Wisconsin Rare Plant Program Touring State

People who enjoy looking for plants can see some of the state’s rarest and most beautiful native species up close in 2018 by participating in volunteer training for the Wisconsin Rare Plant Monitoring Program in coming weeks. The volunteer training is free and occurs at four sites across the state: in Juneau County on March 17, Eau Claire County on March 22, Sauk County on March 31, and Racine County on April 7. Find training session details and register on the Wisconsin Rare Plant Monitoring Program web page. The information volunteers collect help DNR conservation botanists assess plant population trends for state and national conservation efforts. Wisconsin has more than 2,300 native plant species and 344 of them are listed as endangered, threatened or species of concern due to low or declining populations. Since the Wisconsin Rare Plant Monitoring Program started the volunteer training in 2013, more than 240 volunteers have taken the training and played an important role in assessing plant populations.