Tucked away from plain sight of travelers whizzing down Highway 33 in the Town of West Bend are 91 acres of valuable land that contain the headwater springs of the Cedar Lakes watershed. The land, which lies just south of the highway, was preserved by Jim Fritsche with the help of the Foundation, not once but twice. In 1998, Fritsche preserved 25.1 acres of the property by making it available to the Foundation. Before his death in 2001, Fritsche instructed his daughter to preserve an additional 40 acres. Together the parcels became known as the Fritsche Nature Preserve.

Indian Springs, the area's unofficial name transferred through generations of locals, bubbles clear water from countless springs into Gilbert Lake. That water then travels into Big Cedar and Little Cedar Lakes, Cedar Creek and the Milwaukee River before finally reaching Lake Michigan.

By Mary Jo Joyce

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