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Public Comment Sought on Management Plans for State Natural Areas

Draft management plans for 13 State Natural Areas located in south-central Wisconsin and the Door County Peninsula are available for public comment through March 10, 2017.

State Natural Areas protect outstanding examples of Wisconsin’s native landscape of natural communities, significant geological formations and archeological sites and protect some of Wisconsin’s rarest natural community types, geological features, and wildlife. These natural areas are valuable for research and educational use, preservation of genetic and biological diversity, and also provide ecological benchmarks to help determine the impact of use on managed lands.

Management plans are required for Department of Natural Resources properties to help guide management activities and development for public use. These 13 properties are considered “Tier 3” sites because they are generally smaller, single-purpose properties lacking significant public use facilities.

Sites in the Door Peninsula group, including Baileys Harbor Boreal Forest, Coffey Swamp, and Moonlight Bay Bedrock Beach, help protect Lake Michigan coastal wetlands and rare plant habitat. Draft property management plans for these 13 properties are available online at dnr.wi.gov, keywords “master planning” – select the link titled “Tier 3 Management Plans.”

More background information about each natural area can be found on the DNR website. Send comments and/or questions related to these draft plans to Thomas Meyer, Wisconsin DNR, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921 or via email at [email protected] by March 10, 2017.

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