In Profile: A Cartoonist's Refuge Protected as a Georgia Treasure

In the early 1980s Rolf and Alexandra Kauka decided for health reasons to make a new home in southwest Georgia. Rolf, a beloved cartoonist in Germany, sold his publishing house and the couple traded their life in Germany for the gentler climate of the American South, purchasing the 2,400-acre River Creek Plantation.

I had the vision of building a refuge for our fauna and flora. I just feel it is so humbling to see an oak tree that will survive you for hundreds of years.

- Alexandra Kauka, Landowner

Summary

After her husband died 2000, Alexandra felt a responsibility to protect the land she and Rolf had cultivated and treasured. The property, in the Red Hills between southern Georgia and northern Florida, held significant natural resources such as longleaf pine forests, native wiregrass, four miles of riverfront and habitat for bobwhite quail and the endangered redcockaded woodpecker.

Challenge

The River Creek Plantation was much sought after by developers, and Alexandra Kauka considered a number of options.

Solution

In the end, she chose to work with The Conservation Fund to structure a solution that would both benefit her financially and enable her to protect her beloved land in perpetuity. Mrs. Kauka sold it to the Fund at a bargain price, which allowed her to take a tax credit on the sale.

Results

With assistance from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Tall Timbers Research Station, The Conservation Fund subsequently sold the land at a discount to the state of Georgia to create River Creek: the Rolf and Alexandra Kauka Wildlife Management Area. The property–the first established public land in southwestern Georgia–now provides open space for hiking, hunting and birdwatching, as well as protected habitat for native wildlife and birds.