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Wisconsin

We hope this page serves as a landing pad for learning about amphibians, reptiles, and their conservation. The resources featured were compiled by members of the MW PARC Advisory Board with input from other professionals working in amphibian and reptile conservation and management.
If links or information are out of date, please let us know!

State species

Wisconsin does not yet have a state reptile or amphibian. It does have more than 50 species of herps to choose from, including  the Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer).

SpringPeeper2_Youngquist.JPG

Field guides and species accounts

Wisconsin Amphibian and Reptile Field Guides. Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources.

Herps of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources.

Checklist of Wisconsin's Amphibians and Reptiles. Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources. 

Conservation and management

Wisconsin Wildlife Action Plan. This plan focuses on rare and declining species and their habitats, including several species of amphibians and reptiles. The action plan will be updated for 2025.

Wisconsin Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Fund. Grants from this fund help support projects related to the conservation, education, research, and monitoring of Wisconsin's native amphibians and reptiles. 

Regulations

Herptile Regulations. All native amphibians and reptiles in Wisconsin have some level of protection. This resource helps identify state regulations for these taxa. 

Community science and local organizations

Madison Area Herpetological Society (Facebook Page). This organization educates enthusiasts and the public about amphibians and reptiles. 

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Herpetology Society. The goal of this society is to educate members and the community about the biology and husbandry of amphibians and reptiles.

Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey. This is a monitoring program coordinated by the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program. Volunteers are welcome!

Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program. This program is coordinated by the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources. Volunteers work to catalog species distributions and document areas of high turtle mortality. 

Milwaukee Public Museum BioBlitz. These events are organized so that the public can interact with scientists who are working to catalog species diversity within a narrow period of time. 

Technical literature

Casper, G. S., and Anton, T. G. 2013. Current scientific and standard common names of Wisconsin amphibians and reptiles. Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (PDF). 

Watermolen, D. J. 2013. Wisconsin herpetology, 2001 - 2010, a bibliography with taxonomic, geographic, and subject indices. Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (PDF)

Watermolen, D. J. 2014. Parasites and disease-causing organisms reported from Wisconsin amphibians and reptiles. Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (PDF)

Watermolen, D. J. 2016. Wisconsin herpetology, 2011 - 2015, with an addendum to previous compilations. (PDF)

Museum collections

University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum. Specimens in this collection include taxa from Wisconsin as well as from around the world. 

 

Milwaukee Public Museum. The Vertebrate Zoology collection includes specimens from as early in 1840. 

 

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Richter Museum of Natural History. This collection focuses on the Great Lakes Region, but also includes specimens from throughout the Americas and Eurasia. It includes 800 reptile and amphibian specimens. 

 

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