What's New?
Endangered Resources News & Events
Donate to the Wisconsin Endangered Resources Fund!
Now you can make your donation online at our Endangered Resources Online Donation Center! It's easy, fast, and efficient! Individuals can make their donation to the Endgangered Resources Fund with a credit card or eCheck.
New Endangered Resources License Plate
The Endangered Resources Program is excited to introduce a new, second license
plate that will be available for purchase in addition to the original wolf plate.
The new badger plate will help showcase our work to protect Species of Greatest
Conservation Need and their habitats. The money from the $25 contributed to
each Endangered Resources license plate is used to support the program's conservation
fund account. Last October, the DNR held an online advisory vote for four potential
plate designs depicting native Wisconsin wildlife and their habitat. During
the 11-day poll, more than 23,000 voted with the badger design receiving 68
percent of the total votes.
Order
your new plates today... (exit DNR) Read
more....
The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change
2010 State of the Birds Report
Read the 2010 State of the Birds report...(exit DNR)
White-nose Syndrome: A Grave Threat to Wisconsin's Bats
Read more... (exit DNR)
Donate to the Wisconsin Bat Conservation Endowment Fund... (exit DNR)
Gray Wolf Back on Endangered Species List
On June 29th, 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to reinstate federal protection of wolves in the upper Great Lakes region. A coalition of wolf advocate groups led by the Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit June 15, challenged the federal government's decision. A court-ordered settlement restores federal Endangered Species Act protections for more than 4,000 gray wolves around the Great Lakes. The Service will provide an additional opportunity for public comment on the rule to ensure compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act. While the Service gathers additional public comment, gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes area will again be protected under the Endangered Species. All restrictions and requirements in place under the Act prior to the delisting will be reinstated.
Read more about the changes... (exit DNR)Read about the gray wolf in Wisconsin
Cougar spotted on trail-cams in Clark County; tracks in Bayfield County
© Leu and Krystal Vang
Banding Together for Research - 60 years of raptors at Cedar Grove
Since 1950, Helmut Mueller and Dan Berger have been trapping and banding raptors and other birds at Cedar Grove Hawk Research Station and they continue their research today. The station has the longest sustained record of activity in North America for trapping and banding migratory raptors and more than 20,000 birds of prey of 23 species have been live-trapped, banded, measured, and released. Berger and Mueller were recently recognized by the Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology for their six decades of research at the site. Largely self-funded and relying on an all-volunteer crew, the facility has the "longest sustained record for birds of prey in North America," said Gloria McCutcheon, DNR regional director. Read more.... (exit DNR)
Road trips to the right place at the right time: Wisconsin's Birding and Nature Trail
Nothing builds an appreciation for nature like seeing, hearing and watching it
for yourself. Though wild animals don't suddenly appear on cue, experienced bird
watchers have tried to tip the odds in your favor by forming lists of "best bets"
to see birds in key places at key times of the year. That was the concept in compiling
the Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail – a series of regional auto routes
that could get you to the right place at the right time to find the places where
birds congregate during their courtships, breeding seasons, migrations, resting
times and feeding periods. Read
the full Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine article...
Wisconsin's Top Bat Man
Photo by Wolfgang HoffmannAs the state’s leading authority on bats, Endangered Resources Ecologist Dave Redell hangs out well past nightfall to observe and identify bats when they are most active. Several times each month, he sets up near the mouth of a Wisconsin cave to capture and measure bats as they emerge, often not finishing his work until 3 a.m. Read more... (exit DNR)
Original Watercolor Painting "Through the Eyes of John Muir" by Janet Flynn
Now you can own a beautiful limited edition print of this original watercolor painting of the boyhood home of John Muir! Available in two sizes, the signed limited-edition prints will make a great gift any occasion. In addition, a beautiful poster and note cards complete the line. The image depicts a variety of native species of plants and animals in rich vibrant colors. Proceeds from this select line of products helps the Endangered Resources Program continue its work to preserve species for future generations. Read More...
A warble from the barrens
On a windless June morning in a dewy pine barren, a tiny, colorful bird adds its song to the typical chorus of Wisconsin's shrubland birds. Amid the melodious notes of vesper sparrows and bouncing calls of field sparrows, a distinctive chip chip che-way-o announces the presence of a rare, elusive species- the Kirtland's warbler. The male's song is followed by chipping calls from the female. She alights on a pine branch and is photographed, marking the first time a female of this species has been seen in Wisconsin. Careful scrutiny leads to another first discovery on this fine morning. Concealed among grasses under a pine branch is a Kirtland's warbler nest containing five eggs! Read More...
Trumpeter Swans... For Generations To Come
The Wisconsin DNR is proud to announce the availability of a new DVD video for sale, titled: "Trumpeter Swans... For Generations To Come." This informative video covers the history of the recovery effort from its early years in the late 1980's to the present. The video includes spectacular footage from Alaskan egg collections to restoration efforts at Crex Meadows and elsewhere, and features several interviews with principal players highlighting the many public-private partnerships that have made it a nationally recognized conservation success story. Length: 25 minutes. Cost: $25. To order this DVD, mail a check made out to the Department of Natural Resources to: DNR Video/EI, PO BOX 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921, or call (608) 266-6790. You may view a promo clip of the video below:
Birding and Nature Trail Guide!
The Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail is your invitation to observe the fascinating and diverse world of wildlife that exists in every corner of Wisconsin. The final in a series of five guides – the Southern Savanna Birding and Nature Trail – covers thirteen Wisconsin counties in the southcentral portion of the state. Published in 2008, it includes 78 waypoints from the 30,000-acre Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in the east to Yellowstone State Park in the west. The first four guides in the series – the Lake Superior Northwoods edition released in 2004, the Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers edition from 2005, the Lake Michigan edition from 2006, and the Central Sands edition from 2007 – are all still available in limited numbers. View the Guide! [PDF 9.2MB]
Bring Back The Cranes!
Watch whooping cranes following ultralight airplanes and interacting with costumed biologists! This video provides information about the whooping cranes' decline, previous and current reintroduction efforts, and how whooping cranes learn to migrate from Wisconsin to the southern U.S. by following ultralight aircraft. View the Video [VIDEO Length 18:31].
To order a copy of this DVD, please print, complete, and mail the order form [PDF 12KB]. Educators may obtain a free copy by calling (608) 267-9351.
Second Edition of Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail Checklist Available!
For this Second Edition, 5 species have been added to the Checklist (Cackling Goose, White-winged Tern, Greenbreasted Mango, Rock Wren, Great-tailed Grackle) and one has been deleted (Streak-backed Oriole) based on input from Bill Mueller, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology’s Conservation Chair. Other checklist elements have also been updated to reflect the most current information on Wisconsin birds. View the Checklist [PDF 1.25MB]
Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey
The Bureau of Endangered Resources’ Ecological Inventory and Monitoring Section
and Beaver Creek Reserve’s Citizen Science Center in Fall Creek, WI have recently
completed updates to the existing Wisconsin
Frog and Toad Survey (WFTS) web site (exit DNR)
and associated volunteer survey manual. The Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey is
a citizen-based monitoring program coordinated by the Bureau of Endangered Resources
and the Bureau of Science Services at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The primary purpose of the WFTS is to determine the status, distribution, and
long-term population trends of Wisconsin’s thirteen frog species. The new WFTS
site is intended to be a resource for WFTS volunteers as well as a general resource
on identification of Wisconsin frogs and their calls, WFTS calling survey protocols
and analyses, and WFTS publications. Current WFTS volunteers will receive their
new survey manuals in March when yearly materials are distributed. Funding for
this project was provided by the Citizen-based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin.
Caring for the Swans
Trumpeter swans are making an impressive comeback in Wisconsin. Nick Vander Puy from the Superior Broadcast Network checks out a swan nesting lake with DNR avian ecologist Pat Manthey. Pat Manthey is an avian ecologist who cares for trumpeter swans because trumpeter swans were missing from Wisconsin and the DNR Bureau of Endangered Resources attempts to restore animals that were adversely impacted by humans. More... (exit DNR)
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