Patty Loew:
Wisconsin has thousands of tourist attractions, but only five wild rivers. The Brunsweiler and Totagatic join an elite group including the Pine, the Popple and the Pike, which were designated “wild rivers” when the law was first enacted in 1965. So it's been a while. This week Jo Garrett takes you for a scenic fall journey down river in Ashland County.   

Jo Garrett:
This is the Brunsweiler River in Ashland County.   This 10-mile stretch recently garnered a second name, the Martin Hanson Wild River. Hanson was an important conservationist in Wisconsin. He passed away in 2008. For decades, this river and surrounding territory was Hanson's home. This part of the Brunsweiler is now protected as part of Wisconsin's Wild Rivers system. It's a rare honor. Wisconsin has just five designated state wild rivers.

Tom Rossberger:
This is named after Martin Hanson, who was my great uncle.

Jo Garrett:
Hanson’s grand-nephew, Tom Rossberger, spent his summers here and now lives on the Brunsweiler.

Jo Garrett:
With his children, Tommy and Elizabeth, in tow, Rossberger got us all shipshape and took us downstream to show us why Hanson was so determined to keep this river wild, protected from development.

Tom Rossberger:
He felt that it was his life mission to preserve it. Martin was working on it really hard. He was getting up in age and he was worried that if it didn't get that designation, there wouldn't be anything left to prevent anything from happening.   

Jo Garrett:
It's a stunning place. In big ways. And small.   

Tom Rossberger:
It's so unique. It's so special. You'll never see another place quite like this place.

Jo Garrett:
That this man will be remembered by a wild river seems fitting. Hanson was like a current in the Wisconsin conservation movement, unseen, yet constant and strong.

Tom Rossberger:
Over his years, he helped to do so many things. He actually helped with Gaylord Nelson to get the St. Croix designated.

Jo Garrett:
He was a force behind the naming of the St. Croix as a national scenic river and the Apostle Islands as a national lakeshore. And now this river bears his name and stays as it is.   

Tom Rossberger:
There's no more development that can happen to it. Whatever's here can remain, but there can be no further development for the entire length that's been designated. It shows folks what this land can look like if you take care of it and you don't develop every chunk that you can. I very much appreciate what my family has done to preserve it, and I really look forward to seeing it for my lifetime and my children's lifetime. For as long as it can remain.

Patty Loew:
We mentioned the other new wild river in Wisconsin, the Totagatic. Next week the journey continues as we paddle down this wild gem.   

Man:
It's as close as you can come, I think, to being totally pristine as anything I've seen. This is hardly touched. And to me that is a remarkable gift.   

Patty Loew:
Nature flows as far as the eye can see, through Bayfield, Sawyer, Washburn, Douglas and Burnett Counties. Come along for the ride on the Totagatic next Thursday at 7:00 on "In Wisconsin."