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The goal of the Important Bird Area"(IBA) program is not just to recognize the sites as important, but to mobilize the resources needed to protect them. The IBA designation is an important first step in raising awareness among the public, and among land managers, to the importance of each site and its value to bird conservation. Despite the fact that most IBAs have at least some protected status, an initial analysis of threats to IBAs found that many face a barrage of serious problems. Among the most critical are introduced species, soil erosion, suburban sprawl, over-use for recreation, lack of funding for management and infrastructure, groundwater insufficiency, water diversion, water drainage, excessive disturbance, overgrazing, pollution, pesticides, and fire. ABC is now developing an IBA Conservation and Education Campaign to help land managers counter these threats.
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Three federally listed threatened and endangered species have been identified in the area. Two federally threatened piping plovers were recently observed in May of 2009. The last recorded piping plover inhabiting the area was in 1994 at the northern end of Chequamegon Bay. In the spring of 1996, four unmarked trumpeter swans were observed foraging for several days in the coastal waters at the mouth of Whittlesey Creek. State endangered common terns are frequently observed flying, resting, and feeding near the mouth of Whittlesey Creek and the Refuge. Other uncommon and notable species of special concern are American black ducks as well as American bittern, which can be observed at the Refuge’s estuary of the Bay. Nearly 230 species of birds, such as shorebirds, warblers, seabirds, waterfowl and wading birds either call the Refuge home and or use it for shelter and food during fall and spring migration. Protecting the remaining coastal wetland habitat in Lake Superior's Chequamegon Bay is one of several imperative reasons why the Refuge was established. Other Refuge habitats include sedge meadows, lowland hardwood swamps, black spruce swamps, and abandoned agricultural fields. Whittlesey, Little Whittlesey, and Terwilliger creeks flow through the Refuge, collecting water from the many cold-water spring upwellings in the streams and bordering wetlands. Rails and warblers nest in the habitats along the creek. Protection and restoration of coastal wetlands and spring-fed tributary streams is needed due to the rarity of these habitats in the Lake Superior basin and their historical degradation. Many species of birds depend on these habitats, and many of these species have experienced significant declines in populations and distribution. The nearly 230 different species of birds have been identified on northern Wisconsin’s first National Wildlife Refuge, which consist of 275 acres within a 540 acre acquisition boundary including veery, sora rail, northern waterthrush and bald eagles. Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge is America’s little refuge with big impacts.
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In May of 2010, Whittlesey Creek NWR was designated as a Globally Important Bird Area. The IBA designation is an important first step in raising awareness among the public, and among land managers, to the importance of each site and its value to bird conservation.
Last updated:
September 30, 2010
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