MADISON - Wisconsin has a wide diversity of rare plants: Hairy beardtongue, small flowered grass-of-Parnassus and zigzag bladderwort are just three mythical-sounding plants of more than 300 rare plants in Wisconsin that could get a boost in status from the Wisconsin Rare Plant Preservation Fund, managed by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. The fund supports the restoration, monitoring, inventorying and preservation of rare plant species in Wisconsin.
By their very nature, rare plants need help to ensure they do not disappear forever. Native plants provide the foundation on which so many insects, birds and other wildlife depend for their survival, and make up the living fabric of wetlands, savannas, woodlands and prairies.
Over the past few years, the Wisconsin Rare Plant Preservation Fund has supported research on the demography and preservation of the federally-threatened dune thistle (Cirsium pitcher) in Door County, woolly milkweed (Asclepias lanuginosa) surveys, and most recently a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website on the state's rare lichens. The new lichen website provides natural resources professionals and the general public educational tools to learn about - and help conserve - lichens.
Applications for 2016 funding are due Feb. 1 and can be in support of any of Wisconsin's rare plants. Applicants must demonstrate their project focuses on a rare plant in the state. Applications are welcome from state agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals. To apply, visit WisConservation.org, or contact Caitlin Williamson, foundation program and development coordinator, at grants@wisconservation.org.
By their very nature, rare plants need help to ensure they do not disappear forever. Native plants provide the foundation on which so many insects, birds and other wildlife depend for their survival, and make up the living fabric of wetlands, savannas, woodlands and prairies.
Over the past few years, the Wisconsin Rare Plant Preservation Fund has supported research on the demography and preservation of the federally-threatened dune thistle (Cirsium pitcher) in Door County, woolly milkweed (Asclepias lanuginosa) surveys, and most recently a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website on the state's rare lichens. The new lichen website provides natural resources professionals and the general public educational tools to learn about - and help conserve - lichens.
Applications for 2016 funding are due Feb. 1 and can be in support of any of Wisconsin's rare plants. Applicants must demonstrate their project focuses on a rare plant in the state. Applications are welcome from state agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals. To apply, visit WisConservation.org, or contact Caitlin Williamson, foundation program and development coordinator, at grants@wisconservation.org.