Antigo Times

Top Menu

  • E-Editions
  • Contact Us

Main Menu

  • News
    • Business
  • Covid 19
  • Opinion
  • Courts
  • Arts & Ent
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
  • Classifieds
  • Obits
  • Video
  • Best of 2020
  • Class of 2020
  • E-Editions
  • Contact Us

logo

Antigo Times

  • News
    • Business
  • Covid 19
  • Opinion
  • Courts
  • Arts & Ent
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
  • Classifieds
  • Obits
  • Video
  • Best of 2020
  • Class of 2020
DNRDNRNews
Home›News›DNR›Carnivorous Plant Last Seen 40 Years Ago Among Finds by Rare Plant Detectives

Carnivorous Plant Last Seen 40 Years Ago Among Finds by Rare Plant Detectives

By Antigo Times
July 21, 2020
1120
0
English sundew, one of 15 carnivorous plants in Wisconsin, was re-discovered in Ashland County for the first time in 40 years. / Photo Courtesy RPMP volunteer Dr. Sarah Johnson

Rare Plant Monitoring Program Makes Record-Setting Discoveries

FROM WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

MADISON, Wis. – A rare carnivorous plant last documented in Ashland County along with 59 never-before-seen populations of other rare plants in Wisconsin are among discoveries made by volunteers of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Rare Plant Monitoring Program last year. Their discoveries are featured in the program’s recently released annual report.

Wisconsin has 2,366 native plant species and 344, or 14.5% of the total, are considered rare, meaning they are listed as endangered, threatened or special concern. Sixty trained volunteers dispatched to locations around the state last year submitted over 250 reports of rare plants they found, including 59 populations in areas of Wisconsin where they have not been documented before.

“This is the most productive year we’ve ever had from the standpoint of volunteers finding rare plants in new locations,” said Kevin Doyle, a DNR Natural Heritage Conservation botanist who coordinates the program. “These new discoveries are very exciting. They help increase our understanding of the number and locations of rare plant species so we can better monitor and protect them.”

Since 2013, the Rare Plant Monitoring Program coordinated by DNR’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program has trained and sent volunteers to check on the health and size of rare native plant populations. In fact, the volunteer program is the largest source of rare plant data in Wisconsin and unique in the Midwest for its breadth of surveys statewide.

“The information these trained volunteers collect for us is critical for understanding how rare plant populations are doing in Wisconsin and informs our next steps like research projects or management action to sustain these rare plants,” Doyle said.

Some rare plant populations observed by volunteers last year included English sundew (Drosera anglica), an insect-eating plant seen for the first time in 40 years in Ashland County as a result of good teamwork by RPMP volunteer Don and Judy Evans and the Northland College students of Dr. Sarah Johnson.

Volunteer surveys in the last year have also given the DNR a better understanding for how prairie turnip (Pediomelum esculentum), a rare legume confined to high-quality prairies, is doing in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, populations have dwindled as its habitat is neglected and degraded and the species is now regarded as imperiled.

Unfortunately, volunteers didn’t find 63 previously documented plant populations. Some have likely disappeared only temporarily as many lakes experience their highest water levels in decades and have submerged the vegetation. Regrettably, others have likely disappeared as part of a global trend in biodiversity loss.

Information RPMP volunteers have collected in past years documenting declines has spurred DNR efforts to reverse those trends. Projects include efforts to hand-pollinate rare eastern prairie white fringed orchids to boost genetic diversity and population survival, to collecting seed from some of Wisconsin’s rarest plants for long-term storage and working with local nurseries to grow federally listed plants like the northern monkshood to reintroduce to the wild.

“These efforts to address biodiversity declines can occur only because our team of rare plant monitors collect the information that tells us where to direct our efforts,” Doyle said.

Previous Article

COVID-19 Update from the Langlade County Health ...

Next Article

Antigo Police & Langlade County Sheriff Reports ...

Related articles More from author

  • Local InterestNews

    Langlade County Marriage License Applications for 4/24/27

    April 20, 2017
    By Antigo Times
  • NewsPolice / Fire

    Fire Department responds to house fire

    January 26, 2016
    By Antigo Times
  • News

    Dear Monty: Pay attention to occupancy when you make your offer

    January 15, 2018
    By Antigo Times
  • Arts & EntertainmentBusinessDining & NightlifeEducationHealthLocal InterestNews

    Community Calendar for 4/3/17 to 4/10/17

    March 29, 2017
    By Antigo Times
  • Local InterestNews

    Aspirus Nurse Leadership donates to Humane Society

    January 3, 2018
    By Antigo Times
  • News

    AVAIL, Good News Project hosting electronic recycling

    August 25, 2016
    By Antigo Times

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Timeline

  • January 19, 2021

    65 and Older Adults Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine

  • January 19, 2021

    DHS Continues Building Out COVID-19 Vaccine Data Page

  • January 19, 2021

    Wisconsin Announces 65 and older Adults Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine Beginning January 25

  • January 18, 2021

    Antigo Police Department Warrants of the Week

  • January 18, 2021

    Antigo Boys Varsity Bowling Scores from 1/17/21

Copyright © 2020 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×