Endangered Resources

Endangered Resources Review Program

Accessing NHI Data

Related Information

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How to Use NHI Data For Community Planning

How can NHI data assist with Community Planning?

  • Comprehensive Planning. NHI data provides information on the rare species and habitats known from a particular area so that a community’s comprehensive planning efforts can incorporate this critical information. This information can be critical to developing an effective and balanced plan.
  • Review of proposed projects for potential impacts to endangered resources. Potential impacts of proposed land management and development projects on ecologically significant areas and endangered resources can be identified through an Endangered Resources Review. State law requires protection of endangered and threatened species and some other significant natural features (e.g., State Natural Areas). Local communities can strive for more effective conservation by supplementing existing legal protection through zoning, subdivision regulations and other means. Incorporating the screening for endangered resources as part of other local review activities can reap big conservation gains.

Comprehensive Planning

Wisconsin’s comprehensive panning law identified nine elements that should be incorporated into a community’s plan, including the Natural and Cultural Resources element. For a complete discussion on the importance of natural resources and how to plan for them, see Planning For Natural Resources – A Guide to Including Natural Resources in Local Comprehensive Planning. In particular, Chapter 1 provides a good summary of how the resources element planning process can include natural resources, and Chapter 4 covers wildlife resources specifically, including endangered resources and habitat.

Factoring endangered resources within the natural resources element of the comprehensive plan involves a 4 step process (See Sample Text for Incorporating ER Information into Community Planning Documents [PDF 68KB]):

  • Adopt ecosystem management and biodiversity principles, and understand the ecological context for your community: Understanding how your community fits into Wisconsin's ecological landscape is key to understanding what opportunities it presents for helping to conserve Wisconsin’s biodiversity. In which watershed or basin is your community? What water bodies, habitat types, and State Natural Areas are within your community? What ecological priorities does Wisconsin’s Wildlife Action Plan identify for your ecological landscape? These ecological concepts, context, and features can help identify and focus future opportunities for conservation in your community.
  • Identify natural resources areas in your community: Knowing the location of rare species and habitats and other significant natural features is key to protecting resources and encouraging growth in the right areas of your community. New information can be gathered in a variety of ways ranging from an assessment of the undeveloped and non-agricultural lands of your community to species-specific inventory to broader landscape-scale analysis. See the Fox River Headwaters Ecosystem for an example.

    Your community plan should include information on rare species and habitats as well as other important ecological or natural resources features known from your community. The following tools and resources are available to help you find and compile this information:
  • Develop community goals for endangered resources conservation and biodiversity that identify issues and opportunities: In what ways is your community committed to conservation, and how will the community put that commitment to work? How could your community help to conserve and protect endangered resources and other special natural features present in the community for future generations? Are there specific areas that need formal protection? Develop goals that reflect the community’s existing ecological resources and interest in conserving them.
  • Incorporate natural resources areas in plans for parks and open space and consider modifications to zoning ordinances: How will your community use the tools available to community planners to help conserve open space and special natural resources in your community? Are there subdivision measures or zoning changes that would help ensure long term protection of significant ecological features?

Project Reviews

Many communities and county planning agencies review proposed development projects and provide permits. Reviewing these projects for potential impacts to rare species and habitats is a powerful way to conserve existing resources. There are currently two ways in which communities can insure that proposed projects have been adequately reviewed for potential impacts to endangered resources:

  • Require that project proponents request an Endangered Resources Review from the WDNR Endangered Resources Review Program, and submit a copy of that review to you along with their project proposal. This Endangered Resources Review provides a letter to the applicant listing rare species, high-quality natural communities, and significant natural features found in or near the proposed project area. The letter also explains whether additional steps need to be followed for the project to comply with the Wisconsin Endangered Species Law.
  • In some cases, it may be appropriate for staff of a local or county government or agency to have direct access to detailed NHI data through an NHI license agreement. This agreement (and the associated required training) provides qualified individual staff with the data, tools, and training that they need to incorporate consideration of endangered resources into the existing local review process. For more information, please contact Heisley Lewison at 608-266-7012.
Last Revised: January 5, 2008