). The municipality maintains a wastewater treatment facility inside the Badger property. The Bluffview Sanitary District lands are NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Please be respectful of the property owner.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation owns the rail corridor that bisects the Badger property. This railroad bed has been designated as the Great Sauk Trail.
Several Town governments maintain old family cemeteries on the former Badger property.