New weekly features aim to help people experience the original Wisconsin
MADISON – Experience the original Wisconsin with help from two new weekly electronic features about the state’s special places and native plants and wildlife. Sign up for the free features to get them delivered every week to your email or smartphone.
“We invite you to sign up for these new weekly features about Wisconsin’s natural heritage – our native plants, animals and landscapes,” says Erin Crain, who leads the Department of Natural Resources’ Natural Heritage Conservation program, formerly the Endangered Resources program. “We hope the information can help you explore these special places and experience the original Wisconsin.”
- The Natural Heritage Quiz of the Week debuts today to test subscribers’ knowledge about Wisconsin’s native nongame animals and plants. People who submit an answer by Thursday of the same week are entered into a random weekly drawing for items like posters, notecards, birding guide books and more. The answer and more information about the species is posted on Fridays as well.
- The Natural Areas Spotlight is updated every Wednesday with a beautiful photo of one of Wisconsin’s many State Natural Areas along with information and links on why that site makes a perfect place to take family and friends.
State Natural Areas are specially designated sites that preserve nearly 400,000 acres of prairies, forests, and wetlands that are among the best of their kind left in Wisconsin. State Natural Areas, SNAs for short, are vital refuges for endangered plants and animals: 90 percent of Wisconsin’s endangered plant species and 75 percent of endangered wildlife species can be found on State Natural Areas.
Most of these areas are open for all the outdoor sports and allow people to pursue these activities in some of the state’s most unique and special natural places.
Two-thirds of these State Natural Areas are owned by DNR in trust for the citizens of Wisconsin; 51 other agencies, organizations, local governments, land trusts and private citizens have designated State Natural Areas on their own lands.
The first Natural Area Spotlight highlights Wisconsin’s first-ever State Natural Area – Parfrey’s Glen in Sauk County. Since its establishment in 1951, Wisconsin has built the nation’s largest and longest-running State Natural Areas program and its efforts are regarded as a national model, Crain says.
“We’re starting out with one of the most beloved and visited State Natural Areas, but we have over 600 other fantastic sites where you can experience the original Wisconsin,” Crain says. “These special places belong to you, and are there for you and your family to enjoy and to reconnect to our natural heritage.”