Current and Past LIP Projects
Portage County
2009: Habitat Enhancement within the Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area
| Project Acreage: | 120 |
|
| Benefiting Species: |
Field Sparrow American Woodcock Eastern Meadowlark Greater Prairie-chicken Northern Harrier Upland Sandpiper Western Meadowlark Blanding's Turtle Blue-winged Teal Bobolink |
Wood Turtle Dickcissel Whip-poor-will Franklin's ground squirrel Grasshopper Sparrow Henslow's Sparrow Karner blue butterfly Le Conte's Sparrow regal fritillary Rusty Blackbird Short-eared Owl Vesper Sparrow Brown Thrasher |
Project Goal and Site Description:
The goal of this project is to increase the available habitat for declining grassland-dependent species and to maintain viable production areas for cattle.
The project site is currently used to graze cattle. The vegetation consists primarily of cool season grasses/forbs and upland shrubs. The topography is generally flat and open with scattered trees and shrubs. The project site is found within Wisconsin's "drift less" area. The soils are excessively drained deep sandy deposits to poorly drained, nearly level soils formed in deep sandy deposits. The surface geology of the area has great depths of out-wash deposits, mostly sand. There are seasonal wetlands. The project site lies within the Buena Vista Wildlife Area, which in turns, lies within the Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area.
Oak Barrens Restoration for Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery at the Waupaca Field Station
| Project Acreage: | 40 |
|
| Benefiting Species: |
Northern Harrier Blanding's Turtle Bobolink Eastern Prickly-pear Field Sparrow Karner blue butterfly Pale beardtongue Red-headed Woodpecker Whip-poor-will bina flower moth Grasshopper Sparrow |
Black-billed Cuckoo Blue-winged Warbler Brown Thrasher Eastern Red Bat Badger Leonard's skipper Prairie fame-flower Vesper Sparrow Wood Turtle gorgone checker spot |
Project and Site Description:
The goal of this project is to increase the available oak barrens and sand prairie habitat for the recovery of the Karner blue butterfly (KBB), as described in the Federal KBB Recovery Plan, and other associated rare barrens plant and animal species within the Emmons Creek/Hartman Creek/Welch Complex.
This former oak woodland and oak barrens complex was underplanted to red pine in 1950 and placed in a 50-yr Forest Crop Law (FCL) contract. In the mid-1980s, all marketable oak was clear-cut in the western 1/2 to release the understory of white pine. Only one thinning had been done on the eastern 1/2 before the current owners purchased this parcel. The new owners opted to have the FCL contract expire in 2000 to focus on managing for Karner blue butterflies (KBB) which still existed in small numbers on the surviving wild lupine. All red pine in the eastern 1/2 and 50% of white pine in the western ½ were cut in December, 2007 in anticipation of the purchase of additional property for KBB conservation and converting these 40 acres back to the original oak barrens condition.
Adjacent to the West, Emmons Creek Barrens State Natural Area with one of Wisconsin's highest density KBB populations; to the North and Northwest, Hartman Creek State Park with its mature mixed oak-pine forest; to the North and Northeast and East, Waupaca Field Station and its 15-year old sand prairie and oak savanna restoration; and to the South, Emmons Creek Fisheries Area, with a mixed oak-pine forest.
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