The collection consists of four series: Historical Materials, Administrative Materials, Financial Materials and Related Materials and Organizations. The materials in this collection span the 1948-1997 time period, but the bulk of the materials fall into the 1985-1997 date range.
Historical Materials include newspaper clippings (1948; 1978-1995), written histories of the Hixon Forest Nature Center and Hixon Forest, and information on the Hixon families (1987-1996). Much of the Hixon family file includes correspondence between members of the family and Hixon Forest Nature Center board and staff.
Administrative Materials make up the most extensive series in this collection. They include articles of incorporation and bylaws (1983-1995 with gaps), Board of Director materials (1982-1997), correspondence (1976-1995 with gaps), fundraising (1985-1996), long-range planning (1985-1997), permits (1974?; 1985-1987; 1991-1993), personnel (1986-1994), programming (1982-1997), publicity (1983-1997), trails (1975-1994), visitors (1983-1996), and volunteers (1986-1994).
Financial materials date from 1983-1996. The largest subseries is made up of budget materials dating from 1986-1996.
Related Materials and Organizations (1973-1993) include newspaper clippings relating to the La Crosse River Valley Marsh (1973-1992 with gaps), and City of La Crosse Park materials (1981?-1984; 1993).
