Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map
Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map
Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map
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Appendix B<br />
<strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong>’s Rare Species<br />
& Natural Communities<br />
The state of Wisconsin is replete with natural beauty. Our state contains a large diversity of native<br />
plant communities ranging from eastern deciduous, northern coniferous and boreal forests <strong>to</strong> prairies and<br />
savannas. Wisconsin's glacial past left the soils that support these diverse communities, including a<br />
legacy of aquatic features including bogs, lakes, spring ponds, and wetlands. These landscapes host an<br />
array of native species, many of which we observe and cherish while others are yet <strong>to</strong> be discovered and<br />
studied.<br />
People are part of the Wisconsin landscape as well. The natural wealth of our state has provided<br />
generations of farmers with fertile soils for crops. The northern and southern forests are a key resource for<br />
the building and manufacturing economy so important <strong>to</strong> the livelihood of many of Wisconsin's citizens.<br />
The enjoyment that people receive from outdoor activities, such as hunting and fishing, hiking and<br />
camping, and observing nature, is part of our culture. Thus, the ties that bind people <strong>to</strong> nature are diverse<br />
and deep.<br />
But much of this natural splendor has been lost through human use of the landscape and its<br />
natural resources. How much of the remainder can and should be preserved? This is one of the biggest<br />
questions facing the people of Wisconsin and <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>to</strong>day. In order <strong>to</strong> make decisions about what,<br />
where, and how much can and should be saved, we must first know what remains, where it is, and<br />
whether or not something threatens its continued existence. Wisconsin’s Natural Heritage Inven<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
(NHI) is one of the critical <strong>to</strong>ols that can be used in making these decisions.<br />
The NHI is a statewide inven<strong>to</strong>ry of known locations and conditions of rare and endangered<br />
species. Users need <strong>to</strong> recognize that parts of the state have not yet been inven<strong>to</strong>ried. Thus an "absence of<br />
evidence is not evidence of absence". Nor does the presence of one element imply that other elements<br />
were surveyed for but not found.<br />
Despite these limitations, the NHI is the state's most comprehensive database on biodiversity and<br />
is widely used. In most cases, locations for species and natural communities that are tracked in the NHI<br />
are available down <strong>to</strong> a <strong>to</strong>wnship level. The exceptions are those species whose locations are considered<br />
<strong>to</strong> be sensitive. Their locations are available down <strong>to</strong> a county level.<br />
Wisconsin’s Natural Heritage Inven<strong>to</strong>ry program’s full-time staff of biologists, as part of an<br />
international network, conduct inven<strong>to</strong>ries, identify rare species, and describe natural community<br />
occurrences. These are the individuals who endure tired feet and irritating insect bites <strong>to</strong> search the state<br />
for rare species and their habitats. A variety of part-time and temporary employees, other science<br />
professionals, and volunteers supplement data collection efforts.<br />
Appendix B – <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong>’s Rare Species & Natural Communities 159