January 7, 2025

By Lane Kimble

Surrounded by rows and rows of green, Ron Zillmer stood in his own little version of Eden.

“It was a match made in heaven for us,” Zillmer said.

About 15,000 starter trees currently grow in his western Wisconsin “garden,” a site Zillmer considers downright divine.

“When I drove down in here I got really excited,” Zillmer told WTBA.  “And I know a lot of people don’t get real excited when they see a sunsetted extraction pit, but I do.”

The trees are growing atop four acres of what was once the Scherr sand pit, which provided road building materials around Trempealeau County and beyond.

The tree roots themselves are actually above ground in Zillmer’s “Legacy Trees” patented platform, but the pit’s sand and gravel below?  Great drainage.  And the surrounding slopes?  Perfect wind protection.

“This site provided us great access to transportation,” Zillmer said.  “Interstate 90, Interstate 94.  We’ve got the major corridors out of this site.  It was just such a win-win.”

Zillmer rents the land from Johnson Ops Tree Care.  Co-owners Dave and Kris bought a section of the former quarry from Milestone Materials (a division of the Mathy Construction) about four years ago.  That leap of faith has paid off.

“We have put time and effort into it.  It’s worked out well and we can definitely see a difference,” Kris Johnson said.

Similar positive differences can be seen at several other former Milestone pits nearby, including land that will soon become a family homestead, and a popular walking and hiking trail on the edge of La Crosse.

“Outstanding outcome, I would say, if we can put a mine site back to something unrecognizable,” Mathy Geologist Bob Servais said.

“You’ve put the resource in the ground to its optimal use and built this community in more ways than people realize… and then after the fact you’ve still got valuable land.”

WTBA, in coordination with its aggregate-producing member companies, is working to produce a series of videos that highlight reclamation success stories and the vast possibilities of reclaimed land.

The series will also detail the crucial and detailed process aggregate producers follow from site selection to reclamation, which often spans decades.

Stay tuned to the Weekly Update for future stories and a special members-only informational webpage coming to wtba.org in 2025.