Upcoming training is available for landowners, land managers, and the public on rare plant monitoring methods that are part of a regional monitoring effort. The Plants of Concern monitoring program was developed by the Chicago Botanic Garden and collects annual information on rare plant populations in southeast Wisconsin, northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. In southeast Wisconsin, the Plants of Concern monitoring program uses volunteers at Chiwaukee Prairie in Kenosha County and Lulu Lake in Walworth County to monitor over 20 rare plant species.

The monitoring program helps identify threats, such as invasive species, that may have a negative impact on the populations. This information is passed on to land managers who are responsible for the ecological management of these two Wisconsin State Natural Areas. This year, the program invites private landowners who have rare species on their properties to participate in this annual monitoring program.

A list of Wisconsin's rare plants can be found on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Website by clicking here.

The time commitment for volunteers is very flexible. Volunteers electing to monitor only one population can spend as few as two hours per season. All volunteers are paired with an experienced partner so no botanic background is required.

A Plants of Concern volunteer training workshop will be held at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside on Saturday, April 17th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. There is no fee for the workshop, but registration is required.

The workshop is open to the general public, private landowners, and land managers. For more information or to register contact [email protected]. For more information about the Plants of Concern program visit plantsofconcern.org.