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Endangered Species Act takes effect
Wisconsin becomes the first state to pass its own Endangered Species Act and to sign an agreement wa, making it illegal to kill, transport, possess, process or sell any wild animal on the threatened and endangered list without a permit. The law also requires that any private or public projet or activity DNR reviews must consider whether there is potential harm to species on the list.t rrtt -
1st largescale species reintroduction starts
DNR stocks American martens, a small mammal and member of the weasel family that was extirpated by 1925 due to unregulated trapping and habitat loss. Martens are now established in two areas of northern Wisconsin and a third population was recently confirmed in the Apostle Islands. Work with partners continues to provide the habitat, prey and other resources to sustain viable populations. -
Gray wolves return naturally
Gray wolves are documented in Wisconsin, more than a decade after the last known wolf was killed. The gray wolves are believed to have relocated naturally from Minnesota. Wisconsin starts monitoring for the species in 1979 and a recovery plan is approved in 1989. -
Lulu Lake and Mukwonago River preserved
Protection of Lulu Lake and the Mukwonago River that runs through it, begins as a partnership project with The Nature Conservancy. The waters, alkaline wetlands and surrounding oak savannas harbor a diversity of rare plants and animals, including long-ear sunfish, endangered mussels, and kitten-tails. -
Plants added to state Endangered/Threatened list
Wisconsin amends its law to include plants. No one may process or sell any wild plant that is a listed species without a valid endangered or threatened species permit. On public lands or lands you do not own, lease or have the permission of the landowner, you may not cut, root up, sever, injure, destroy, remove, transport or carry away a listed plant without an endangered or threatened species permit. There is an exemption on public lands for forestry, agriculture and utility activity. -
Annual frog and toad survey begins
Frog and Toad Survey DNR launches what becomes the country's longest-running frog and toad survey. Citizens coordinated and trained by DNR listen for frog calls in spring, providing information on frog and toad numbers, geographic distribution, and long-term trends. -
Tax-checkoff donation
Tax check-off DNR starts a voluntary tax checkoff on Wisconsin Income tax forms to supplement limited state funding for vital conservation work of rare species. Donations are matched dollar for dollar by the state and.have become a vital source of funding for endangered species work. Photo: Herb Lange -
Natural Heritage Inventory starts
Lawmakers established the Natural Heritage Inventory as part of what is now an international network of biological databases using the same methods and standards to collect, process and manage information about rare species and natural communities. -
1st species restored, taken off E/T list
Double-crested cormorants historically occupied large, isolated lakes and wetlands in northern Wisconsin but by 1966, only 30 nesting pairs survived. UW-Stevens Point and DNR started building cormorant nesting platforms, which along with declining DDT levels, protections for the species, and exploding alewife populations, led to the bird's recovery and removal from the endangered species list 20 years later. -
Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin formed
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Peregrine falcon reintroduction starts
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Trumpeter swan reintroduction starts
NHC biologist Sumner Matteson collects an egg from a trumpeter swan nest in Alaska, launching Wisconsin's reintroduction program for North America's largest waterfowl. The effort used pioneering techniques to raise the birds in captivity and partnerships among state and federal agencies, conservation organizations and individual citizens. Trumpeter swans were present in Wisconsin until the 1880s when market hunting and feather collecting took their toll. -
Muir boyhood haunt preserved as State Natural Area
The state acquires Observatory Hill in Marquette County, a place visited frequently by famed naturalist John Muir as a boy. Muir lived nearby and his love of the area was said to shape his views that spurred creation of the National Park System. The hill harbors endangered plants and offers a commanding view of the landscape. -
Wolf license plate created
A new license plate with a wolf design is available to all Wisconsin drivers for an annua $25 tax deductible donation to the Endangered Resources Fund. While the number of wolf plates has dropped in recent years, it trails only the Packers plate and combined military plates in popularity. -
Iconic Dells property protected and 300th State Natural Area
The scenic Wisconsin Rive gorge at the Dells is acquired to protect several species of endangered plants and the unusual sandstone formations that support them. The 300th State Natural Area is designated at Dwight's Point and Pokegama Wetlands on Lake Superior. -
Bald eagles taken off state E/T list
Bald eagle numbers climb to over 1,000 breeding pairs and Wisconsin removes the bird from the state endangered species list and it's removed a decade later from the federal list. The gain in population results from protections under the state and federal endangered species laws, declining levels of DDT in the environment, and DNR and partner efforts to help monitor and aid recovery. -
Karner blue butterfly habitat plan signed
DNR and 26 partners received final federal approval of their habitat conservation plan for the Karner Blue Butterfly, a federally endangered species. The plan was the nation's first statewise habitat plan and was recognized by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 10 top endangered species stories of the year. In 2016, Karner populations record high numbers with 107,906 counted over 14 sites surveyed by DNR and partners. -
Bluebird recovery
Bluebird populations plunged 90 percent in 50 years as ice storms on nesting grounds, a loss of nesting habitat and poor nesting success took a toll. NHC approached citizen groups to start an artificial nest box effort and the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin was formed. Their success in putting thousands of nest boxes on the landscape led to the recovery of this beautiful backyard favorite. Photo by Beverly Engstrom -
Native frogs, lizards, snakes protected
Comprehensive administrative rules protect native amphibians lincluding frogs and salamanders, snakes and lizards. -
Partnership to restore whooping cranes
Whooping Crane Eastern PartnershipDNR and several other federal, state and nonprofit partners joined forces to reintroduce the whooping crane through the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. The effort has succeeded in establishing a migratory flock of 100 birds that nests in Wisconsin but is not yet considered self-sustaining. A new phase limiting human interaction with captive-raised cranes is holding promise. -
WI Bird Conservation Initiative Launched
photo by Ryan Brady -
Endangered mussels ferried by fish and planted by hand
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50th anniversary of State Natural Areas
Wisconsin's State Natural Areas program celebrates 50 year of providing habitat for 90 percent of the plants on the state's endangered/threatened species and 75 percent of the listed animals. -
50th birthday of state natural areas program
State Natural Areas
Wisconsin's program to preserve the state's finest prairies, forests and wetlands turns 50 and ranks as the nation's oldest and largest. 90% of Wisconsin's endangered plants -- like this endangered white-fringed orchid pictured here -- and 75% of endangered animals are protected on state natural areas. There are now 683 areas protecting more than 390,000 acres of land and water. Photo credit: Josh Mayer -
Citizen-based monitoring network forms
NHC spearheads creation of a network of more than 180 citizen-based organizations that monitor rare plants and animals, water quality and other natural resources. The network seeks to build volunteer capacity and NHC has awarded $1.2 million to 262 citizen-based projects since then to help collect information on priority species and other natural resources. In 2016, 12,000+ volunteers participated in resource monitoring projects. -
Gray wolf removed from state E/T list
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Federal government approves state wildlife action plan
Wildlife Action plan Wisconsin's state wildlife action plan outlines the steps necessary to conserve wildlife and habitat before they become more rare and more costly to protect. The plan identifies native species most at risk, what habitats they are associated with, where they occur, and actions to get them off and keep them off any Endangered or Threatened lists in the future. The plan was updated in 2014-15. Photo credit: Ryan Brady -
Landowner Incentive Program begins
Wisconsin starts an incentive program to help private landowners manage and restore habitat for species that are rare or declining. Landowners get technical advice and financial help with their projects. Since 2006, this partnership has improved more than 3,000 acres of habitat for more than 240 at-risk species. -
Kirtland's warbler efforts begin
Kirtland's warbler, a tiny, federally endangered songbird, is documented in Wisconsin in 2007 and in 2008, federal, state and nonprofit partners begin monitoring for the birds, protecting their nests and restoring habitat. Those efforts are reflected in an increase from 7 birds documented in 2008 to 30 in 2016 and a geographically expanding territory. Photo credit: Jack Swelstad -
Comprehensive state invasive species law takes effect
A comprehensive administrative rule package takes effect to tackle invasive species, one of the biggest threat to endangered plants and animals. Invasive species are classified into two categories, prohibited and restricted, and with certain exceptions, the transport, transfer and introduction of these species is banned. Garlic mustard, shown in this photo, can quickly overtake forests, crowding out native plants in the understory. -
2nd license plate introduced
Wisconsin lawmakers approve allowing a second endangered resources license plate, this one featuring a badger design. Thousands of people participated in an online contest to pick the design. $25 from the license tag purchase goes to fund activities to safeguard rare species. Viewed as one in a series of designs, the badger plate is no longer sold as of September 2015 but thousands of existing plates continue to be displayed on Wisconsin vehicles, helping raise money for rare species. -
Osprey removed from state E/T list
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Trumpeter swan removed from E/T list
Under DNR's trumpetere swan recovery plan, Wisconsin biologists working with Mary and Terry Kohler of the Windway Capital Corporation flew to Alaska for 9 years to collect swan eggs. The young swans were placed in a captive-rearing program or decoy-rearing program until they were released to the wild. Wisconsin reached the original recovery goal early and had 10 times as many breeding pairs as the plan called for. Wisconsin's trumpeter swan population topped 5,000 in 2016. -
Four cave bat species listed as threatened
A fungal disease called white-nose syndrome is causing unprecedented and devastating losses to North America's hibernating cave bats, which help keep agricultural and forest pests in check. DNR adds four cave bat species to the threatened list and launches a comprehensive effort to investigate the status, trends, current threats and health of bats. -
State Natural Areas Volunteer program begins
The State Natural Areas program launches efforts to recruit volunteers to help care for these special places, refuges for rare plants, animals and natural communities. Building slowly in areas where there is interest, the number of volunteer groups doubled in 2016 to 36 groups devoting more than 5800 hours and impacting more than 3500 acres. -
Wisconsin turtle conservation program formed
NHC begins efforts to engage citizens in helping report turtle roadway crossings in an effort to identify and address roadways providing particularly deadly to turtles. By 2017, more than 1,000 reports had been submitted by citizens and DNR has worked with road agencies and others to address several dozen problematic sites. One example: fencing and a culvert along a Portage County roadway has reduced mortality 85 percent from fall 2015 to 2016. Photo b Pete Zani -
Landowner lottery begins
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15 species removed from Endangered & Threatened list
2014 list revision
15 plant and wildlife species are removed from the Endangered Species list. Some of them, like prairie indian plantain shown here, are responding to habitat management on state natural areas and on private lands. Other species were documented in more places than previously known, thanks largely to volunteers' reports. -
Rare plants get boost from new effort
NHC begins its Rare Plant Monitoring Program to train volunteers to help locate and check population status of 322 species of rare plants. The volunteers greatly expand monitoring capacity and sound the alarm for needed habitat work. The yellow water lily shown here was last seen in the Galena River in 1972. Volunteers sent to survey the area quickly found it and documented surrounding habitats and threats, greatly expanding knowledge of the plant, of which only 10 WI populations are known. -
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Statewide mussel survey begins
Photo credit: Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -
New species discovered
NHC staff and our citizen scientists trained more eyes ad ears on our skies, waters and lands in 2016 than ever before and made some amazing finds. They documented a new bat, a new breeding bird, a new snake, a new freshwater mussel and a new damselfly, the blue-ringed dancer shown here in this picture by Dan Jackson. -
Unprecedented bat database created
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Wisconsin role grows in piping plover recovery
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1st bumble bee listed as endangered
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Good signs for ornate box turtles
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1000th peregrine falcon banded
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Monarch summit
