Since 2009, wisconsin and minnesota have improved over 14,500 acres of public and privatelands for the benefit of species of greatest conservation need (sgcn)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources received a $355,000 project grant award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 under the State Wildlife Grants program. Through this funding, the Wisconsin DNR will improve 300 acres of grassland, prairie, savanna, and woodland habitats on private lands in Wisconsin to benefit at-risk pollinator and bird species of greatest conservation need. Specifically, the DNR will conduct prescribed burns, invasive species control, planting and seeding, and vegetation management activities. They will also monitor rusty patched bumble bee, monarch butterflies, yellow bumble bees, yellow-banded bumble bees, timber rattlesnakes, cerulean warblers, Acadian flycatchers and grassland birds. In addition, the DNR will provide technical assistance to approximately 25 private landowners. This award furthers the State Wildlife Grants program's goal of supporting state-level wildlife conservation planning and implementation.

We have demonstrated through surveys and monitoring that target and other sgcn presence has increased on many sites. This project will continue our efforts to improve public and private land to benefit sgcn pollinators, herps, birds and other species associated with the prairie-savanna-OAK woodland continuum of the driftless area (DA). The need, interest, and ability for state programs to facilitate management for sgcn on private lands are all there; this project gains the financial means to achieve IT. Project locations include root river and whitewater conservation focus areas (cfas) of MN and western coulee and ridges and southwest savanna ecological landscapes (EL) of WI. Both locations are found within our respective state wildlife action plans (swap).wisconsin will directly restore, enhance, remove, create or manage 300 private land acres of grassland, prairie, savanna, and/or woodland habitats to benefit rusty patched bumble BEE, monarchs, pollinators, birds and other sgcn through prescribed fire, invasives control, planting and seeding, and vegetation management (brush removal). Wisconsin will conduct surveys of sgcn listed in our swap: rusty patched bumble BEE (bombus affinis), yellow bumble BEE (b. Fervidus), yellow-banded bumble BEE (b. Terricola), monarch, other lepidoptera, timber rattlesnake, cerulean warbler (setophaga cerulean), acadian flycatcher (empidonax virescens) and breeding bird surveys (BBS) targeting sgcn grassland birds. Wisconsin will also provide technical assistance to approximately 25 individual private landowners.