5/30/2007

New Web page for online donations to Endangered Resources Fund

MADISON – It is now easier than ever for people interested in helping TO protect and restore rare species in Wisconsin by donating to the state Endangered Resources Fund. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Endangered Resources has launched a new Web page that makes it easy to donate on-line for programs that reintroduce endangered or threatened species and restore and protect the habitat they depend on in Wisconsin.

The Endangered Resources Online Donation Center can be found on the DNR Web site by clicking on natural resources and then endangered resources.

“Donations to the Endangered Resources Fund directly support on-the-ground field work aimed at conserving and restoring our natural heritage in Wisconsin,” said Signe Holtz, Bureau of Endangered Resources director. “These dollars help everything from wolves and falcons to turtles, prairies, woodlands and wetlands.”

More than 200 Wisconsin plants and animals are either endangered or threatened. Donations also act as state “matching funds,” which are used as leverage to bring in more than a million dollars of federal grants annually for endangered resources work supporting reintroduction of trumpeter swans and whooping cranes, recovery of the bald eagle, gray wolf and osprey and conservation management of numerous rare native plants, shorebirds, mussels, butterflies and state natural areas.

Acting early to prevent species from becoming endangered or threatened is responsible resource management by present generations for future generations, say officials.

“Landing on an endangered or threatened species list is not good news for any species,” says Holtz. “Keeping species off these lists and maintaining Wisconsin’s biodiversity makes a lot more sense. It’s more effective and less costly in the long run.”

The Web site allows visitors to either donate to the general Endangered Resources Fund or to some specific efforts such as the Trumpeter Swan Fund or the Adopt an Eagle Nest programs.

“The endangered resources license plate – the distinctive wolf design - and the endangered resources tax check-off are also ways to support conservation of plants, animals and natural areas for future generations,” says Holtz.

Maintaining a healthy and diverse environment adds to residents’ quality of life and healthy environments also attract visitors to Wisconsin, say officials.

The 2005-2010 State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), which takes a snapshot look at outdoor recreation in Wisconsin every five years, reports that annually 1.7 million Wisconsinites participate in birding, 1.6 million visit a wilderness or primitive area, 1.7 million fish and 1.4 million day hike – recreational activities tied to high quality habitat and wildlife populations. An additional 1.8 million visitors to Wisconsin also participated annually in these activities.

Additional information on Wisconsin’s endangered and threatened resources and Wisconsin’s State Wildlife Action plan, which identifies Wisconsin’s wildlife species in greatest conservation need and conservation actions needed to protect them and their habitats, also is available on the Endangered Resources Web .

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Signe Holtz - (608) 264-9210