Incidental Take Public Notice:

Proposed Beverly Hills Trail - Brookfield, WI

MADISON, Wis. The Department of Natural Resources proposes to authorize the "incidental taking" of the state threatened Butler’s gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) as a result of the construction of the Beverly Hills Trail - Wirth Park segment in the Cit of Brookfield. Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the overall population of the species at risk.

This Beverly Hills Trail is part of the City of Brookfield’s Greenway Corridor Recreational Plan. The approximately 2,000 foot trail will connect the Beverly Hills Trail from Pheasant Drive to Wirth Park. It will extend and replace a mowed trail that presently occurs along the same alignment with an asphalt surface. The purpose of the new trail is to provide improved recreational access, and secondarily to provide alternative emergency access to Wirth Park.

The project area includes portions of habitat that is occupied by Butler’s gartersnake. The City minimized the amount of impact to the snake habitat during project design and placement, proposes to enhance a portion of the adjoining wetland to historic conditions and functions to improve habitat for the snake, and to install snake exclusionary fencing to keep snakes out of the project area. This fencing will be maintained during the snake’s active period until the bike trail and revegetation of the area has been completed.

Through the Incidental Take Consultation process, the Department determined that the proposed project has minimized impacts to the snake through project design and fencing, and that the snake will benefit from improvements to habitat through restoration of previously drained and filled wetland areas as a result of reestablishment of hydrology, removing fill, re-grading and reestablishing wetland plant communities.

The Department has concluded that the proposed project will not likely jeopardize the continued existence and recovery of the state population of these snakes 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 action.

The conservation measures to minimize adverse effects on the Butler’s gartersnake will be incorporated into the proposed Incidental Take Authorization. Copies of the jeopardy assessment and background information on the Butler’s gartersnake are available at http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/take/notices.html or upon request from Rori Paloski, Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources, 101 South Webster, Madison, WI 53707, 608-264-6040. Public comments will be taken through April 14th, 2009 and should be sent to Ms. Paloski at the above address.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Rori Paloski, DNR, Bureau of Endangered Resources, 608-264-6040 or P.O. Box 7921 Madison, WI 53707-7921.

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

Information & Supporting Materials:
Beverly Hills Trail Jeopardy Assessment [PDF 125KB]