Michigan's Wildlife Action Plan (WAP)

Michigan's amazing diversity of wildlife often is the key element that attracts people to our state to live and to play. The great variety of birds, animals, forests and waters that we have represents a wild heritage of enormous interest and value.

To guide the future of our state's diverse wildlife resources, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources coordinated a two-year strategic planning process aimed at identifying and prioritizing the conservation needs of wildlife and their habitats, especially those species with low or declining populations. Development of Michigan's Wildlife Action Plan was a collective endeavor of Michigan's conservation partners, including state, federal and tribal agencies, local governments, universities, private landowners, conservation organizations and interested individuals.

The history of wildlife conservation and management in Michigan often has focused on game or threatened and endangered species. The result has been a conservation gap with many species -- those in not dire enough circumstances to be endangered but not necessarily abundant either -- receiving little attention. This action plan addresses threats to these species and their habitats in order to conserve the full diversity of Michigan's wildlife.

The action plan identifies species of greatest conservation need, including well-known species such as American woodcock, moose and lake sturgeon; and lesser-known species, such as osprey, Eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Karner blue butterfly, purple wartyback mussel and pugnose minnow.

The action plan provides a framework and information resource that can be used by anyone interested in wildlife conservation, regardless of the size, use, or ownership of the land or water they manage. It covers known threats to a wide range of natural habitats, such as a conifer forests and ponds, as well as those more influenced by humans, such as an agricultural field, and recommends actions to address those threats.

By considering a broad range of wildlife (including mussels, snails, crayfish, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), a broad range of habitats (including rivers, lakes, wetlands, grasslands and forests), and a broad range of scales (including species-level, habitat-level, statewide-level or Great Lakes basin-level), the action plan comprehensively assesses the status of wildlife and their habitats in our state.

Fourteen threats to wildlife and their habitats and six other issues of importance to their conservation were identified by participating conservation partners as statewide priorities. For each, the action plan provides information about how the threat affects Michigan's wildlife and identifies actions needed to address the threat.

Invasive species and fragmentation were repeatedly identified as the highest priority threats to wildlife and their habitats in both aquatic and terrestrial systems throughout Michigan. Other priority threats include: filling, draining and other changes to wetlands; increased levels of sediments in rivers, streams and lakes from erosion and other sources; suppression of fire in natural communities that are dependant on it and difficulties with using prescribed fire as a management tool; and a lack of understanding of life-history patterns of species of greatest conservation need, and how these species are affected by threats and other ecological processes.

Additional issues identified as being important to wildlife in Michigan include: identification and conservation of bird migration routes and stopover sites, migratory obstructions and wintering areas; and addressing urban, municipal and industrial pollution.

Implementation of actions to address priority needs identified and other recommendations in Michigan's Wildlife Action Plan will help to ensure the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the full diversity of our state's wildlife for current and future generations.

For more details, the Executive Summary (<1 MB) can be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) document.