| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 62.28 |
| Liaison | Dave Barbier |
| Submission Date | Nov. 5, 2021 |
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
OP-10: Biodiversity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Abby
Kreger Reporting and Special Projects Coordinator OoS |
Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:
A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:
Schmeeckle Reserve is a natural area on the campus of UW-Stevens Point, a 280-acre conservancy area with 5 miles of trails and boardwalks, a 24-acre lake, and a large diversity of habitats that support numerous wildlife species.
The Reserve is managed to protect and restore natural communities of central Wisconsin, serve as an outdoor classroom for learning, and provide outdoor recreation opportunities.
Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:
A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:
Two of the university properties have extremely detailed information regarding species use: Schmeeckle Reserve and Treehaven. Treehaven hosts a National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) site and data collected is publicly available for that site (https://www.neonscience.org/field-sites/tree). Schmeeckle Reserve has hosted an array of scientists over the year, and, for that reason, a great deal of data is archived for this site (https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/schmeeckle/Pages/natural_history/checklists.aspx).
For the other university properties, somewhat less data is available and none is publicly available. This is based on Wisconsin law. In accordance with this, one of the agreements that a natural resource manager makes with the WDNR when they become either a Cooperating Forester or when they are trained to use Natural Heritage Inventory data, is that they are not allowed to disclose data in anyway that will make the locations of NHI covered species (i.e. rare, threatened or endangered species) available to the public at a level lower than township. Because our properties are smaller than that, we cannot disclose that data legally. This is a rare category of data that is not even available for public records request in Wisconsin. For properties that are owned by the UWSP Foundation and are under Managed Forest Law (MFL), an NHI (as well as historic and archaeological) data request are completed prior to timber sale initiation. This is the case with all MFL properties in WI. We can also note that known locations for NHI species are considered in timber harvest. Two timber harvests that we completed in the last three years were seasonally restricted to avoid impact on NHI species (both were related to concerns related the breeding seasons for these animals and operations were held outside of season that would impact the animals).
Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:
A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:
The following university properties have a current management plan with biodiversity as one factor considered:
Schmeeckle Reserve has a recently completed and approved Restoration and Management Plan (completed during spring 2020). A monitoring plan is in final stage of revisions (is being completed by the NRES 457 Ecological Monitoring class as a part of their training) and will actually be presented in a public presentation on May 11th. This property is basically an island of green in the city of Stevens Point and therefore is quite ecologically important.
Central Wisconsin Environmental Station and Minister Lake Properties (these are adjacent properties) have both had a management plan developed. The Minister Lake property houses a savanna restoration site as well as a forest restoration demonstration area. It is also utilized as a WI Best Management Practices for Water Quality Training site for students. The outlying units of the CWES property house a Wildlife Habitat Demonstration Unit.
The Burdette and Sarah Eagon Nature Education Preserve has a management plan and is having the stream channel restored through partnership with the WDNR during summer 2021 and will have the upland restored with woodcock habitat as a focus during spring 2022 with funding from the Ruffed Grouse Society. The uplands on this site will be the focal area for the NRES 459 Ecological Restoration and Management, NRES 457 Ecological Monitoring and For 434 Restoration Field Techniques course during the spring 2022 semester. This site has already hosted the Society for Ecological Restoration Student Chapter as a weekend training site during Fall 2019. The historical elements of this site (was the site of a historic grain mill) will be included as a cultural portion of the restoration.
The McLoud Memorial Forest has a management plan and an endangered ecosystem (savanna) is a portion of the land that is being restored. The rest of the property is being managed with a focus on structural diversity and will be the focus area for a course called Timber Marking for Wildlife Habitat during spring 2023. This property has been the focus of a number of trainings for a range of different courses at UWSP.
The Kurtz Memorial Forest has a management plan and hosts two research projects focused on wildlife habitat (oak reserve trees and expanding gap conversion for red pine management). The red pine stand is part of an alternative management for red pine project being conducted through parts of central and northern Wisconsin. The property will be the focal area for the Timber Marking for Wildlife Habitat course during spring 2022.
The Allen’s Acres and the Rogers Living Forest property are under the Managed Forest Law program and are therefore required to undergo database level review for NHI prior to management actions (see above). The Rogers property is also under a conservation easement with the North Central Conservancy Trust.
The resources on the McDonald Island property was the subject of a MS thesis by Sue Kissinger and are available in UWSP Library. This island will be the focus of future habitat projects although the date of these activities is not yet certain due to the pandemic.
The Severson Lake property is the focus of a current efforts at installing a wildlife habitat management demonstration area and full planning is in development. This property has hosted the For 434 Timber Marking for Wildlife Habitat class and the For 432 Silviculture Class. This property contains portions of three lakes.
The Boston School Forest and Milo Harpstead property are the focus of future management planning activities. These are heavily utilized for students in K-12 (Boston School Forest) and UWSP students (Harpstead).
The Natzke Camp property has minimal data available for it and is subject to deed restrictions that limit management
The Treehaven facility has many projects active. Please see the website for the property https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/treehaven/pages/default.aspx and the information for the NEON site.
The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:
A forest stewardship plan is developed on properties not covered by MFL (MFL properties follow guidelines for an MFL plan https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/forestlandowners/mfl#:~:text=The%20Managed%20Forest%20Law%20%28MFL%29%20program%20is%20a,Woodland%20Tax%20Law%20and%20the%20Forest%20Crop%20Law). The following factors are considered in the plans:
Property Description and History
Forest Management Goals
Property Map(s)
Forest Natural Resources Enhancement and Protection
Protect Special Sites & Social Considerations
Air, Water, and Soil Protection
Fish, Wildlife and Biodiversity
Management of Forest Resources
Management Actions Needed by Year
Current Conditions
Desired Future Stand Condition
Forest Management Activities
Management Activity Schedule and Tracking
A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):
The scope of the assessments varies by habitat type.
A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:
The identification of species is being most heavily pursued at the Schmeeckle Reserve and the Treehaven facility. For the remaining properties we are going far beyond protections, please see description above. The majority of the smaller properties are either the subject of restoration plans or habitat enhancement plans or both.
Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :
Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.