Incidental Take Notice For Juneau County

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to issue a permit for the incidental taking of a rare snake, which may result from the Marini MFL Timber Harvest. Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the species' overall population at risk.

Thomas Marini proposes to conduct timber harvesting activities within 38 acres of massasauga habitat but would improve the habitat within those 38 acres through enhancement and restoration in management of the timbered stands. Management of the parcel will enhance savanna habitat, maintain, and expand open canopy habitat and create corridors between habitat areas.

The presence of the state endangered and federally threatened eastern massasauga is confirmed in the vicinity of the project site. DNR staff determined that the proposed project may result in the incidental taking of some snakes.  This permit would cover any incidental take for the state listing and would not cover any incidental take for the federal listing.

The DNR concludes that the proposed project is not likely to appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival or recovery of the species within the state, the whole plant-animal community of which it is a part of or the habitat that is critical to its existence.

Conservation measures to minimize the adverse effect on the endangered species will be incorporated into the proposed Incidental Take Permit. Copies of the jeopardy assessment and background information on the eastern massasauga rattlesnake are available by visiting the DNR Incidental Take Public Notices webpage or upon request from DNR Conservation Biologist Rori Paloski at 608-516-3742 or rori.paloski@wi.gov.

The public is encouraged to submit written comments regarding project-related impacts to the eastern massasauga rattlesnake by Aug. 23, 2022 to:

Department of Natural Resources
c/o Rori Paloski, DNR Conservation Biologist
101 S. Webster St. Madison, WI 53707
rori.paloski@wisconsin.gov or 608-516-3742