Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program

The Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program is a conservation program created to highlight and protect areas with outstanding natural or archaeological resources in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are 687 State Natural Areas (SNAs) encompassing almost 400,000 acres (160,000 ha).^[1] SNAs protect natural communities, geological formations, and archaeological sites for research purposes and as refuges for biodiversity and endangered and threatened species.^[1]

Wisconsin's State Natural Areas Program was created in 1951 and was the first state-sponsored programo of its kind in the United States. It was developed with guidance from early conservationists such as Aldo Leopold, Norman C. Fassett, Albert Fuller, and John Thomas Curtis.^[2]

The program is managed by the Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and advised by the Natural Areas Preservation Council (NAPC), a council of 11 scientists and conservationists. The smallest SNAs are fewer than 1 acre (0.40 ha) and the largest is over 7,700 acres (3,100 ha).^[2] Many SNAs have been established on the state owned lands, including Wisconsin state parks. Others are on land managed by other entities like the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, county governments, or conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy. In those cases, cooperative agreements or conservation easements are used.^[2]

Ecosystem management practices range from a "hands-off" approach to active interventions such as the removal of introduced species and controlled burning. SNAs are generally open to low-impact recreation like hiking and birdwatching, but prohibit intensive activities like camping and mountain biking, and usually lack even basic amenities like restrooms or maintained trails. Numerous SNAs are closed to the public to protect the most sensitive flora, fauna, and ecosystems, including rare and endangered species.^[2]

[1]

[2]

Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program

List of Wisconsin State Natural Areas

See also

References

External links

Wikiwand - on

SNA #	SNA Name	County
1	Parfrey's Glen	Sauk
2	Cedarburg Bog	Ozaukee
3	Faville Prairie	Jefferson
4	Flambeau River Hardwood Forest	Sawyer
5	Wyalusing Hardwood Forest	Grant
6	Scuppernong Prairie	Waukesha
7	Necedah Oak-Pine Savanna	Juneau
8	Cedar Grove Hawk Research Station	Sheboygan
9	Brady's Bluff Prairie	Trempealeau
10	Dewey Heights Prairie	Grant
11	Haskell Noyes Memorial Woods	Fond du Lac
12	Peninsula Park Beech Forest	Door
13	Peninsula Park White Cedar Forest	Door
14	Necedah Oak-Pine Forest	Juneau
15	Mt. Pisgah Hemlock-Hardwoods	Vernon
16	Castle Mound Pine Forest	Jackson
17	The Ridges Sanctuary	Door
18	Midway Railroad Prairie	La Crosse
19	Pine Cliff	Iowa
20	Krueger Pines	Lincoln
21	Trout Lake Conifer Swamp	Vilas
22	Toy Lake Swamp	Iron
23	Browntown Oak Forest	Green
24	Nipissing Swamp	Manitowoc
24	Wilderness Ridge	Manitowoc
25	Lake of the Pines Conifer-Hardwoods	Sawyer
26	Plum Lake Hemlock Forest	Vilas
27	Devil's Lake Oak Forest	Sauk
28	New Observatory Woods	Dane
29	Buena Vista Quarry Prairie	Portage
30	Tiffany Bottoms	Buffalo
31	Finnerud Pine Forest	Oneida
32	Crex Sand Prairie	Burnett
33	Tower Hill Bottoms	Iowa
34	Bittersweet Lakes	Vilas
35	Ripon Prairie	Fond du Lac
35	Muehl Springs	Sheboygan
36	Avon Bottoms	Rock
37	Seagull Bar	Marinette
38	Abraham's Woods	Green