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Bird Conservation
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Important Bird Areas
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WISCONSIN'S IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS PROGRAM
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In May, 2001 partners in Wisconsin launched the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative (WBCI). Modeled after the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), this historic partnership is dedicated to delivering "the full spectrum of bird conservation emphasizing voluntary stewardship". WBCI currently has over 150 endorsing partners and is engaged in a wide variety of bird conservation activities throughout Wisconsin, ranging from conservation planning, to monitoring, to outreach and education. It is the first statewide all-bird conservation initiative of its kind in the United States.One of the major projects that WBCI undertook from its inception was the Important Bird Areas program. The IBA program is dedicated to identifying the most critical habitats for birds in Wisconsin using science-based criteria, and maintaining and improving those habitats through voluntary, collaborative conservation and stewardship actions. The IBA program made great strides starting in 2003 and currently has 30 officially recognized IBAs encompassing some 1.2 million acres, with additional recognition events planned during 2006. These IBAs occur on state, federal, tribal, municipal, and private lands. The IBA program has partnered with a wide variety of agencies, organizations, and individuals in the identification and recognition of these sites. Volunteer data collection efforts at several sites, such as Bong State Recreation Area, have been instrumental in advancing sites from nomination, through technical review, to recognition; we hope to build on these volunteer monitoring efforts in the stewardship phase. With the first round of identification close to completion, the IBA program is focusing attention on monitoring, conservation strategies, and integrating IBAs into WBCI's all-bird conservation plan and other state and regional site-based planning efforts.
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Phantom Lake Flowage
| Name: |
Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area |
| State: |
US-WI |
| Counties: |
Burnett
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| Site Status: |
Recognized |
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Wild lupine growing at Crex
Crex Meadows is the largest property in the Glacial Lake Grantsburg Wildlife Management Complex. Restoration of this complex of wetlands, grasslands, and “brush prairie” began shortly after it was acquired by the state in 1946. Over half of Crex’s 30,000 acres are comprised of wetlands, including extensive northern sedge marshes and sedge meadows, deep-water marshes, wild rice, and flowages. Approximately 7,000 acres of brush prairie have been restored, and another 6,000 acres are forested with oak, jack pine, and aspen. Crex contains a diversity of plants and animals including many prairie grasses and forbs, Karner Blue Butterfly, Blanding’s Turtle, and a Timber Wolf pack. Rich wildlife and abundant wildlife viewing and other recreational opportunities make Crex one of the most popular wildlife areas in Wisconsin.
This site contains critical habitat for a host of birds, including a significant number of priority species. It is the original release site for the Wisconsin Trumpeter Swan Recovery Program, and maintains a robust population of Trumpeters. Other priority wetland species with high populations here include Red-necked Grebe, American Bittern, Yellow Rail, Ring-necked Duck, Le Conte’s Sparrow, and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Sedge Wrens and Swamp Sparrows breed in particularly high numbers. A number of barrens and grassland species also breed here, including the state’s largest population of Sharp-tailed Grouse, Upland Sandpiper, Brown Thrasher, and Field Sparrow. Crex is an outstanding concentration area in both fall and spring for waterfowl, shorebirds, and waterbirds, hosting tens of thousands of ducks, geese, and Sandhill Cranes. A variety of shorebirds can be found on drawn-down flowages, particularly in the fall, including American Golden-Plover, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Short-billed Dowitcher, Whimbrel, Stilt Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Hudsonian Godwit, Greater Yellowlegs, and Lesser Yellowlegs.
Crex Meadows represents an outstanding opportunity for landscape-level restoration and management of native grassland and wetland communities, particularly pine barrens and sedge meadow (Sample and Mossman 1997). Restoration already has improved thousands of acres of habitat for priority species and these efforts will continue. Management techniques being used to maintain these open landscapes include prescribed burning, mowing, cutting, and herbicide application. Pine barrens in particular need fire to properly regenerate, and the need for continued use of fire to manage this area is critical. Succession and invasive species are ongoing threats to habitats. The Sharp-tailed Grouse population here has been declining in recent years, and its isolation from other populations has the potential to cause genetic problems which will have to be addressed through management.
| Contact: |
| Yoyi Steele |
101 S. Webster St., WM/6
P.O. Box 7921
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| Madison, WI 53707-7921 |
| phone: 608-266-8169 |
| email: yoyi.steele@dnr.state.wi.us
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