The Wisconsin Natural Heritage Working List Key

The Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory (NHI) program is part of an international network of programs that focus on rare plants and animals, natural communities, and other rare elements of nature. The defining and unifying characteristic of this network is the use of a standard methodology for collecting, processing, and managing data on the occurrences of natural biological diversity. A key feature of the NHI methodology is a system for assessing rarity of the various elements at the global (G) and state (S) level. These ranks have proven useful in directing action toward the elements most in need of conservation. The methodology was developed by The Nature Conservancy [exit DNR, opens in new window] and is currently coordinated by NatureServe [exit DNR, opens in new window], an international non-profit organization.

The Wisconsin NHI Working List records which elements are tracked in the state. The working list is revised as species' populations change (increase or decrease) and as our knowledge about their status and distribution in Wisconsin increase. The Working List presented here was revised January 2004. Definitions of ranks are provided below, along with definitions for other abbreviations used in the Working List.

• ELCODE: Unique 10 digit code for each element (plant, animal, or natural community).
• Scientific Name: Scientific name used by the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory Program.
• Common Name: Standard, contrived, or agreed upon common names.
• Global Rank: Global element rank.
• State Rank: State element rank.
• US Status: Federal protection status designated by the Office of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicating the biological status of a species in the United States. LE = listed endangered; LT = listed threatened; LE-LT = listed endangered in part of its range, threatened in another part; XN = nonessential experimental population(s) in part of its range; LT,PD = listed threatened, proposed for de-listing; C = candidate for future listing.
• WI Status: Protection category designated by the Wisconsin DNR. END = endangered; THR = threatened; SC = Special Concern.
  
  WDNR and federal regulations regarding Special Concern species range from full protection to no protection. The current categories and their respective level of protection are SC/P = fully protected; SC/N = no laws regulating use, possession, or harvesting; SC/H = take regulated by establishment of open closed seasons; SC/FL = federally protected as endangered or threatened, but not so designated by WDNR; SC/M = fully protected by federal and state laws under the Migratory Bird Act.
  
  Special Concern species are those species about which some problem of abundance or distribution is suspected but not yet proved. The main purpose of this category is to focus attention on certain species before they become threatened or endangered.

Global Element Ranks

• G1 = Critically imperiled globally because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences or very few remaining individuals or acres) or because of some factor(s) making it especially vulnerable to extinction.
• G2 = Imperiled globally because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences or few remaining individuals or acres) or because of some factor(s) making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range.
• G3 = Either very rare and local throughout its range or found locally (even abundantly at some of its locations) in a restricted range (e.g., a single state or physiographic region) or because of other factors making it vulnerable to extinction throughout its range; in terms of occurrences, in the range of 21 to 100.
• G4 = Apparently globally secure, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
• G5 = Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
• GH = Of historical occurrence throughout its range, i.e., formerly part of the established biota, with the expectation that it may be rediscovered.
• GNR = Not ranked. Replaced G? rank and some GU ranks
• GU = Possibly in peril range-wide, but their status is uncertain. More information is needed.
• GX = Believed to be extinct throughout its range (e.g. Passenger pigeon) with virtually no likelihood that it will be rediscovered.
  
  Species with a questionable taxonomic assignment are given a "Q" after the global rank.
  
  Subspecies and varieties are given subranks composed of the letter "T" plus a number or letter. The definition of the second character of the subrank parallels that of the full global rank. (Examples: a rare subspecies of a rare species is ranked G1T1; a rare subspecies of a common species is ranked G5T1.)

State Element Ranks

• S1 = Critically imperiled in Wisconsin because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences or very few remaining individuals or acres) or because of some factor(s) making it especially vulnerable to extirpation from the state.
• S2 = Imperiled in Wisconsin because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences or few remaining individuals or acres) or because of some factor(s) making it very vulnerable to extirpation from the state.
• S3 = Rare or uncommon in Wisconsin (21 to 100 occurrences).
• S4 = Apparently secure in Wisconsin, with many occurrences.
• S5 = Demonstrably secure in Wisconsin and essentially ineradicable under present conditions.
• SA = Accidental (occurring only once or a few times) or casual (occurring more regularly although not every year); a few of these species (typically long-distance migrants such as some birds and butterflies) may have even bred on one or more of the occasions when they were recorded.
• SE = An exotic established in the state; may be native elsewhere in North America.
• SH = Of historical occurrence in Wisconsin, perhaps having not been verified in the past 20 years, and suspected to be still extant. Naturally, an element would become SH without such a 20-year delay if the only known occurrence were destroyed or if it had been extensively and unsuccessfully looked for.
• SN = Regularly occurring, usually migratory and typically non-breeding species for which no significant or effective habitat conservation measures can be taken in Wisconsin. This category includes migratory birds and bats that pass through twice a year or, may remain in the winter (or, in a few cases, the summer) along with certain lepidoptera which regularly migrate to Wisconsin where they reproduce, but then completely die out every year with no return migration. Species in this category are so widely and unreliably distributed during migration or in winter that no small set of sites could be set aside with the hope of significantly furthering their conservation.
• SZ =Not of significant conservation concern in Wisconsin, invariably because there are no definable occurrences in the state, although the taxon is native and appears regularly in the state. An SZ rank will generally be used for long-distance migrants whose occurrence during their migrations are too irregular (in terms of repeated visitation to the same locations), transitory, and dispersed to be reliably identified, mapped, and protected. Typically, the SZ rank applies to a non-breeding population.
• SR = Reported from Wisconsin, but without persuasive documentation which would provide a basis for either accepting or rejecting the report. Some of these are very recent discoveries for which the program hasn't yet received first-hand information; others are old, obscure reports that are hard to dismiss because the habitat is now destroyed.
• SRF =Reported falsely (in error) from Wisconsin but this error is persisting in the literature.
• SU = Possibly in peril in the state, but their status is uncertain. More information is needed.
• SX = Apparently extirpated from the state.

State Ranking of Long-Distance Migrant Animals

• Ranking long distance aerial migrant animals presents special problems relating to the fact that their non-breeding status (rank) may be quite different from their breeding status, if any, in Wisconsin. In other words, the conservation needs of these taxa may vary between seasons. In order to present a less ambiguous picture of a migrant's status, it is necessary to specify whether the rank refers to the breeding (B) or non-breeding (N) status of the taxon in question. (e.g. S2B,S5N).