Stories from - WISCONSIN
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Helping a Recovery Program Take Flight: Working with the Karner blue butterfly in Wisconsin
Cathy Carnes and the Karner blue butterfly became fast and inseparable friends. Their relationship dates back to 1992, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the butterfly as endangered under the Endangered Species Act... Read More
Stories from - WISCONSIN
View All StoriesGreat Lakes Piping Plovers
Gems of natural beauty, the shores and beaches of Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan are also home to one of the nation's most endangered birds, the... Read More
Featured Species in Wisconsin
Canada lynx
While their name suggests otherwise, the historic range of Canada lynx extended across the border into northern parts of the contiguous U.S. from Washington to Maine and down into the Rocky Mountains. A variety of factors contributed to lynx reduced range, notably land use changes with human expansion and a warming climate as possible contributing factors. More »
Canada lynx.
Photo credit: Michael Zahra
Prairie bush clover
Prairie bush clover is a federally threatened prairie plant found only in the tallgrass prairie region of four midwestern states.
Prairie bush clover.
Photo credit: Phil Delphey, USFWS
Higgin's eye pearlymussel
The Higgin's eye is a freshwater mussel of larger rivers where it is usually found in areas with deep water and moderate currents. Its range includes the upper Mississippi River, the St. Croix River between Minnesota and Wisconsin, the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin, and the lower Rock River between Illinois and Iowa.
Higgin's eye pearlymussel.
Photo credit: USFWS
Kirtland's warbler
The Kirtland's warbler, an endangered species, is a songbird that nests in young jack pine stands. Until 1995 Kirtland's warblers had only been known to nest in the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
Kirtland's warbler.
Photo credit: Pam Wells
Great Lakes piping plover
The Great Lakes population of the piping plover was at a perilously low level. But intensive conservation efforts have seen the number of breeding pairs steadily climb from a low of 12 in 1983.
Great Lakes piping plover.
Photo credit: Gene Nieminen, USFWS
Partnership Stories in Wisconsin
George and Tex
Dr. George Archibald, Co-founder of the International Crane Foundation headquartered in Baraboo, Wisconsin, tells the story of his efforts to save the endangered Whooping Crane from the brink of extinction. More »
Found in Wisconsin
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Fassett's locoweed (Oxytropis campestris var. chartacea), a tall perennial herb, is known from a few sites in Bayfield, Portage, and Waushara Counties in Wisconsin—and nowhere else in the world. The species is likely a remnant from the flora of 10,000 years ago when there were two large glacial lakes in the area. Residential development and recreational use around the small lakes have disturbed and destroyed the species' habitat, and livestock grazing and nutrient runoff has also caused its decline.
Photo credit: Steven LaValley University of Wisconsin Stephen's Poing -
The Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), is a small butterfly that lives in oak savannas and pine barren ecosystems. Wild blue lupine is the only food plant for the Karner caterpillar. Habitat throughout the butterfly's range of the has been lost as a result of land development and lack of natural disturbance, such as wildfire and grazing by large mammals, which help maintain the butterfly's habitat by setting back encroaching forests and encouraging lupine growth.
Photo credit: Joel Trick, USFWS