In this winter season, when days grow shorter and light grows less intense, we bring light to the darkness with the celebration of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. I chose the Wisconsin endangered Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) as my December species, one of the largest most beautiful temperate North American butterflies (here’s where I found the photo I based my poster drawing on http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/courses/introconsbio/Regal_fritillary.jpg ), as my way to brighten your life these winter days! So, here’s wishing you Holidays filled with light and a transformative New Year!
1. The Regal Fritillary is unique among butterflies in that it lays its eggs near its larvae’s host plants, the arrowleaf, birdsfoot, and prairie violets, rather than on them. So, it lays more eggs than butterflies that lay their eggs directly on their larvae’s hosts!
2. Tall grass prairie was once the Regal’s home. Since most of the tallgrass prairie has been destroyed due to our conversion of prairie to agricultural land in the 1800s, the Regal is now found in declining numbers, in declining habitat - large grassland areas with prairie remnants or lightly grazed pasture lands with prairie vegetation, along with hills and valleys. Land in Crawford, Columbia, Green, Iowa, Portage, and St. Croix Counties meet the Regal’s requirements.
3. What are the threats to the Regal’s existence? Development and intensive agriculture.
4. How can the Regal Fritillary be saved? By a two-pronged approach. We need to properly manage its remaining habitat, and protect more habitat.through buying land or conservation easements. The most common prairie management technique, controlled burns, has led to a decline in Regals and other rare butterflies. Instead, management by light grazing, infrequent mowing and/or localized brush cutting has helped Regals flourish.
1,823 acres containing Regal habitat in the Military Ridge area is being preserved through collaboration amongst The Nature Conservacy, the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service, WI DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pheasants Forever, Blue Mounds Area Project and The Prairie Enthusiasts.
http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3592
In 2007, The Driftless Area Land Conservancy purchased the development rights for the Kenneth Powell family farm, containing 327 acres near the Nature Conservancy’s Barneveld Prairie Preserve, 18 of which is a high quality tallgrass prairie remnant, with funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (a USDA program) and the WI DNR’s Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/thisweek/2007/011707/wisdrifrpp.html
In 2008, the state of WI’s Stewardship Program gave a $405,200 grant to Nature Conservancy WI to purchase 153 acres of land in the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage area, in order to expand Thomson Prairie, which had been pegged for residential development
.http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3592
5. What can you do to help save the Regal Fritillary? Tell people about its rarity, its beauty, and why it is in such a sorry state. Let everyone know why you think endangered species are important. Our human communities can never be complete without our natural communities. When you are considering what gifts you will give to friends and family, think of the Regal Fritillary and the other animals and plants in WI that are most in need! Volunteer with and donate to the environmental organizations of your choice. The WI DNR (most of my info on the Regal is found here http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/biodiversity/index.asp?mode=info&Grp=9&SpecCode=IILEPJ6040 and you can find info on how to help the WI DNR here http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/support/how_you_can_help.htm ) as well as the Madison Audubon Society http://madisonaudubon.org/audubon/index.htm and Madison’s John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/ are on my list!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
November's Featured Wisconsin Endangered Species: Wallace's Deepwater Mayfly
For November’s Wisconsin endangered species, I’ve chosen the humble and obscure Wallace’s Deepwater Mayfly (Spinadis simplex). I’m calling attention to this species as a Thanksgiving to the lesser known, ordinary creatures whose value is greater than they or we might think - much like the majority of organisms who live out their brief but precious lives in obscurity – including most of us humans!
We know something about their aptly named Order, Ephemeroptera, but little about this particular species. How ironic, given that they are one of the oldest existing winged insects! The Order is called Ephemeroptera because the winged adults are short-lived. All insects in this Order are unique for 3 reasons – their ancient lineage, they have winged subimagos (last non-adult life stages), and their wings point straight up. And, these insects are especially vulnerable to poor water quality http://www.earthlife.net/insects/ephemer.html .
About Wallace’s Deepwater Mayfly itself, we know little. We can only say where it’s been found, in Grant, Crawford, Iowa, Richland and Columbia counties in Wisconsin, and that it prefers large, fast-flowing rivers where nymphs live among wood or other solid substrates over sand in deep water http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/biodiversity/index.asp?mode=info&Grp=18&SpecCode=IIEPH19010 . The specifics of its distribution and life cycle are unknown. What a great opportunity for someone to study this mayfly, and bring it and themselves into the limelight!
Threats to its survival are wetland destruction, shoreline development, water pollution, and alteration of waterflow by impoundments or destruction of nearby vegetation http://dnr.wisconsin.gov/org/land/er/wwap/plan/pdfs/04_0_Invertebrate_SGCN.pdf.
Conservation efforts to combat these threats will also benefit other sensitive species, as well as all living things that value clean water – including us!
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, show your appreciation of Wallace’s Deepwater Mayfly and other endangered species, and thank your local and national conservation organizations for working to save them, by being generous with your time and money. Here are just a few of the many organizations that could use your thanks: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/support/how_you_can_help.htm , http://madisonaudubon.org/audubon/index.htm . and http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/ Share your knowledge and awareness with friends, families and acquaintances! Help save the world!
We know something about their aptly named Order, Ephemeroptera, but little about this particular species. How ironic, given that they are one of the oldest existing winged insects! The Order is called Ephemeroptera because the winged adults are short-lived. All insects in this Order are unique for 3 reasons – their ancient lineage, they have winged subimagos (last non-adult life stages), and their wings point straight up. And, these insects are especially vulnerable to poor water quality http://www.earthlife.net/insects/ephemer.html .
About Wallace’s Deepwater Mayfly itself, we know little. We can only say where it’s been found, in Grant, Crawford, Iowa, Richland and Columbia counties in Wisconsin, and that it prefers large, fast-flowing rivers where nymphs live among wood or other solid substrates over sand in deep water http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/biodiversity/index.asp?mode=info&Grp=18&SpecCode=IIEPH19010 . The specifics of its distribution and life cycle are unknown. What a great opportunity for someone to study this mayfly, and bring it and themselves into the limelight!
Threats to its survival are wetland destruction, shoreline development, water pollution, and alteration of waterflow by impoundments or destruction of nearby vegetation http://dnr.wisconsin.gov/org/land/er/wwap/plan/pdfs/04_0_Invertebrate_SGCN.pdf.
Conservation efforts to combat these threats will also benefit other sensitive species, as well as all living things that value clean water – including us!
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, show your appreciation of Wallace’s Deepwater Mayfly and other endangered species, and thank your local and national conservation organizations for working to save them, by being generous with your time and money. Here are just a few of the many organizations that could use your thanks: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/support/how_you_can_help.htm , http://madisonaudubon.org/audubon/index.htm . and http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/ Share your knowledge and awareness with friends, families and acquaintances! Help save the world!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
October's Featured Wisconsin Endangered Species: Massasauga Rattlesnake
The Massasauga Rattlesnake’s, or Eastern Massasauga’s (Sistrurus catenatus) story is like the Fugitive’s – a species unjustly convicted of and punished for horrendous crimes it didn’t commit. The Massasauga Rattlesnake is a shy, retiring creature that has been vilified over the years. There are no records of anyone killed in Wisconsin by a Massasauga Rattlesnake since the 1900s. By contrast, thousands of Massasauga Rattlesnakes were killed in the late 1800s in the Milwaukee area as the city was expanded, and there were bounties on rattlers until as late as 1975. At the sight, sound, and even thought of rattlers many of us feel so much fear – to the point of killing them, and to the point of not studying them thoroughly enough to truly understand them! The Massasauga is even helpful to people, because it primarily preys on mice, voles and other small rodents. And, they thoughtfully (and self-protectively) most commonly don’t use venom on people - 60% of poisonous snake bites to people don’t contain venom - which is saved for their prey.
1. How has the Massasauga Rattlesnake become endangered? As you might have guessed, it has been a victim of our fears. The killings during settlement and then the bounties dangerously lowered their population. Animals that have become over populous because of our destruction of top predators – raccoons and skunks –newly introduced species such as hogs, as well as foxes, hawks, and eagles, prey on the Massasauga. The Massasauga is a favorite venomous species pet, so they are being illegally captured. Off-road vehicles on their habitat is harmful to them. Though the primary reason for their being endangered today, is that we are indirectly killing them by destroying their wetland habitats. Because of our lack of knowledge about the Massasauga, we’re not sure how to manage their existing habitat.
2. What do we know about the Massasauga Rattlesnake? They are found in isolated spots in southeastern, central, and west central Wisconsin.
When the soil temperature is high enough, Massasaugas become active. During their active season, from April to early, mid October, they live in floodplain habitats along medium to large rivers, especially near river confluences – which is why the Ojibwa called them Massasauga, meaning great river mouth – where they favor open canopy wetlands, such as sedge meadows, fresh wet meadows, scrub carr and adjacent upland prairies and old fields. They enjoy warm, humid, overcast days and sun themselves in concealing vegetation. They are primarily active during the early morning, but also on summer evenings.
Female Massasauga Rattlesnakes are pregnant from late July through August. They prefer dry to dry-mesic prairies during this incubation period. They give birth to 8 to 20 young, live rather than eggs. Their young are usually born beneath a log, in a wood pile, or abandoned mammal burrow, where they will stay for 4 or 5 days, until shedding into more protective skins.
The beginning of hibernation is dependent on air temperature. Unlike other snake species, each snake hibernates alone. They prefer crayfish burrows, built in river bottom dugouts with above ground mud chimneys, in which they choose the at or near water level spots. They will also use mammal burrows, sawdust piles, or old root canals.
3. What does this mean for habitat management? It will have to encompass the Massasauga Rattlesnake’s needs at different times of year and at different times in its lifecycle – through its active time including basking, its hibernation, and its reproductive times and youth. Allowing meadows and wetlands to fill in with vegetation will compromise their active habitat. Managing to leave some open canopy is necessary for basking. Prescribed burning, mowing and herbicide application should only be done during their hibernation http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Article_Lookup.asp?id=924 . During hibernation, recent research shows that lowering water levels (drawdown management) in wetland habitats during the fall may harm them. Impounding, or containing, sedge meadows and wetlands will also be detrimental to the Massasauga during hibernation. And it’s important that crayfish are allowed to flourish, so the Massasaugas can use their burrows.
4. What can you do to help? Tell everyone you know that the Massasauga Rattlesnake is not aggressive towards people! Let them know all the interesting facts about them and reveal their true natures! See this artful photo, where the Massasauga looks like a work of art itself http://k41.pbase.com/u13/eddie_sanchez/upload/38428436.DSCN5316.jpg (I’ve based my poster on it). Donate to the WI DNR http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/support/how_you_can_help.htm (all of my information about the Massasauga comes from their website – where you can find out even more interesting facts about them http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/biodiversity/index.asp?mode=info&Grp=49&SpecCode=ARADE03011 , under Detailed Information). Donate to and volunteer with conservation organizations, to support their work helping endangered species, even some that don’t seem, at first glance, worth saving!
1. How has the Massasauga Rattlesnake become endangered? As you might have guessed, it has been a victim of our fears. The killings during settlement and then the bounties dangerously lowered their population. Animals that have become over populous because of our destruction of top predators – raccoons and skunks –newly introduced species such as hogs, as well as foxes, hawks, and eagles, prey on the Massasauga. The Massasauga is a favorite venomous species pet, so they are being illegally captured. Off-road vehicles on their habitat is harmful to them. Though the primary reason for their being endangered today, is that we are indirectly killing them by destroying their wetland habitats. Because of our lack of knowledge about the Massasauga, we’re not sure how to manage their existing habitat.
2. What do we know about the Massasauga Rattlesnake? They are found in isolated spots in southeastern, central, and west central Wisconsin.
When the soil temperature is high enough, Massasaugas become active. During their active season, from April to early, mid October, they live in floodplain habitats along medium to large rivers, especially near river confluences – which is why the Ojibwa called them Massasauga, meaning great river mouth – where they favor open canopy wetlands, such as sedge meadows, fresh wet meadows, scrub carr and adjacent upland prairies and old fields. They enjoy warm, humid, overcast days and sun themselves in concealing vegetation. They are primarily active during the early morning, but also on summer evenings.
Female Massasauga Rattlesnakes are pregnant from late July through August. They prefer dry to dry-mesic prairies during this incubation period. They give birth to 8 to 20 young, live rather than eggs. Their young are usually born beneath a log, in a wood pile, or abandoned mammal burrow, where they will stay for 4 or 5 days, until shedding into more protective skins.
The beginning of hibernation is dependent on air temperature. Unlike other snake species, each snake hibernates alone. They prefer crayfish burrows, built in river bottom dugouts with above ground mud chimneys, in which they choose the at or near water level spots. They will also use mammal burrows, sawdust piles, or old root canals.
3. What does this mean for habitat management? It will have to encompass the Massasauga Rattlesnake’s needs at different times of year and at different times in its lifecycle – through its active time including basking, its hibernation, and its reproductive times and youth. Allowing meadows and wetlands to fill in with vegetation will compromise their active habitat. Managing to leave some open canopy is necessary for basking. Prescribed burning, mowing and herbicide application should only be done during their hibernation http://dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Article_Lookup.asp?id=924 . During hibernation, recent research shows that lowering water levels (drawdown management) in wetland habitats during the fall may harm them. Impounding, or containing, sedge meadows and wetlands will also be detrimental to the Massasauga during hibernation. And it’s important that crayfish are allowed to flourish, so the Massasaugas can use their burrows.
4. What can you do to help? Tell everyone you know that the Massasauga Rattlesnake is not aggressive towards people! Let them know all the interesting facts about them and reveal their true natures! See this artful photo, where the Massasauga looks like a work of art itself http://k41.pbase.com/u13/eddie_sanchez/upload/38428436.DSCN5316.jpg (I’ve based my poster on it). Donate to the WI DNR http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/support/how_you_can_help.htm (all of my information about the Massasauga comes from their website – where you can find out even more interesting facts about them http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/biodiversity/index.asp?mode=info&Grp=49&SpecCode=ARADE03011 , under Detailed Information). Donate to and volunteer with conservation organizations, to support their work helping endangered species, even some that don’t seem, at first glance, worth saving!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
September's Featured Wisconsin Endangered Species: Kirtland's Warbler
Why did I pick the Kirtland’s Warbler (Dendroica Kirtlandii) for my September Wisconsin species? Actually, my daughter did – I let her choose because her birthday is in September. She says it was love at first sight – she thinks Kirtland’s is cute because of its diminutive size and bright, contrasting colors. It was also her idea that I model my drawing on this photo of the warbler http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/images/bird_id/kirtland%27s-warbler-lg.gif , with a bubble coming out of its beak, saying LOST. Brilliant!
What interests me about this warbler?
1. Although there are no records of Kirtland’s having nested in Wisconsin before http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/47268492.html, this species is federally endangered and there is suitable habitat in Wisconsin. Its reproductive success in Wisconsin in Adams and Marinette County and presence in other Wisconsin counties is the result of an intense process of aiding a species in decline - an inspiring story of hope and perseverance. In 2008 the Kirtland’s Warbler, for the first time since the 1940s, has nested outside of Michigan, producing at least 10 nestlings in Wisconsin. See here for past and present accounts of Kirlands in Wisconsin http://www.fws.gov/midwest/GreenBay/ This, thanks to a many faceted effort -- the difficult and dedicated research, monitoring and management of this species by a variety of people in a variety of places.
Government, scientists, industry, a public foundation and lay people have come together to help save this species. The Plum Creek Timber Company allowed government agencies onto their land, the U.S. Department of Agriculture traps the cowbirds (300 were trapped where the warblers successfully nested), and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitor nests, trap, band and run field trips http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=5BB8F06F-03E9-2DCC-38C152B14D3029F1 and http://www.fws.gov/midwest/GreenBay/kiwa/2009Summary.html. The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin http://www.wisconservation.org/ (see and hear here – you’ll follow a volunteer’s discovery of a new Kirtland’s) also helped, particularly with volunteer coordination and organization of statewide surveys. Many volunteer birders helped survey warblers. In fact, one documented the first nesting Kirtland’s in Wisconsin.
And, of course it would be impossible for Kirlands to recover in Wisconsin if they weren’t doing well in Michigan’s northern Lower and Upper peninsula,s from where they are spreading and the Bahamas, their primary wintering place. The Kirtland's Warbler Recovery Team http://warbler.kirtland.edu/ gives a sense of the geographical vastness and complexity of the effort. It is made up of people from the Michigan DNR, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bahamas Department of Agriculture, and The International Institute of Tropical Forestry, just to name some of the partners.
2. The story of the Kirtland’s Warbler’s decline is a convergence of two circumstances - its reliance on a now shrinking habitat to breed, a young jack pine forest between 4 and 20 years old, and the spreading range of its foe, the cowbird http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2009/04/warbler.htm .
Suitable habitat is crucial. Warblers make their nests on the ground, hidden by the low-hanging, closely packed branches which only young jack pines provide. And jack pines can only regenerate with fire, when the cones release their seeds that then sprout on the now fertile ground. As the trees age, their lower branches self-prune, no longer protecting the Kirtland's warblers nest.
Along with this range contraction came the proliferation of the brown-headed cowbird in its remaining habitat. It traditionally followed buffalo herds on the Great Plains, feeding on insects disturbed by buffalos' hooves. Being peripatetic, the cowbird laid eggs in other birds’ nests, leaving these unwitting adoptive parents to care for their young. When logging opened up land in the Midwest, cowbirds migrated too, and began laying eggs in warbler’s nests. Cowbirds hatch earlier and are larger and more aggressive than warblers, so the warbler nestlings don’t stand much of a chance.
3. Another interesting thing about the Kirtland’s Warbler is that once it was discovered, in the United States in 1850, it took awhile before anyone found out where it lived and bred http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-32591--,00.html . Its breeding range wasn’t discovered until over 50 years later, in 1903, when a nest was found in jack pine habitat. And nearly 30 years later, in 1879, Kirtland’s was discovered to over winter in the Bahamas, and later the Turks, Caicos and Hispaniola Islands. Just think how much there is yet to discover in our own Wisconsin backyards, about species we still know little about!
4. What are people doing to help Kirtland’s now? Cowbirds continue to be trapped and Kirtland’s banded and monitored. The vegetation where they breed will be analyzed to determine ideal breeding habitat. And 134,000 acres of jack pine will continue to be managed on a 50-year rotation, yielding at least 38,000 acres of young jack pine in which Kirtland's can nest. Wildlife managers will revisit known habitat and search out new, and manage accordingly. Census work in jack pine stands in Burnett, Douglas, Washburn, Bayfield, Vilas, Oneida, Marinette, Jackson and Adams counties will search out singing male Kirtland's warblers and potential new breeding sites, so conservation efforts can expand. http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2009/04/warbler.htm http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=5BB8F06F-03E9-2DCC-38C152B14D3029F1
5. And, finally, here’s what you can do to help the Kirtland’s Warbler. Pick up some general bird identification skills at Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s web site http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1053 Learn more about Kirtland’s and become a volunteer yourself! Donate to the organizations cited above! Tell your friends and family about Kirtland’s fascinating life history and road to recovery, and how people like you made it happen! Help change the world, one species at a time!!
What interests me about this warbler?
1. Although there are no records of Kirtland’s having nested in Wisconsin before http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/47268492.html, this species is federally endangered and there is suitable habitat in Wisconsin. Its reproductive success in Wisconsin in Adams and Marinette County and presence in other Wisconsin counties is the result of an intense process of aiding a species in decline - an inspiring story of hope and perseverance. In 2008 the Kirtland’s Warbler, for the first time since the 1940s, has nested outside of Michigan, producing at least 10 nestlings in Wisconsin. See here for past and present accounts of Kirlands in Wisconsin http://www.fws.gov/midwest/GreenBay/ This, thanks to a many faceted effort -- the difficult and dedicated research, monitoring and management of this species by a variety of people in a variety of places.
Government, scientists, industry, a public foundation and lay people have come together to help save this species. The Plum Creek Timber Company allowed government agencies onto their land, the U.S. Department of Agriculture traps the cowbirds (300 were trapped where the warblers successfully nested), and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitor nests, trap, band and run field trips http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=5BB8F06F-03E9-2DCC-38C152B14D3029F1 and http://www.fws.gov/midwest/GreenBay/kiwa/2009Summary.html. The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin http://www.wisconservation.org/ (see and hear here – you’ll follow a volunteer’s discovery of a new Kirtland’s) also helped, particularly with volunteer coordination and organization of statewide surveys. Many volunteer birders helped survey warblers. In fact, one documented the first nesting Kirtland’s in Wisconsin.
And, of course it would be impossible for Kirlands to recover in Wisconsin if they weren’t doing well in Michigan’s northern Lower and Upper peninsula,s from where they are spreading and the Bahamas, their primary wintering place. The Kirtland's Warbler Recovery Team http://warbler.kirtland.edu/ gives a sense of the geographical vastness and complexity of the effort. It is made up of people from the Michigan DNR, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bahamas Department of Agriculture, and The International Institute of Tropical Forestry, just to name some of the partners.
2. The story of the Kirtland’s Warbler’s decline is a convergence of two circumstances - its reliance on a now shrinking habitat to breed, a young jack pine forest between 4 and 20 years old, and the spreading range of its foe, the cowbird http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2009/04/warbler.htm .
Suitable habitat is crucial. Warblers make their nests on the ground, hidden by the low-hanging, closely packed branches which only young jack pines provide. And jack pines can only regenerate with fire, when the cones release their seeds that then sprout on the now fertile ground. As the trees age, their lower branches self-prune, no longer protecting the Kirtland's warblers nest.
Along with this range contraction came the proliferation of the brown-headed cowbird in its remaining habitat. It traditionally followed buffalo herds on the Great Plains, feeding on insects disturbed by buffalos' hooves. Being peripatetic, the cowbird laid eggs in other birds’ nests, leaving these unwitting adoptive parents to care for their young. When logging opened up land in the Midwest, cowbirds migrated too, and began laying eggs in warbler’s nests. Cowbirds hatch earlier and are larger and more aggressive than warblers, so the warbler nestlings don’t stand much of a chance.
3. Another interesting thing about the Kirtland’s Warbler is that once it was discovered, in the United States in 1850, it took awhile before anyone found out where it lived and bred http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-32591--,00.html . Its breeding range wasn’t discovered until over 50 years later, in 1903, when a nest was found in jack pine habitat. And nearly 30 years later, in 1879, Kirtland’s was discovered to over winter in the Bahamas, and later the Turks, Caicos and Hispaniola Islands. Just think how much there is yet to discover in our own Wisconsin backyards, about species we still know little about!
4. What are people doing to help Kirtland’s now? Cowbirds continue to be trapped and Kirtland’s banded and monitored. The vegetation where they breed will be analyzed to determine ideal breeding habitat. And 134,000 acres of jack pine will continue to be managed on a 50-year rotation, yielding at least 38,000 acres of young jack pine in which Kirtland's can nest. Wildlife managers will revisit known habitat and search out new, and manage accordingly. Census work in jack pine stands in Burnett, Douglas, Washburn, Bayfield, Vilas, Oneida, Marinette, Jackson and Adams counties will search out singing male Kirtland's warblers and potential new breeding sites, so conservation efforts can expand. http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2009/04/warbler.htm http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=5BB8F06F-03E9-2DCC-38C152B14D3029F1
5. And, finally, here’s what you can do to help the Kirtland’s Warbler. Pick up some general bird identification skills at Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s web site http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1053 Learn more about Kirtland’s and become a volunteer yourself! Donate to the organizations cited above! Tell your friends and family about Kirtland’s fascinating life history and road to recovery, and how people like you made it happen! Help change the world, one species at a time!!
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