A portion of a State Natural Area in Baileys Harbor has been renamed in honor of a former Wisconsin Natural Resources Board member who passed away last year.
The Natural Resources Board Wednesday designated the eastern-most portion of the Bailey's Harbor Boreal Forest and Wetlands State Natural Area after Jonathan P. Ela, who served on the board from 2003 to 2011, most recently as its chairman. The DNR will erect a sign on the property to commemorate the designation.
Ela, of Madison, died at home on Oct. 31, 2012, of lung cancer.
Kurt Thiede, DNR division of lands administrator, told board members and an audience of Ela's family and friends that the Jonathan P. Ela Unit of the Bailey's Harbor Boreal Forest and Wetlands-State Natural Area "will serve as an enduring reminder to current and future generations of Wisconsinites that the beautiful landscapes, plentiful fish and wildlife, clean air and fresh waters require informed and persistent action by each of us, working together at every opportunity."
The unit named after Ela includes a long stretch of rocky shoreline and the sandy beach at Spikehorn Bay, where Ela spent time as a boy while vacationing with his family.
The 463-acre State Natural Area was established in 1995.
Images courtesy of the Wisconsin DNR
