Butler’s Gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) in Wisconsin: Population and Habitat Viability Assessment The Stakeholder Workshop 5 – 8 February, 2007 Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Workshop Design and Facilitation: IUCN / SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group Workshop Organization: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources WORKSHOP REPORT Photos courtesy of Wisconsin Bureau of Endangered Resources. A contribution of the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources / Bureau of Endangered Resources. Hyde, T., R. Paloski, R. Hay, and P. Miller (eds.) 2007. Butler’s Gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) in Wisconsin: Population and Habitat Viability Assessment – The Stakeholder Workshop Report. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Apple Valley, MN. 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April 2007 Butler’s Gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) in Wisconsin: Population and Habitat Viability Assessment The Stakeholder Workshop 5 – 8 February, 2007 Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Contents I Executive Summary...........................................................................................3 II Workshop Participants and Preliminary List of Challenges............................11 III Butler’s Gartersnake Population Viability Analysis........................................17 IV Working Group Report: Site Characterization and Prioritization....................51 V Working Group Report: Biological Aspects of Habitat Management.............63 VI Working Group Report: Socio-economic Aspects of Habitat Management ...73 VII Working Group Report: Population Management...........................................85 VIII Working Group Report: Communications and Outreach ................................93 IX Appendices Conservation Target Setting: Post PHVA Workshop Meeting.....................101 Population Viability Analysis and Simulation Modeling ..............................107 IUCN Position Statement on Translocation of Living Organisms ................113 Butler’s Gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) in Wisconsin: Population and Habitat Viability Assessment The Stakeholder Workshop 5 – 8 February, 2007 Milwaukee County, Wisconsin I Executive Summary Butler’s Gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) in Wisconsin: Population and Habitat Viability Assessment The Stakeholder Workshop Executive Summary Introduction The Butler’s gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) is the smallest of the five species of gartersnake found in Wisconsin. The snake requires both moderately open upland and wetland habitats. In Wisconsin, the species is primarily found in the greater Milwaukee area including parts of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha Counties; a small population is also located in Fond du Lac and Sheboygan Counties (Figure 1). Wisconsin Butler’s gartersnakes have been confirmed at approximately 51 sites since 1990. These populations are isolated from other Butler’s populations in Indiana, Michigan, northwestern Ohio, and Ontario. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) listed this species as Threatened in 1997, because of extremely high levels of habitat fragmentation and habitat loss within its range. The threat of hybridization at its southern edge with the plains gartersnake (Thamnophis radix) was also a factor in its listing. Although the species can be found in degraded and disturbed sites, the biological problems associated with fragmentation can be sever and often lead to the extinction of local populations. As local extinctions accumulate, the very survival of the species in Wisconsin hangs in the balance. At the same time, the future of this species must be considered in the context of a rapidly expanding human population in the greater Milwaukee area. In this context, it is vitally important to strike a balance between the ecological requirements of the snake and a responsible economic development plan for the region that promotes controlled growth in appropriate sections of the landscape. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources developed the Butler’s Gartersnake Conservation Strategy in 2004 – 2005, that assembled the latest information on its biology and threats. The strategy defines criteria to evaluate a site’s conservation value based on the size and quality of the entire habitat patch. Each site is classified within a 3-tiered system, with protection measures identified for each tier. The agency recognized this document as a “work in progress”. The time has now come to incorporate the most current science into the strategy, in a way that involves stakeholders to a greater extent using a workshop process for decision-making and action planning. Specifically, inclusion of a formal population viability analysis (PVA) for the species and a more formal deliberative process of decision- making and action planning have been seen as priorities for a revised Strategy. Figure 1. Distribution of Butler’s gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri) in Wisconsin. Butler’s Gartersnake Stakeholder Workshop