Door County BioBlitz

Join us at Europe Bay Woods on Saturday June 26th (Rain or Shine)

Our first Great Lakes State Natural Area BioBlitz will take place within Newport State Park, one of Wisconsin's most beautiful park lands.

Meet at Hotz Park, located within Newport State Park where Europe Bay Road dead-ends into Lake Michigan.  (Click here for a Google Map of the basecamp location.) 

Parking is limited, please plan accordingly.  We expect that people will have to park along Europe Bay Road, this is not a frequently travelled route, but as always, please use caution.  Park stickers are not required for this event and there are no fees.

Restroom facilities, water and shelter are free and available at the site, but please dress for the weather and bring bug spray, sun screen and your own food or snacks.  Cell phone coverage is very spotty at the site, but base camp will be well staffed between 5:30am and 6:30pm if you have friends stopping by or would like to just drop in and stay for a short while.  The Kids Activity Area will be operating after 8am and include fun family activities with State Park naturalists and educators all day.

About the Site:  Europe Bay Woods State Natural Area is an undeveloped isthmus between Lake Michigan and Europe Lake featuring over a mile of Great Lakes dune and beach communities, red pine groves, boreal forest, and northern dry-mesic and mesic forest. The isthmus, once the ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan, was created through wave action resulting in sand and gravel deposition and today contains northern dry-mesic forest dominated by red pine and red oak with scattered hemlock, beech, and red maple.

Rare species include the federally threatened dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris), giant pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea), crawe sedge (Carex craweii), Cape May warbler (Dendroica tigrina), and black-throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens). Europe Bay Woods is owned by the DNR and was designated State Natural Area #379 in 2002.

Come for a Few Hours or Stay for the Day:  Our Door County BioBlitz will run approximately twelve hours, from 6am to 6pm.  Short, guided data collection trips will be scheduled hourly throughout the day.  No matter when you come or how long you stay, you'll find great opportunities to go out and learn about Door County's biodiversity.  Currently scheduled survey trips include:

• Birds

• Vascular and Non-Vascular Plants

• Invasive Plants

• Mammals

• Bats* (See below about this special Friday night survey)
  

• Insects

• Spiders 

• Dragonflies/Damselflies

• Butterflies

• Aquatic Invertebrates

• Trees

• Frogs, Toads & Salamanders

• Reptiles

• Mushrooms/Fungi

*As part of the BioBlitz on June 26th, Ridges Sanctuary is holding a special "Bats of Door County" field trip on Friday night, June 25th. Learn about bat ecology, see bats emerge at dusk, and watch a ""bat detector"" in action - using sonogram & acoustic devices for identification & monitoring. Learn about White-nosed Syndrome, a devastating disease that threatens 5 species of WI bats. See how you can get involved in bat monitoring and help us identify species for our Door County BioBlitz.

This is a fundraiser for bat conservation projects in WI and is limited to 25 people.  The trip carries a fee of  $20/person, pay by cash or check at the trip.  Register for the Bats of Door County Field Trip today by calling Marne Kaeske at Ridges Sanctuary, 920-839-2802, or by emailing her at:  marne@ridgessanctuary.org.  Meet at Hotz Park where Europe Bay Road dead-ends at Lake Michigan near Newport State Park.  8:30pm - 10:15pm.

Special Kids and Family Activities:  Environmental educators from Newport State Park and Ridges Sanctuary will be on hand to introduce conservation science to families and young children through fun, fast and easy activities and the Peninsula School of Art will have a special "found object" art project for all participants.

Special Presentations at Basecamp:  Not interested in field trips?  We'll have several guest speakers scheduled to give short talks under the tent a basecamp.  Currently scheduled are:

• 8:15 am:  Matthew Frank, Secretary of Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources

• 11am:  Roy Lukes, Author and Door County Naturalist

• 1pm:  Jack Travis, Geologist and President of the Newport Wilderness Society

• 3pm:  The Green Living Project - A Multimedia Presentation on Sustainability
  

A “basecamp” tent, where scientists can set up their microscopes and examine collected specimens and members of the public can gather to go out on hourly “inventory excursions” with leaders will be set up inside the park at Ferdinand Hotz Park where Europe Bay Road dead-ends into Lake Michigan.

Register Today, It's Free!  Whether you have no experience or a PhD, the Foundation is eager to have you join one of our Great Lakes State Natural Area BioBlitzes.  These family-friendly events welcome anyone with a desire to work and learn side-by-side with scientists at three of Wisconsin's premiere conservation areas. 

Click Here for Free Registration

Call or Email Us: Jeffrey Potter, Special Projects Coordinator, jeffrey.potter@wisconsin.gov or 608-261-4392

Thanks to Our Partners:  Our partners include the Wisconsin DNR, the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, the Newport Wilderness Society, Peninsula School of Art, Ridges Sanctuary and the Friends of Wisconsin's State Parks.