Wisconsin's Natural Communities: How to Recognize Them, Where to Find Them [Hardcover]

Randy Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2002

    Cattails grow in a marsh, pitcher plants grow in a bog, jewelweed grows in a swamp, right? Do sandhill cranes live among sandy hills? Frogs live near lakes and ponds, but can they live on prairies, too? What is a pine barrens, an oak opening, a calcareous fen?
    Wisconsin’s Natural Communities is an invitation to discover, explore, and understand Wisconsin’s richly varied natural environment, from your backyard or neighborhood park to stunning public preserves. Part 1 of the book explains thirty-three distinct types of natural communities in Wisconsin—their characteristic trees, beetles, fish, lichens, butterflies, reptiles, mammals, wildflowers—and the effects of geology, climate, and historical events on these habitats. Part 2 describes and maps fifty natural areas on public lands that are outstanding examples of these many different natural communities: Crex Meadows, Horicon Marsh, Black River Forest, Maribel Caves, Whitefish Dunes, the Blue Hills, Avoca Prairie, the Moquah Barrens and Chequamegon Bay, the Ridges Sanctuary, Cadiz Springs, Devil’s Lake, and many others.
    Intended for anyone who has a love for the natural world, this book is also an excellent introduction for students. And, it provides landowners, public officials, and other stewards of our environment with the knowledge to recognize natural communities and manage them for future generations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Randy Hoffman is a natural-areas management specialist with the Bureau of Endangered Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A past president of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, he was the first person in Wisconsin to record sightings of more than 300 species of birds in one calendar year. He lives in Waunakee.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (July 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299170802
• ISBN-13: 978-0299170806
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,971,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wisconsin's Natural Communities, January 21, 2006

By 

Joy May Buslaff - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wisconsin's Natural Communities: How to Recognize Them, Where to Find Them (Paperback)

For almost 30 years I have longed to be capable of "reading the landscape," to comprehend what I see and understand how it came to be where it is today. At this point, I am fluent only in the passages of my own neighborhood, but Randy Hoffman's book offers a good opportunity for me-or you-to learn to read the land beyond the immediate horizon. Hoffman's interpretational guide defines 33 of our state's natural communities by their attendant trees, beetles, fish, lichens, butterflies, reptiles, mammals and flowers. To round out the picture, he superimposes the effects of geology, climate and history on each of these ecosystems. He goes on to profile 50 areas you can visit that are the best examples of our natural communities.

My husband and I have used this book as a reference in restoring native plant landscapes. The book also provides lesson plans for teachers. How could you be a landscaper, teacher, or tourist in Wisconsin without this book?