Incidental Take Public Notice:

Proposed STH 133 Road Widening - Boscobel to Blue River

The Department of Natural Resources proposes to authorize the "incidental taking" of two plants of the state-endangered pink milkwort (Polygala incarnata) and four plants of the state-threatened yellow gentian (Gentiana alba) resulting from the road widening of STH 133 between Boscobel and Blue River, Grant County.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing to widen STH 133 between Boscobel and Blue River. The road will remain 2-lane, but an 8-foot shoulder is required to improve safety. Surveys conducted in 2004 identified a strip of prairie occurring between STH 133 and the Wisconsin Western railroad that is habitat for numerous native prairie species, including 2 colonies (9 plants each) of cream gentian and over 60 pink milkwort plants. Four of the cream gentian plants and two of the pink milkwort plants lie within the proposed fill area for the shoulder widening project. To minimize take, DOT will transplant all four cream gentian plants to suitable habitat within the existing prairie using a transplanting procedure recommended by the DNR prairie expert. Seeds from the pink milkwort, an annual species, will be collected from plants growing in the construction zone and planted in the existing prairie.

This section of prairie between STH 133 and the railroad has been identified by DOT for long-term prairie restoration to improve the habitat for listed as well as other prairie species. To improve and restore additional prairie habitat, DOT will conduct periodic prescribed burns at varying times during the growing season in subsequent years to control invasive species on site and any new invasive species from the road construction project. This incidental take authorization is proposed to cover unintentional loss due to construction and potential loss that could occur from plant relocations and subsequent habitat management.

The Department has determined that the proposed project will minimize the impacts to the plants by transplanting the cream gentian and collecting seed from pink milkwort, conducting prairie management and restoration, and monitoring the plants and their habitat through 2006; is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence and recovery of the state population of these plants or the whole plant-animal community of which they are a part; and has benefit to the public health, safety or welfare that justifies the actions.

Copies of the jeopardy assessment and conservation measures are available below or upon request from:

Information & Supporting Materials:
Jeopardy Assessment and Background Information [PDF 30KB]