Karner Blue Butterfly
How you can help
Citizens can support the conservation of the Karner blue and its habitat in many ways. You can help recover and protect this species in various ways, from volunteering to restoring habitats on your own property.
Help Monitor Karners
The Wisconsin Karner Volunteer Monitoring Program partners with volunteers from the public to document Karner observations throughout Wisconsin. Our program's goal is to conduct long-term monitoring that aids in tracking the population status, distribution and trends of the Karner blue butterfly. These data add to our long-term data set and aid the DNR in habitat management decisions. Data collected by volunteers is instrumental in allowing us to meet these goals.
Become A Volunteer
We need your help to detect and monitor local Karner populations. Surveys should be focused on 20 counties in Wisconsin, with nine being a high priority (see map). Volunteers submit photo observations via the Wisconsin Karner Volunteer Monitoring Program iNaturalist project.
Follow these steps to become a volunteer
- Watch both training videos
- Read the volunteer manual
- Take the volunteer monitoring training quiz
- Sign and submit the Confidential Form –open in Edge or Internet Explorer; the signature line does not work in Chrome. (You will be added to the email distribution list after the form is received)
Attend A Training
The optional in-person field training day will focus on identification and data submission. All volunteers should have watched the two online training videos and taken the online quiz PRIOR to the field day. We will not go over the online training in detail in the field. Be sure to download the iNaturalist app to your smartphone before arriving, as we will practice uploading data to iNaturalist in the field.
Don't forget to bring
- water
- sunscreen
- appropriate outdoor clothing (closed-toed shoes, hat, etc.)
- notebook to take notes (if preferred), and
- smartphone with the iNaturalist app downloaded from Google Play or Apple App Store. It's best if you create a login account BEFORE the training day.
Training Dates
If you'd like to attend an optional training day, please fill out the Registration Form. Once you've completed the form, you will receive additional information regarding the training day via email.
Conduct Surveys And Report Your Observations
Follow these steps to submit your observations
- Follow the survey protocols in the Volunteer Manual.
- Use the volunteer monitoring datasheet to record your observations.
- Refer to the data submission instructions for help when submitting your observations to the iNaturalist project.
- Record your hours on the volunteer time tracking throughout the field season, and then email it to the Recovery Coordinator once you've completed all your survey-related work.
Karner Identification Resources
- How and where to identify Karners – Karner ID Materials
- Karner Blue Identification
Learn More About The Monitoring Program
Since its inception in 2018, the Volunteer Monitoring Program has compiled our annual efforts with other recovery efforts. Find information on annual counts, population estimates and metapopulation dynamics about Karners in our reports.
Create Or Improve Habitat
Conservation by small, private landowners can go a long way in aiding the Karner blue butterfly. The long-term viability of Karner blue butterfly populations depends on habitat disturbance. Without periodic disturbance, natural woody succession shades out wild lupine and nectar plants and can passively eliminate Karner blue butterfly populations. Check out the resources below to see how you can help Karners on your property.
Landowner Resources
- Common nectar plants for Karner blues
- Plant native plants to help nature
- Saving Wisconsin's pollinators
- Pollinator habitat guides
Funding opportunities
Join A Wisconsin Citizen-Based Monitoring Project
The Aquatic and Terrestrial Resources Inventory is a program within the DNR that collects inventory and monitoring data to better understand Wisconsin's natural resources. Data are obtained through individual projects administered through Community-Based Monitoring projects and statewide surveys.