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Is Wisconsin doing enough to combat invasive species?
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The Question: "Is Wisconsin doing enough to combat invasive species?"
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photo c. Dan Small Outdoors, LLC. ©2013
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Invasive species strategic plan released, implementation summit planned
MADISON – A new statewide strategic plan will help guide Wisconsin
state agencies and partners in responding to the threat of invasive
species to the state’s ecosystems, recreation, and economy.
Translating that plan into action will be the topic of a May 23
summit in Madison that will bring together government agencies,
conservation groups, businesses and interested individuals.
The strategic plan was developed by the Wisconsin Invasive Species
Council, which includes representatives from state agencies and seven
private members from industry, the university system, and
nongovernmental organizations.
The plan provides an overarching strategy that individual agency and
partner plans can draw from and that supports successful ongoing work in
Wisconsin, according to Paul Schumacher, council chair and a member of
Wisconsin Lakes, from Door County.
Read more here
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With
fewer than 600 individuals, the once iconic bird of Wisconsin, the
Greater Prairie Chicken, is now a severely threatened species.
photo c. WDNR ©2013 |
Mystery of the disappearing prairie chickens
MADISON – Numbers of an iconic Wisconsin bird have plummeted in the
last dozen years, prompting biologists to take action to keep the
beloved greater prairie chicken from disappearing from the state
forever.
Once found in every Wisconsin county, today their population is fewer than 600, making them a threatened species in Wisconsin.
Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had suggested that
the decline was caused by a lack of genetic diversity in the population.
So a team of conservation experts from across the region joined with
the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to initiate a bold
strategy: They brought in female reinforcements from Minnesota with the
goal of introducing some new genes into the local population.
The introduced birds were outfitted with radio transmitters and
turned loose on the Buena Vista Wildlife Area in central Wisconsin. The
experiment was part of the DNR’s Greater Prairie Chicken Management Plan
that also is addressing habitat concerns.
Besides the DNR and UWM, who addressed the genetics, the
translocation team included the Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources, The Nature Conservancy-Minnesota Chapter, University of
Minnesota-Crookston, University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Central
Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area Partnership and the Society of
Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus.
The results of their breeding project were successful, but not the
answer to the long-term problem of declining populations, said Peter
Dunn, a biologist at UWM and member of the Wisconsin Greater Prairie
Chicken Genetics panel.
“We found the genetic diversity to be at about the same level as it
was before the experiment,” said Dunn. “While the project added some new
genes to the Wisconsin population, its real value was in offsetting
losses in genetic variation that happen naturally in small populations
through a phenomenon called drift.”
Drift occurs when individuals with rare genes fail to reproduce and
those genes become lost in the population simply by chance. In small
populations, drift can lead to inbreeding and an increased incidence of
harmful traits that can have a negative effect on survival rates.
The effect of drift means that the translocation of Minnesota hens
simply held the line on loss of diversity. In fact, without continuing
translocation, it is unclear for how long the genes introduced by the
project will persist.
Transport and tracking of the birds proved expensive and
time-consuming, but the project did offer some good news: The scientists
found no evidence of inbreeding, which reduces survival, and did not
see a decrease in the number of eggs that hatched.
“If genetic erosion isn’t the main cause of the population decline,
scientists now need to investigate ecological concerns, like lack of
abundant and suitable grassland habitat or poor chick survival as more
likely culprits,” says Scott Hull, DNR wildlife research scientist.
Going forward, the scientists will analyze the demographic and
genetic data to determine how many birds are needed to maintain or
change genetic diversity and identify habitat management efforts that
help more chicks to survive into adulthood.
The Buena Vista Wildlife Area is one of four DNR-managed properties
in central Wisconsin that make up the Central Wisconsin Grassland
Conservation Area Project, which was established in 2004 to protect
Wisconsin’s native grassland wildlife, including the greater prairie
chicken.
Read more here:
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
- Daniel Schroeder, NASP coordinator - (608) 235-4619
- Renee Ann Arndt, tournament organizer - (608)-343-6171
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Northern
pike, using ditches for their spawning run, get assistance, from state
and county fisheries officials, to return to the waters of Green Bay.
photo c. WDNR ©2013 |
Northern pike rescued from Brown County ditches
GREEN BAY – Eighteen northern pike -- including some longer than 30
inches -- that were stranded by shallow water following their spring
spawning run, are once again swimming in the waters of Green Bay thanks
to quick response by state fisheries biologists and county officials.
Northern pike normally run up the ditches and into wetland areas to
spawn in the spring when the water levels are high enough for them to
make the trip. Unfortunately, sometimes it is difficult for the pike to
get back down to the Bay of Green Bay before water levels drop back
down. Low water levels in Green Bay also influence water levels in small
tributaries and ditches leading into the bay.
Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists are working with
state, federal, county, tribal and non-profit partners to restore and
enhance spawning habitat for northern pike and to improve fish passage
at culverts.
DNR fisheries biologists and staff from Brown County Land
Conservation Department last week discovered a good number of adult
northern pike stranded in ditches or wetland pockets with nowhere to go.
“When we first looked at one ditch, in particular, we saw only three
adult pike,” explained Tammie Paoli, DNR fisheries biologist at
Peshtigo, “but when we shocked the water, 18 fish appeared from under
the grass and inside the culvert.”
Several of the 18 fish captured were in the upper 30-inch size range.
DNR staff shocked the fish to temporarily stun them so they could be
handled. Once they were captured, they were put into a large tank to
recover and were released back into the Bay of Green Bay.
Read more here:
For More Information CONTACT:
- Tammie Paoli – (715) 582-5052
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