Ninety-five scientists will spend 24 hours — many of them working through the night — competing to identify as many species of plants and animals as possible at Milwaukee Public Museum’s ninth annual BioBlitz from June 21-22 at Mequon Nature Preserve.
Surveyors have identified around 1,000 species on average in years past. Last year’s BioBlitz at Havenwoods State Forest featured the first-ever Wisconsin sighting of the crab spider Ozyptila praticola.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
The survey is expected to help the 510-acre Mequon Nature Preserve with its ongoing project of restoring the land to its natural, precolonial state. Its prairies, wetlands and forests are in various stages of restoration, with some areas having begun 20 years ago and others just last year. This weekend will paint a bigger picture of the work that has been done at the nature preserve, illustrating the variety of species that can now thrive in the refreshed environment, says Julia Colby, BioBlitz organizer and MPM’s invertebrate and vertebrate collections manager.
Hosting the event in a residential area aligns with BioBlitz’s mission of teaching the public about biodiversity in places they would “normally walk their dog in and never think twice about,” Colby says. Wisconsin is surprisingly biodiverse.
“It seems like another world, but it could be right in your backyard,” Colby says about the discoveries made each year at BioBlitz.
The scientists start at 3 p.m. on June 21 and wrap up their search at 3 p.m. the following day on June 22. That day, BioBlitz will give a free chance for the public to meet participating scientists and take part in other activities at BioBlitz’s “base camp,” the Mequon Nature Preserve’s main building on County Line Road. Public walks to check out the preserve’s butterflies, birds, dragonflies and fungi will set off from the camp and venture throughout the grounds. Terrain-accessible wheelchairs will be available.
Mariah Rogers, an expert on mycology (fungi) will be available to talk about fairy pins – small parasites that grow on other fungus that Rogers spotted at a previous BioBlitz. If you’re interested in what’s going on underwater, MPM adjunct curator of fishes Mike Pauers will give lessons on the northern sunfish, which are threatened in Wisconsin and can be found at Fox River Sanctuary. Other animal experts this year include birders, spider specialists and more who will teach participants all about Wisconsin wildlife.
Other activities on Saturday include demonstrations from the preserve’s conservation dogs, Tilia and Timber, who are trained to sniff out invasive species, and nature journaling and scientific illustration with Kathy DeVries Designs.
You can learn more about this year’s BioBlitz on MPM’s website.
