The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.
Issue link: https://landreport.epubxp.com/i/738657
First, the water. Thanks to 22,000 acre-feet of surface water, three reservoirs were stocked with largemouth bass. Smaller ponds were designed with fly-fishing in mind. Although the Sulphur River watershed provided superb waterfowl habitat, Hageman brought Shane Roethle on board. A wildlife biologist with a track record in Stuttgart, Arkansas, Roethle developed a program to optimize the mix of marshland plants for waterfowl. Today, flooded corn, rice, and soybean fields and a green-tree reservoir draw in ducks by the thousands. To promote natural regeneration of smartweed and millet, the system draws down selected wetlands, thus exposing the soil to sunlight. This stimulates plant growth. These areas are then reflooded, creating ideal waterfowl habitat. Next, the uplands. Most Indiana farmers, including Hageman, know a thing or two about pheasant and quail habitat. The vast patchwork of cultivated fields and natural cover at The Reserve creates ideal habitat for upland game birds — and hunters. Before they get out in the field, most shooters like to limber up and sharpen their shooting eye. So Hageman built a shooting complex complete with pistol and rifle range, trap and skeet field, a 12-station sporting clays course, and a crazy quail bunker. The Hageman family envisioned a lodge with half a dozen guest rooms, but thinking small is not the way the family fortune was made. Hageman thought 30 rooms seemed about right. The family got on board, and from there on, the vision grew into a classic. FA L L 2 0 1 6 | The LandReport 77 LANDREPORT.COM