Rare Plant Loss Part of Peninsula State Park Road Replacement

Dwarf lake iris was listed as federally threatened in 1988, is state threatened in Michigan, and is endangered in Wisconsin. It blooms from mid-May to early June. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to issue an authorization for the incidental take of a rare plant, dwarf lake iris, which may result from the Peninsula State Park Shore Road Replacement Project. Most of the park’s roads were last surfaced during the 1960s.

“Incidental take” refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the species’ overall population at risk.

The presence of the state and federally threatened dwarf lake iris is confirmed in the vicinity of the project site. DNR staff have determined that the proposed project may result in the incidental take of some plants, but conservation measures to minimize the adverse effect on the threatened species will be incorporated into the proposed Incidental Take Authorization. 

Copies of the jeopardy assessment and background information on dwarf lake iris are available upon request from DNR conservation biologist Rori Paloski at 608.516.3742 or [email protected].

Members of the public may also submit written comments regarding project-related impacts to dwarf lake iris by March 11 to Department of Natural Resources, c/o Rori Paloski, 101 S. Webster St., Madison, WI 53707.