Bridges Summer 2017

SUMMER 2017

BRIDGES

New fund dedicated to amphibians & reptiles

2016 Annual Report

Family honors father by saving bluebirds

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WDNR

Connecting people to conservation in Wisconsin

BRIDGES • SUMMER 2017

FROM THE DIRECTOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Martin Henert, Board Chair Kristine Krause, Vice Chair Linda Bochert, Secretary Mark LaBarbera, Treasurer Dave Adam James P. Bennett Bruce Braun Tom Dott Tim Eisele Rebecca Haefner Rita Hayen Jim Hubing Diane Humphrey Lueck William Lunney Peg Mallery Jim Matras Tom Olson Ron Semmann Bill Smith Michael Williamson FOUNDATION STAFF Ruth Oppedahl, Executive Director John Kraniak, Membership Director Erin Manlick, Office Manager Michelle Milford, Outreach Coordinator Diane Packett, Birdathon Coordinator Nora Simmons, Communications Director Christine Tanzer, Field Trip Coordinator Caitlin Williamson, Director of Conservation Programs Camille Zanoni, Development Director OUR MISSION Connecting generations to the wonders of Wisconsin’s lands, waters, and wildlife through conservation, education, engagement, and giving.

WisConservation.org

Ruth Oppedahl She was digging in the gravel on the Brule River Road. We stopped the truck and trailer loaded with kayaks and canoes, and wildlife biologist Greg Kessler got out to examine the female wood turtle.

As luck would have it we were preparing to canoe to the mouth of the Brule River on a Field Trip to learn about wood turtles. Greg scanned her microchip (from an earlier capture) and took her measurements. As he held her he could feel the eggs inside; she was looking for a nesting site.

As invasive plants take over stream banks, land is converted to other uses, and trees shade out sunny, open sites, turtles often turn to the gravel shoulders along roads. Thinking this road was a sure failure, we brought her to a sanctuary site at Dave and Wanda Zeug’s land along the Brule River. The turtle nest sanctuary safely protected ten nests last year. But turtles can be faithful to a site, and this one walked around a little and then headed for the grass, perhaps back to her

familiar nesting site.

Until I saw her small form disappear into tall grass I had never considered the challenges turtles face each summer when trying to find adequate nesting sites. Turtles are quiet and haven’t always gotten the attention of conservationists that they deserve as long-lived animals inhabiting the interface of water and land.

With your donations, the Foundation has supported research on wood turtles, turtle crossing signage and a video about how to help turtles cross roads. Best of all, we are establishing a permanent fund to help turtles and other amphibians and reptiles for generations to come. I hope the feature article on page three piques your interest, as this Field Trip did mine, to learn more about these vulnerable animals and their unique niche in the natural world.

Ruth Oppedahl, Executive Director

Honorary & memorial gifts February 1, 2017 through June 15, 2017

The Foundation recognizes gifts made in honor or memory of the following people:

Helping You Help Wisconsin Every purchase you make with your NRF Visa Signature® Card supports state parks, rivers and conservation projects in Wisconsin. Join the cardholders who have already raised more than $140,000 for Wisconsin.

Learn more and apply at usbank.com/NRF_ WisConservation.

The creditor and issuer of the Card is U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.

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In Honor of: Tim & Laura Maleski

Sara Giacalone In Memory of: Steve Miller Lawrence Vine In Memory of: Barry Mitchell

Colleen Marsden

In Memory of: Vicki June Austad

Mike & Karen Austad

In Memory of: Kelley James Amy McAllister

In Memory of: Steve Olig

Janice Olig

In Honor of: Joanna Marr Baker

Jessica Dugan

In Honor of: Chris Jennings

William Schierl

In Honor of: Ruth Oppedahl

Judy Gibbs

In Memory of: Dr. Martha Christensen Patricia Becker LaVonne Middleton

Ruth Oppedahl

In Honor of: Darleen & Charles Johnson

David W. Johnson

In Memory of: Norma Rednour

John & Ann Molinaro

In Memory of: Donn D’Alessio

Ruth Oppedahl In Memory of: Jonathan Ela

Jane Wiley In Memory of: Barbara Harvey

Marsh Haven Nature Center In Memory of: John P Holmes Association of Retired Conservationists In Honor of: Dale C. Hulmer

Dawn Hulmer

In Memory of: Daniel Jones

Ruth Oppedahl

In Memory of: Bernie Schultz, Jr.

Jerry Thomasen

In Memory of: Glenn L Kanitz Paula Dobbs

In Memory of: Hedwig ‘Hedy’ Marie Smith Amy & Richard Staffen

In Memory of: Lois Kittleson

John & Ann Molinaro

In Honor of: Donald & Lucille Stadler

Caryn Schmidt

In Honor of: Iris Lambert

J. D. Lambert

In Honor of: Diane Visty

Caryl Zaar

In Honor of: Tim Lizotte

Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club

In Honor of: Scott Walker Philip M. Heckman

In Memory of: Ray & Barbara Lutz

Sandra Falatyk

In Memory of: Dale A. Zaug

Association of Retired Conservationists

Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

WISCONSERVATION SPOTLIGHT: Your Support at Work

The Foundation invests in programs and projects that have a strong ripple effect—where a modest amount of support can generate deep and lasting improvements. Over the years, protecting, maintaining, and sharing our beautiful lands has remained a top Foundation priority and with your help we continue to do more every year.

Connecting People to Wisconsin’s Natural Heritage. At the Natural Resources Foundation, we believe that having a direct connection to the outdoors is critical to fostering what Aldo Leopold called the “Land Ethic”: A moral responsibility for people to care for the land and each other. One way we help connect people to our natural heritage is to support education programs that help people discover Wisconsin’s great outdoors and learn what they can do to protect Wisconsin’s diverse and beautiful natural treasures.

JOSHUA MAYER

M ONARCH BUTTERFLIES

As a proud member of the Monarch Joint Venture national partnership, the Natural Resources Foundation is working with partners across North America to bring back the monarch butterfly.

Facing a population decline of 80 percent in the last couple of decades, the monarch migration was named a “threatened phenomenon” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Threats like loss of habitat and pesticide use have resulted in a staggering decline in the monarch butterfly population, as well as that of other pollinators. Our Foundation has committed to conserving and creating monarch habitat throughout the state, while educating the public on the important roles played by monarchs and other pollinators. People can help by planting milkweed, participating in the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project or other monarch citizen science efforts, or donating to the Foundation’s rare and endangered species fund.

CATHERINE WHITE

BATS

White-nose syndrome was first documented in Wisconsin just a few years ago, but already has caused population declines between 30 and 100 percent at known bat hibernation sites. This devastating fungus has killed millions of bats across the United States, causing them to wake during hibernation, burning critical stores of fat they need to survive the winter. DNR scientists have confirmed whitenose syndrome in 24 Wisconsin counties, and it is likely to continue to spread. Thanks to the Wisconsin Bat Conservation Fund, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin is helping to support bat conservation efforts, including researching and fighting the catastrophic white-nose syndrome fungus. You can make a donation by designating your gift to the Wisconsin Bat Conservation Fund when you make your donation online or via check. Other ways you can help include building bat houses, and monitoring bat populations. Learn more through the DNR’s Wisconsin Bat Program.

CAITLIN WILLIAMSON

ORNATE BOX TURTLE

Wisconsin has fewer than 500 endangered ornate box turtles remaining in the state. Thanks to support from the Natural Resources Foundation, scientists are using innovative survey methods to locate ornate box turtles in the wild. Understanding populations is critical for informing what actions conservation biologists can take to protect the species, such as improving habitat where they are found, or reducing threats such as car collisions. By helping survey and monitor Wisconsin’s ornate box turtles, our Foundation is helping ensure that they will remain in the prairies and savannas of southern Wisconsin that they call home. You can help — make a donation to the Wisconsin Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Fund when you donate online or via check.

CAITLIN WILLIAMSON

Conservationist Spotlight: Andrew Badje, DNR

Andrew Badje, a conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, loves wildlife, ­especially frogs and turtles. As the coordinator for the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey and the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program, every day is different. Badje gets to spend a lot of time outdoors helping to monitor Wisconsin’s rare amphibian and reptile species, and also works with the public, answering questions about frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes, and lizards. The research and monitoring efforts that the DNR conducts on species like wood turtles or the state endangered Blanchard’s cricket frog is critical to understanding how we can better protect and care for these rare species. For Badje, the best part of his job is the people he works with. “The greatest part of my job is working with the dedicated people — my coworkers at the DNR, and our volunteers in the citizenbased monitoring programs,” Badje said. “It’s inspiring to work with people that care so much about the work that they do to conserve Wisconsin’s natural resources. To us, it’s more than a job — it’s a lifestyle.”

Get involved in protecting rare and endangered species. You can make a difference. Volunteer for the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey and the Wisconsin Bat Program. Preserve habitat for amphibians, reptiles and pollinators by creating no-mow zones in your yard. Restore prairie and fight invasive species on your land. Learn more ways to help on page 4.

Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

BRIDGES/SUMMER 2017

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Reptiles and amphibians finally get the support they deserve

By Caitlin Williamson

tom dott

The habitat battle Wisconsin’s wide variety of habitats makes it a unique and important place for amphibians and reptiles. Wisconsin encompasses three major ecological communities: deciduous forest, boreal forest, and grasslands. Each of these landscapes provides habitat for different types of amphibian and reptile species, which have unique diet, habitat, or lifecycle needs.

You will find timber rattlesnakes and eastern massasauga rattlesnakes in western Wisconsin’s rocky bluffs, but not often in the forests and glacial ridges of eastern Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine, where many frog and salamander species make their homes.

Not enough is known about Wisconsin’s amphibians and reptiles. The elusive lined snake, for example, was only just discovered in Wisconsin in 2011.

We do know, however, that across Wisconsin and the U.S., amphibian and reptile populations have declined significantly in recent years. Due to their behavior, life history, diet, and habitat needs, these animals are often more vulnerable to threats like habitat loss than other species. Amphibians and reptiles often specialize in certain habitats, making them less able to adapt to human encroachment and climate change.

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake — as of 2016, a federally threatened This snake hibernaculum species — requires both wetland and provides a safe place to upland habitat, and often relies on hibernate in the winter. crayfish burrows for hibernation. When human development encroaches on their primary habitat or limits their ability to move between low and high ground, their ability to reproduce and survive drops precipitously.

The ornate box turtle (endangered in Wisconsin), requires dry, sandy habitat to survive the winter. Habitat loss and

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WDNR

A walk in the woods usually reveals many Wisconsin wildlife species — songbirds, squirrels, perhaps a deer or turkey. But even though Wisconsin is home to some 56 species of amphibian and reptile, spotting one of these elusive creatures can be rare during a hike. And unfortunately these chance encounters are only becoming less common.

Wisconsin’s native amphibians and reptiles have suffered significant population declines in recent years, and now over half of them are endangered, threatened, or listed as special concern.

fragmentation have left this beautiful turtle and other amphibians and reptiles in dire straits. Even the spread of invasive species like buckthorn impacts amphibian and reptile populations, by degrading valuable habitat that they need to survive. Unable to move long distances in order to escape environmental changes, amphibians and reptiles are uniquely vulnerable and desperately in need of our help.

What we’re doing to help In order to raise awareness and to make these vulnerable animals a priority in our own work, the Natural Resources Foundation has created the Wisconsin Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Fund. This newly-created endowment will provide sustainable support to protect Wisconsin’s turtles, frogs, snakes, lizards, and salamanders.

“This new fund is an opportunity to help with education and outreach, to help scientists do more on-the-ground research and monitoring, and to support more field work and conservation projects than we are able to do right now,” said Andrew Badje, a conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, who works on amphibian and reptile conservation projects.

Grants from the Wisconsin Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Fund will support critical projects related to the conservation, education, research, and monitoring of Wisconsin’s native amphibians and reptiles and their habitats.

Projects will include supporting on-the-ground conservation work to better understand rare and threatened amphibian and reptile species, improving habitat at State Natural Areas and other properties that support high numbers of rare amphibians and reptiles, training citizen scientists to monitor Wisconsin’s rare and threatened amphibians and reptiles, and education and outreach efforts to teach children and adults about Wisconsin’s amphibians and reptiles and how they can help.

With your help, we are protecting these unique Wisconsin species, now and for future generations.

Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

Unique species at risk Mudpuppy. Found near rivers and lakes, the mudpuppy, a salamander of special concern in Wisconsin, is in decline. The mudpuppy is also the only host of the state-threatened salamander mussel.

Eastern massasauga. This rattlesnake just became federally threatened. The population of eastern massasaugas has declined by nearly 40 percent in recent years due the loss and fragmentation their upland and wetland habitats.

Ornate box turtle. There are fewer than 500 ornate box turtles in Wisconsin.

By helping survey and monitor their populations we help inform conservation strategies to protect these beautiful, ancient animals.

Slender glass lizard.

Endangered in Wisconsin, the slender glass lizard is the only legless lizard found here. They live in sandy oak savannas and prairies, and the restoration of these habitats is critical to their survival.

Blanchard’s cricket frog.

This small tree frog is rapidly vanishing from Wisconsin.

Scientists are trying to learn more and rely on data collected by the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey. We need more volunteers across the state to collect this important data Other threats to amphibians and reptiles Attractive to the illegal pet trade, they are too often sold or taken home as souvenirs.

Busy roads pose a particular danger for slow-moving and hard to see amphibians and reptiles.

Emerging diseases like snake fungal disease and Bsal also threaten catastrophe for Wisconsin’s amphibians and reptiles.

Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

HOW CAN YOU HELP These are just a few actions you can take to help save our native amphibians and reptiles from extinction.

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EDUCATE YOURSELF The Natural Resources Foundation offers dozens of Field Trips each year that focus on the ecology and lifecycles of turtles, frogs, salamanders, and many other rare species. Join us!

CREATE HABITAT Make space for these animals by building a snake hibernacula or preserving a no-mow zone in your yard where frogs, toads, and other amphibians and reptiles can live and breed.

CONTRIBUTE TO SCIENCE Citizen science efforts are critical to helping scientists understand these animals. The annual Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey always needs good citizen scientists to gather and report data.

EDUCATE OTHERS Tell your friends and family that it’s illegal to sell or buy native species and that these creatures should never be removed from their natural environment to be kept as pets.

ATCH OUT ON THE ROAD W Keep an eye out for turtles and other animals in the road. If it’s safe you can help turtles cross by moving them in the direction there were already going.

SUPPORT THE FUND Just designate your gift to the Wisconsin Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Fund when you donate.

www.wisconservation.org/donate aitlin Williamson is director of conservation programs for the Foundation C and manages grant programs in addition to partnership development and capacity building.

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THE Good

NEWS Mexico’s Baja Peninsula

DEBBIE STURDIVANT JORDAN

TIM BUSS

Each year gray whales travel thousands of miles from the Arctic Ocean to the warm waters of Baja California’s lagoons to court, mate, give birth, and care for their young.

On this new Foundation adventure we will visit the peninsula’s whale sanctuaries for an up-close encounter with these giant mammals. When we’re tired of whales (never!), we’ll snorkel with sea lions and tropical fish in the crystal clear waters of Espiritu Santo (pictured above), a protected island and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Finally, we will head inland, where towering cardón cactuses, contorted elephant trees, and unusual boojum trees dominate the landscape. Along the way we will get to explore salt plants, mining towns, goat ranches, and missions as we learn about this region’s earliest settlements.

Join us February 18-26, 2018 to explore the best of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula from land to sea.

For more information or to register, contact Debbie Sturdivant Jordan at Debbie@HolbrookTravel.com or call (866) 748-6146.

New program for young professionals GET

RiverEdge Nature Center

ENGAGED

Like most nonprofit organizations we look around and can’t help noticing that we seem to be missing an entire generation from our ranks—the Millennial generation who are now mostly in their 20’s and 30’s and looking for ways to engage with causes that matter to them. So we launched a new adventure learning program to reach these young, passionate, DIY conservationists.

The Wayfarers are students and young professionals who care about our natural resources and want to learn more. Led by some of our best natural resources experts, we have put together challenging, fast-paced trips to trek, paddle, bike, climb and explore Wisconsin. We hope becoming a Wayfarer inspires younger generations to continue the legacy of protecting Wisconsin’s lands, waters and wildlife.

2017 Wayfarer Wanderings will run July 29 – September 10 • Glow Float: Late-night paddle and campfire • Tree Climbing • Baraboo Hills Bike Trek • Urban Gardening in Eagle Heights • Stream Ecology and Fly Fishing • Madison by Stand-Up Paddleboard • Adventure Hike: Forest to Grasslands Are you or do you know a young outdoor enthusiast who loves educational adventures, meeting new people and trying new things? Send them to Wisconservation.org/Wayfarers.

More Good News on page 17

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Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

THE Good

Continued from page 5

NEWS

Species

Trivia

3 miles

SUMMER MATTESON

The distance turtles can travel in one day based on GPS monitoring data.

Nina Rothschild-Utne of the River Raptors paddles the Kinnickinnic River.

Jellyfish?!

Surprisingly found in some Wisconsin lakes.

By Diane Packett, Birdathon Coordinator

The Greatest WI Birdathon yet!

For the second year in a row, the Natural Resources Foundation’s Great Wisconsin Birdathon has smashed its fundraising goal! Forty-eight teams of birders, 796 donors from 35 states, and 29 birding Field Trips raised $90,000 for the Bird Protection Fund. Another $10,000 will go directly to Wisconsinbased conservation organizations who participated in the Birdathon this year to fundraise for their own projects.

Birders statewide found creative ways to Birdathon, including the River Raptors who kayaked Wisconsin’s waters, the Goss Hawks of the Ben Goss Bird Club who “Walked the Wauk” along the Ice Age Trail, and the Peddling Pewees who cruised the roads and trails by bike.

Top birders were the Secretary Birds who found 190 species, followed by the Lake Superior eBirders with 171, and tied for third place the MuirLand Merlins and Obi Gray & the Chewbacalacas, both with 170. Our top fundraisers this year were veteran Birdathon team Cutright’s Old Coots, who raised $10,400, followed closely by the Indigo Girls and Guys who obtained a challenge grant from Colby

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Construction, Inc. to bring their earnings to $10,000.

Among the 241 species found this year were the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler and Whooping Crane, and rarities including Worm-eating and Cerulean Warblers, Lark Bunting, Greater Prairie Chicken, and all four stateendangered species of terns. One team found a Brewster’s Warbler, a Bluewinged/Golden-winged hybrid. Several teams saw Trumpeter Swans, whose population has so recently recovered after being absent from Wisconsin. Many teams entered their sighting into the online database eBird, or the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas, contributing even more to conservation through citizen science.

We’re excited to see so many new teams and organizations getting involved in the Birdathon, connecting with other birdwatchers and engaging with the conservation community. We thank our partners in the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative; our sponsors We Energies Foundation, Eagle Optics, and Colby Construction; and our Natural Resources Foundation board members and co-workers for their support.

1,000+

The number of mosquito-sized insects a little brown bat can eat in one hour.

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different species of tiger beetle can be found in Wisconsin.

Cashew?

Poison ivy is actually a member of the cashew family.

Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

Featured Fund

Harold Ramon Cram, Jr. Bluebird Restoration Fund When we lose someone we love, someone we’ve known our entire lives, it can feel like a gaping hole is left behind. While no person or tribute can ever really replace what has been lost, as humans we have a strong instinct to help our loved one live on in some way.

“After Dad died, people wanted to make donations to something that would live on in his name—something he believed in and loved,” remembered Cathy Cram, daughter of Harold Ramon “Ray” Cram, Jr. So in December of 2016, Cathy along with her mom, Beverly, and siblings Ramon, Susan, and Caroline, established the Harold Ramon Cram, Jr. Bluebird Restoration Fund as a way of honoring his memory. Ray had a strong passion for conservation throughout his life. He and Beverly owned a hobby farm for many years, committing themselves to habitat restoration, and instilling a love of the natural world in their children. An avid hunter and fisherman, Ray immersed himself in the natural world and had a keen appreciation for how important nature was to our wellbeing. And he had a particular passion for bluebirds.

“Dad was always talking about how to take care of bluebirds,” Cathy remembered. “He would set up bluebird boxes all over, and get involved in bird counts and habitat restoration projects.”

So it seemed like a natural fit for this family of do-it-yourself conservationists that Ray’s legacy should support the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin—a nonprofit that provides the public with the information and tools they need to help bluebirds as well as other cavity-nesting birds.

The family chose to establish a spend-down fund, which differs from an endowed fund in that the entire principle is available for distribution. Spend-down fund creators also have lots of autonomy in deciding how and when to make disbursements — large annual gifts or smaller, more frequent gifts that slowly “spend down” the fund’s balance over time.

The first disbursement from the Harold Ramon Cram, Jr. Bluebird Restoration Fund was sent to the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin this past March, and the Crams are already thinking of the next one. They plan on promoting the fund and hope to continue to build it over time.

For a man so selflessly devoted to the environment and its wildlife, we can’t imagine a more fitting way of honoring his life and work. If you’d like to make a donation to the Harold Ramon Cram, Jr. Bluebird Restoration Fund, you can do so online at WisConservation.org/donate or by mailing a check to the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.

“I pity the people that never stop to smell the roses, or marvel at God’s gift of beauty, and wonder. I treasure the moments each day watching the sun go down and the evening birds and critters. When my time comes it should be with celebration of a great life lived in the very best of times, with the very best of people.”

- Harold Ramon Cram, Jr. Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

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P.O. Box 2317 Madison, WI 53701 Toll-free (866) 264-4096 With appreciation to our sponsors:

Alliant Energy Foundation Associated Bank Dorothy Inbusch Foundation, Inc. Eagle Optics First Business Bank John C. Bock Foundation Lux Foundation, Inc. Menasha Corporation Foundation Pieper Electric, Inc./ Ideal Mechanical Wells Print & Digital Services

WisConservation.org

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50% post-consumer fiber

Building your conservation legacy “The Foundation has earned our respect and deserves our support, so we have found it a place in our estate plans. Certainly all who read this newsletter are living lives deeply rooted in conservation principles and strongly believe our children’s children should live in a Wisconsin rich in nature’s bounty. One way to confirm these values is by including the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin in your estate plans.”

- Mike and Karen Austad, Natural Heritage Circle Members For more information, visit WisConservation.org/planned-giving or contact Camille Zanoni at 608-264-8922 or Camille.Zanoni@Wisconsin.gov.