Wildlife Habitat Council

  It may be Earth Day today, but AriensCo has made every day a tribute to conservation. The company, which manufactures Gravely and Ariens outdoor power equipment brands in the U.S., received the prestigious Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) Conservation Certification® for its work to restore and conserve 150 acres of natural ecosystem at its headquarters in Brillion, WI. The project reflects a growing trend of companies working with third-party groups, like the WHC, to restore, conserve and enhance lands on private properties. AriensCo has committed to restoring approximately 86 acres of prairie oak savanna, a unique habitat that once thrived in the U.S. Midwest, but is currently in peril. It’s estimated that only 0.01% of Wisconsin’s original 5.5 million acres of prairie oak savanna are left. The remaining 64 acres of the project will be comprised of forests and wetlands. All the land is on property owned by AriensCo. AriensCo has already established 26 acres of prairie oak savanna and 24 acres of forests and wetlands. In the coming years, it aims to establish an additional 60 acres of prairie oak savanna and 40 acres of woodlands, including 2.5 acres of both shallow and deep marshes. The company is working with ecologists from McMahon Associates on a variety of strategies to revive the land and cultivate the native vegetation and wildlife that once called the area home. This includes managing controlled burns that use fire to root out invasive species and refresh prairie vegetation, which is critical to propagating the ...