Wild Wisconsin Milestones 1972-2012

Timeline created by esdj09 in Science and Technology

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Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
04/28/1972	Endangered Species Act takes effect	Wisconsin's Endangered Species Act takes effect, making it illegal to kill, transport, possess, process or sell any wild animal on the threatened and endangered list without a permit. The law also requires that any private or public projet or activity DNR reviews must consider whether there is potential harm to species on the list.
01/08/1975	Gray wolves return naturally	Gray wolves are documented in Wisconsin, more than a decade after the last known wolf was killed. The gray wolves are believed to have relocated naturally from Minnesota. Wisconsin starts monitoring for the species in 1979 and a recovery plan is approved in 1989.
01/28/1975	1st largescale species reintroduction starts	"A Weasel with a Secret" DNR stocks American martens, a small mammal and member of the weasel family that was extirpated by 1925 due to unregulated trapping and habitat loss. Martens are now found in three areas of northern Wisconsin but at least two of these populations are not self-sustaining. Work continues to provide the habitat, prey and other resources to sustain a viable wild population.
02/29/1980	Plants added to Endangered/Threatened list
04/15/1981	Annual frog and toad survey begins	Frog and Toad Survey DNR launches what becomes the country's longest-running frog and toad survey. Citizens coordinated and trained by DNR listen for frog calls in spring, providing information on frog and toad numbers, geographic distribution, and long-term trends.
04/15/1984	1st year for tax-checkoff donation	Give to the Endangered Resources Tax Check-OffDNR starts a voluntary tax checkoff on Wisconsin Income tax forms to supplement limited state funding for vital conservation work of rare species. Donations are matched dollar for dollar by the state.
12/01/1985	Natural Heritage Inventory starts	DNR and partners start building the Natural Heritage Inventory, a massive database of Information about declining and rare plant and animal species, high quality natural communities, and unique natural features. The information is used in land management, state land master planning, community planning, conservation planning, and state review of public and private activities and projects to prevent impacts to rare animals and their habitat.
05/01/1986	1st species restored, taken off E/T list	Double-breasted cormorant Double-crested cormorants historically occupied large, isolated lakes and wetlands in northern Wisconsin but by 1966, only 30 nesting pairs survived. UW-Stevens Point and DNR started building cormorant nesting platforms, which along with declining DDT levels, protections for the species, and exploding alewife populations, led to the bird's recovery and removal from the endangered species list.
05/01/1987	Trumpeter swan reintroduction starts	Trumpeter swan reintroduction program starts with a goal of 20 breeding pairs by 2000. Trumpeter swans, North America's largest waterfowl, were present in Wisconsin until the 1880s when market hunting and feather collecting took their toll.
12/01/1987	Peregrine falcon reintroduction starts	Peregrine falcon information
12/29/1994	Wolf license plate created	A new license plate with a wolf design is available to all Wisconsin drivers for a $25 dollar tax deductible donation.
12/01/1997	Bald eagles taken off state E/T list	Bald eagle numbers climb to over 1,000 breeding pairs and Wisconsin removes the bird from the state endangered species list and it's removed a decade later from the federal list. The gain in population results from protections under the state and federal endangered species laws, declining levels of DDT in the environment, and DNR and partner efforts to help monitor and aid recovery.
09/27/1999	Karner blue butterfly habitat plan signed	"Small, blue and beautiful"DNR and 26 partners received final federal approval of their habitat conservationp plan for the Karner Blue Butterfly, a federally endangered species. The plan was the nation's first statewise habitat planWisconsin's plan was recognized by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 10 top endangered species stories.
01/09/2000	Partnership to restore whooping cranes	Whooping Crane Eastern PartnershipDNR and several other federal and state partners join forces to reintroduce the whooping crane through the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership.
06/01/2000	Native frogs, lizards, snakes protected	Comprehensive administrative rules protect native amphibians lincluding frogs and salamanders, snakes and lizards.
05/12/2001	WI Bird Conservation Initiative Launched
12/01/2002	50th birthday of state natural areas program	Wisconsin's program to preserve the state's finest prairies, forests and wetlands turns 50 and ranks as the nation's oldest and largest. 90% of Wisconsin's endangered plants -- like this endangered white-fringed orchid pictured here -- and 75% of endangered animals are protected on state natural areas. There are now 653 areas protecting 358,000 acres of land and water.
08/01/2004	Gray wolf removed from state E/T list
12/01/2004	Citizen-based monitoring network forms	An information affiliation of more than 150 citizen-based organizations that monitor populations of plants and animals. In 2011, volunteer monitors donated more than 300,000 man hours to help collect this important information.
12/29/2005	Federal government approves state wildlife action plan	Wildlife Action plan Wisconsin's state wildlife action plsn outlines the steps necessary to conserve wildlife and habitat before they become more rare and more costly to protect. The plan identifies native species most at risk, what habitats they are associated with, where they occur, and actions to get them off and keep them off any Endangered or Threatened lists in the future.
12/01/2006	Landowner Incentive Program begins	Wisconsin starts an incentive program to help private landowners manage and restore habitat for species that are rare or declining. Landowners get technical advice and financial help with their projects. Since 2006, this partnership has improved more than 3,000 acres of habitat for more than 240 at-risk species.
09/01/2009	Comprehensive state invasive species law takes effect	A comprehensive administrative rule package takes effect to tackle invasive species, one of the biggest threat to endangered plants and animals. Invasive species are classified into two categories, prohibited and restricted, and with certain exceptions, the transport, transfer and introduction of these species is banned.
11/01/2009	Osprey removed from state E/T list
11/01/2009	Trumpeter swan removed from E/T list	Under DNR's trumpetere swan recovery plan, Wisconsin biologists working with Mary and Terry Kohler of the Windway Capital Corporation flew to Alaska for 9 years to collect swan eggs. The young swans were placed in a captive-rearing program or decoy-rearing program until they were released to the wild. Wisconsin reached the original recovery goal early and now has 202 breeding pairs of trumpeter swans.
12/30/2009	2nd license plate introduced	Wisconsin lawmakers approve allowing a second endangered resources license plate, this one featuring a badger design. Thousands of people participated in an online contest to pick the design. $25 from the license tag purchase goes to fund activities to safeguard rare species.
06/01/2011	Four cave bat species listed as threatened	A fungal disease called white-nose syndrome is causing unprecedented and devastating losses to North America's hibernating cave bats, which help keep agricultural and forest pests in check. DNR adds four cave bat species to the threatened list and launches a comprehensive effort to investigate the status, trends, current threats and health of bats.
02/01/2012	WI to take over wolf management	Press release announces gray wolf off federal E/T listThe federal government removes the gray wolf in the Great Lakes region from the federal threatened and endangered list Dec. 21, 2012, and says it will turn management over to Wisconsin on Feb. 1, 2012.