Features Important for Consideration within Each Landscape: This section provides additional information of sites that are important within regional landscapes. These sites do not have the level of global or North American responsibility as the other sections, but they still may be valuable projects at the state, regional or local levels. Great Nature Wisconsin LLC does not provide a listing of important natural community values and species concentration sites locally, but could assist land trusts in identifying those priorities.

 

The Ecological Landscapes book produced by Wisconsin DNR has an outstanding synopsis of features important for land trusts to consider in their respective landscapes. Local land trusts can use this book, the information presented here, and their identified goals to help with planning.

 

To this end, Great Nature Wisconsin LLC presents known places with values matching important ecological features. Individual pages are locations with rare species and habitats that rise to higher levels of importance. Paragraphs within the pdf along with maps indicate places with some level of present protection and management that needs additional consideration. Finally, the bulleted list has places that are small in scope or they have mostly complete protection in place.

 

Trollhaugen Glade, Polk County: This site is under severe threats. The bedrock glades in Polk County have the most diverse plant and animal communities of any known glades in the state. However, the rock upon which the plant and animals thrive, is more valuable to some for making money from crushed rock balast. Billions of tons of basalt underlies this part of Polk County, but this is the low hanging fruit, because there is no overburden to remove. To many, there is no value in bedrock glade communities, only profit. Future generations may ask in disgust, why didn't you leave the best bedrock glades for us to enjoy?

 

 

 

Local Landscape Priorities: