The Cook-Albert Fuller Nature Center opened in 2015.[5] The 7,400-square foot facility isLEED certified,[6] and includes displays about the preserve'skarst topography, wildflowers, plants, animals and the history of the site's founding.
The sanctuary includes a small amount of the raw humusrendzina soil type, which is globally uncommon.[7] and is also found in the Marshall's Point State Natural Area, a residential development not open to the public.[8]
Although the sanctuary is home to wild orchids, it also operates an orchidrestoration project to cultivate and introduce rare orchids into otherwise natural plant communities.[9] 25 native orchid species are currently kept at the Ridges.[10] A 1998 survey of wild, native orchids was carried out in response to continued theft of the sanctuary orchids. 28 species were identified.[11]
^Knudson, Kip (2005). "An Orchid Survey of the Ridges Sanctuary,Selbyana 26(1/2), 1/2, Proceedings of the Second International Orchid Conservation Congress, pages 46–48".Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Inc.JSTOR41760172.
Baileys Harbor Ridges Park Beach description inDoor County Outdoors: A Guide to the Best Hiking, Biking, Paddling, Beaches, and Natural Places by Magill Weber, Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011, page 115
