Protecting Paradise takes the reader through the saga of how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed 149 families from their property in southwest Wisconsin to construct a dam on the Kickapoo River—a dam that was ultimately never completed—and how this failed project evolved into a model for cross-cultural, multi-institutional, grassroots ecological protection and low-impact recreation, through an innovative agreement with the Ho-Chunk Nation. From the author’s perspective over more than two decades as the founding director, readers are taken through the journey of how this innovative, inspiring, and controversial place came to be, from the influence of the national environmental movement, scientific modeling of the proposed dam and lake, local-scale grassroots activism, and a unique Memorandum of Understanding between a State and Sovereign Nation.

Marcy West served as the executive director for the Kickapoo Reserve Management Board (KRMB) in the formative years of 1996–2021. In Protecting Paradise, she takes the reader on a tour of the 8,600 acres she came to know and love as it evolved through federal government ownership for a proposed dam and constructed lake to the unique arrangement with the state of Wisconsin and Ho-Chunk Nation to own and jointly manage the public property through the KRMB.

Reviews

The Kickapoo Reserve in western Wisconsin is a gem, and the story of how it came to be is a fascinating tale. From the hurt and pain of a failed dam project that destroyed the local economy to a bipartisan political success story, it is a tale that inspires us that even bad things can be made whole with the right leadership. Marcy West is the perfect person to tell this story, as she helped in the creation, nurtured its birth, and led the development of the project which today is considered by all a great success. Her inside knowledge and passion for the project shine through in this great read.

—Brian Rude, former Wisconsin senate president

When a catastrophic environmental engineering plan went terribly awry in the Kickapoo Valley, local communities stepped up to unite, find common cause, and create a new environmental opportunity. Marcy West is a thoughtful witness to this wonderful transformation, and her account is a master lesson in coaxing a garden out of a wreck. This is “must” reading: funny, poignant, and inspirational.

—Paul Robbins, dean of Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison

A fascinating tale of how a vital natural area was saved through foresight, cussedness, fortunate timing, and finally, a level of cooperation as rare as the place itself. Those who treasure the Kickapoo Valley Reserve will marvel at West’s portrayal of how it came to be. Those aiming to protect wild lands will find inspiration and guidance in these pages.

—Tamara Dean, author of Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless