The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin has received the largest cash donation for conservation in state history from Phillips businessman and UW-Madison graduate Bob Cervenka and his wife, Debbie.
The $1 million grant pledge will be used to help purchase and preserve nearly 1,000 acres of lake frontage and wilderness along the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan border in Vilas County. Included are 500 acres of old-growth forest.
The Cervenkas are owners of Phillips Plastics Corp., one of the largest injection molders in the U.S. with annual sales of more than $216 million.