Wisconsin DNR Seeks Input on Grasslands Proposal

FITCHBURG, Wis. – The state Department of Natural Resources will hold open house/public information meetings to gather further public input on a proposed Southwest Wisconsin Grassland & Stream Conservation Area project.”The vision for the area is to work together with a broad group of partners and landowners to conserve and enhance functioning grasslands, savanna and stream ecosystems in southwest Wisconsin, set within a rural landscape of working farms,” said project leader and conservation biologist Cathy Bleser.The open houses/public information meetings, which are a follow-up to four similar meetings held in July 2005, are scheduled for:3 Monday, Aug. 25, at Belmont – Baymont Inn & Suites, 103 W. Mound View Ave. (Exit 26 off U.S. 151 next to Travel Center).3 Tuesday, Aug. 26, at Mineral Point – Comfort Inn, 1345 Business Park Road (off U.S. 151 on Wisconsin 23).The meetings will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and there will a 30-minute presentation at 7 p.m. The remainder of the time will be an open-house format, with DNR staff answering questions and taking verbal or written comments.The project area would encompass all or part of the Dane County townships of Blue Mounds, Perry, Primrose and Springdale; all or part of the Iowa County townships of Brigham, Dodgeville, Eden, Linden, Mifflin, Mineral Point, Moscow, Ridgeway and Waldwick; Green County township of York; and all or part of the Lafayette County townships of Belmont, Blanchard, Elk Grove, Fayette, Kendall and Willow Springs.”This region of southwest Wisconsin is considered to be one of the highest-quality grassland and farmland landscapes remaining in the state and in the Upper Midwest,” Bleser said.Some of the resources in the area that make southwest Wisconsin special include exceptional populations of grassland birds, which are in serious decline across their range; many scattered remnants of the area’s original prairie sod; concentrations of rare plants and animals; and spring fed-streams.For information, call Bleser at 608-275-3308, DNR wildlife biologist Bruce Folley at 608-575-9288, or DNR regional public affairs manager Greg Matthews at 608-275-3317.

Originally published by TH staff.

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