A commentary by Cathy Stepp, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Wisconsin's rare plants, wildlife and State Natural Areas are a big part of what makes our state special. They are living proof of Wisconsin's success over the past 40 years in safeguarding and restoring these natural treasures for now and future generations.
As the state's Endangered Resources program enters its fifth decade, we invite you to join the community of caretakers of these natural treasures.
Together, DNR staff, landowners, citizens, conservation organizations, government agencies and corporations, have returned bald eagles, trumpeter swans, osprey and whooping cranes to our skies. They've built the nation's largest State Natural Areas program to protect pristine remnant prairies, savannas, forests and wetlands for people to use and enjoy while preserving important cultural and ecological features.
These caretakers also have led the way in forging innovative partnerships that enable private landowners and industry to carry out their business while protecting rare orchids, endangered bats, freshwater mussels and more.
To keep these success stories coming, we need more hands on deck. Wisconsin's rare plants and animals face serious threats including a warmer climate, more fragmentation of their habitats, and waves of aggressive invasive plants and animals. These challenges make locating and tracking, managing and protecting rare species even more important.
Here's how you can join our community of caretakers.
Collect and share information about the natural world. Count frogs and sandhill cranes, monitor water quality and wetland health, and document deadly turtles crossings as a volunteer through DNR and other organizations in the Citizen-based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin, found online at wiatri.net/cbm.
Consider attending the network's April 5-6 gathering in Wisconsin Rapids.
Stay connected. Get free email updates by signing up for DNR's Endangered Resources News & Events.
Join any one of more than 120 Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin field trips offered this summer in partnership with DNR and other environmental educators. The field trips occur across the state and can enlist you in helping band fawns or elk, birding by canoe on the Wisconsin River, or hanging out with biologists as they electroshock streams, search for mussels, or monitor bats.
Donate to help fund more good work. Every dollar you donate to the Endangered Resources Fund through the check off on your state income tax form or through a direct donation to the Endangered Resources Fund is matched dollar for dollar by the state. Buying an Endangered Resources license plate also benefits important endangered resources work.
By joining the community of caretakers, you'll also have a great time and will help strengthen Wisconsin's economy, environment, and way of life. Our rare plants, animals and State Natural Areas are part of the food webs and ecosystems that provide the foundation for our hunting and fishing traditions. They fuel a wildlife watching industry that brings $1.489 billion in direct spending to our communities and supports Wisconsin's $13 billion tourism industry.
And perhaps most importantly, their presence on our landscapes and in our skies speaks to who we are as a people and the conservation values we hold dear.
So this spring, I invite you to join our community of caretakers. Help us keep Wisconsin Wisconsin.