DNR offers free property reports for 100 landowners
Survey identifies plants, animals
For the fourth year, the Department of Natural Resources is holding a lottery for landowners to obtain a free survey and report of the plants and animals on their property.
The work is performed by employees in the agency’s Natural Heritage Conservation program.
The reports provide landowners information about rare species found in the area, invasive species to be on the lookout for and general information about the soils, geology and hydrogeology in the area.
One hundred landowners will be selected in a lottery; applications are being accepted through Jan. 31.
The program has proven popular with the public. In 2015 the DNR received 750 applications; last year it got 1,000.
To create the reports, the DNR reviews databases containing information about the rare plants and animals found through field surveys of public lands or nongovernmental organization lands. If a landowner prefers, the review also can include a site visit by a DNR employee.
The work normally would cost landowners about $300, but a private donation to the Natural Heritage Conservation program is covering the cost of the searches for the 100 Landowner Conservation Reports.
Landowners are free to use the information in any manner they choose, said DNR conservation biologist Alex Wenthe.
“We are trying to provide landowners with the best information possible and let them make the decisions that are right for their property,” Wenthe said. “We hope they will think of Wisconsin’s rare and native species when managing their land.”
In 2015, one of the landowners who chose to have a site visit wrote the agency and called the report “one of the best gifts my land has ever been given,” according to Wenthe.
With 85% of land in Wisconsin privately owned, having good habitat on private land is critical to conserving rare plants and animals.
The report also contains general recommendations on improving habitat and controlling invasive species; information on where landowners can get technical and financial help for habitat work; and a property map with an aerial photo.
Landowners who entered the lottery but were not selected in previous years will get preference points that improve their chances of being selected in 2017.
People can learn more about Landowner Conservation Reports and enter the lottery by visiting dnr.wi.gov and searching the keyword “LCR.”
Forest wildlife position created: The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society have hired Valerie Johnson to serve as forestry wildlife specialist in Wisconsin.
The new position is a joint effort of the RGS/AWS, the Natural Resource Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“By engaging with our conservation partners, we can pool time, talent and treasure to have a synergistic impact on our forest resources — an impact far greater than would be possible when acting independently,” the RGS/AWS said in a statement.
Johnson’s full-time position is dedicated to forest habitat development in northwestern Wisconsin. She will work out of the USDA Service Center in Spooner.
Johnson will work with forest landowners to “identify and implement sound forest management practices on their lands, emphasizing those that enhance or expand the young forest habitat base,” according to RGS/AWS.
The work will be assisted by conservation funding in the Federal Farm Bill.
Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in geology and watershed management from Winona State University and a master’s degree in forestry and forestry recreation from UW-Stevens Point. She has worked as a forestry technician for the DNR and in various roles for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Park Service and Illinois DNR.
By working with the NRCS and DNR, the initiative will expand the RGS/AWS ability to “directly improve habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife dependent upon young forests.”
Johnson will begin work in the new position Tuesday. She can be reached at ValerieJ@ RuffedGrouseSociety.org. More information can be found at RuffedGrouseSociety.org.