EL PASO - If Uncle Bud had sold his land on the Rush River, his heirs could have split upwards of a million dollars.

But the late Herbert Koch - "Uncle Bud" to family members - had other ideas. His final instructions to family members and a close friend were that the land be kept open to the public and that they find a suitable nonprofit organization to own and care for it.

After three years of researching the possibilities, the family selected the Eau Galle-Rush River Sportsman's Club, which has been looking after the Rush River for 35 years. The backup organization, should the club disband, is the West Wisconsin Land Trust.

On a recent Saturday, while the normally clear river was running high, brown and cold with snow melt, the family and about 150 friends gathered on the property to celebrate the donation, which is being made in two transactions.

The family not only dedicated the land, which is east of Ellsworth in Pierce County, but threw in $2,500 in cash to help pay for a handicapped accessible fishing area that is scheduled to be built.

The 144 acres, which are being transferred to the sportsman's club in two installments, include a mile of frontage on a prime stretch of the Rush, one of the Midwest's premier trout streams. It includes a bluff overlooking the river where a hiking trail will be developed.

The Rush River flows into the Mississippi River.

All this is within slightly more than an hour's drive from the Twin Cities. It's about the same distance from Eau Claire.

Patty Stoneberg of Hastings, Minn., who walked along the river's bank with her husband, Mark, after the dedication, said family members were fine with Uncle Bud's decision to donate the land.

"This is how it needs to be. It needs to be in nature. I think we all see it that way," said Stoneberg, Koch's niece.

Koch bought the land with the idea that his mother might build a home there, but that never happened. He also was an avid fisherman and probably recognized a good stretch of trout water when he saw it. But he always kept the land open to the public.

Public hiking and fishing will continue on the land, with a tad more oversight, said Arby Linder, president of the sportsman's club. Because of its relative remoteness, the land has become a party spot, which has resulted in some littering.

"It's unbelievable what people will throw out in a beautiful place," Linder said.

Some timber will be cut on the property, mostly to remove box elders, he said. An archery range will be developed at the edge of the land. An old gravel pit will be used as a shooting range, although access will be regulated, he said. The Pepin County Sheriff's Department is interested in training there.

Hiking trails will be developed. ATV use will be eliminated or restricted because of erosion concerns.

The club and Department of Natural Resources will develop a four-station handicapped fishing area, said John Sours, a DNR trout habitat specialist, so that disabled anglers can try different spots. The DNR also will do stream habitat work so trout will concentrate in the area, he said.

Scott Humrickhouse, director of the DNR's west-central region, said the land is valuable now but wild areas like this will be even more valuable in years to come.

"The thing that impressed me about an event like this is that everybody brings something to the party - the generosity of the family, the enthusiasm of the club members," he said.

Ellen Larson, 13, one of the younger members of the sportsman's club, said she was glad the Koch family donated the land. "I can't wait to get out hiking on the trails," she said.