Wisconsin is one of 10 states to receive funding this year through the Services HCP Land Acquisition program, which awarded $68 million nationwide for land acquisition associated with approved HCPs. The program pays up to 75 percent of the cost of land acquisition in association with established HCPs. Non-federal partners will contribute at least 25 percent.
"We are very pleased to support the Wisconsin DNR and their partners in their excellent work to help conserve and recover the Karner blue butterfly," said Service Regional Director William Hartwig. "The monies provided by the Service will be used to acquire significant parcels of land to be managed for the butterfly. That means affected HCP partners can implement habitat restoration on a landscape scale, something vitally important for the successful recovery of this species."
The grant to Wisconsin complements the efforts being taken under the Wisconsin Statewide HCP to conserve and recover the Karner blue butterfly. Funds will be used to purchase land totaling 1,073 acres near the Quincy Bluff and Wetlands State Natural Area in Adams County and additional acreage in central Wisconsin. Sites being purchased have an excellent chance of supporting populations of the Karner blue and will be managed for the butterfly. Lands acquired under the HCP Land Acquisition program are purchased only from willing sellers.
"Everybody here is thrilled with the award and the terrific message it sends," said Dave Lentz, HCP Coordinator for the Wisconsin DNR.
Wisconsins HCP, finalized in 1999, was the nations largest HCP of its kind with the most diverse partner group and was hailed as a model for other landscape-scale conservation plans. Conservation and recovery measures contained in the HCP will be implemented on more than 260,000 acres of partner lands in Wisconsin. The HCP permits cooperating landowners, businesses and governments to continue a variety of activities while conserving the Karner blue.
Under the Federal Endangered Species Act, incidental take permits issued by the Service for implementation of HCPs allows landowners to incidentally take- kill, harm, or harass - a federally listed endangered or threatened species in the course of conducting otherwise lawful activities. The landowners agrees to conservation measures that will minimize the impact of take on the species. There are currently more than 300 HCPs in effect nationwide, covering about 20 million acres, and another 200 are under development.
Wisconsins HCP has 26 partners and is administered by the Wisconsin DNR. In addition to the Wisconsin DNR, the remaining 25 partners to the HCP include eight county forests, several forestry companies, utility companies, The Nature Conservancy and the Wisconsin Departments of Agriculture and Transportation. Partners to the HCP implement conservation measures designed to avoid or minimize harm to the Karner blue butterfly such as fall mowing and herbicide applications to protect wild lupine used by the butterfly during its larval (or caterpillar) stage.
The Karner blue butterfly was federally listed as endangered in 1992. The Karner blue is a small, mostly blue butterfly with a wingspan of about 1 inch. While most animal species depend on a stable habitat, the Karner blue relies on disturbance of their habitat to maintain the right habitat conditions for maintenance of wild lupine, the larval host plant. In its early life as a caterpillar, the Karner eats only the leaves of the wild blue lupine which grows in sandy oak savanna and pine barrens. This habitat has declined significantly over the past 20 to 30 years because of development, agriculture, and lack of fire which is needed to maintain it. In Wisconsin, the Karner also lives in utility and roadway rights-of-way, abandoned agricultural fields, forests, and military training areas which support wild lupine plants.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
