Prairies are made up of mostly grasses, sedges (grasslike plants), and other flowering plants called forbs (e.g. coneflowers, milkweed).
Can you name the four main habitats of Wisconsin? Check out this page to get to know our natural areas and start exploring!


Forests are more than just trees. They are a complex community of plants and animals that constantly change, grow, and interact with each other and the nutrient-bearing soils upon which they depend.…

Wisconsin - the word is thought to refer to a running river, which makes sense because lakes and rivers make up a large part of Wisconsin's natural resources.

Historically, wildfires played a very important role in shaping prairies. Fire keeps forest plants from taking over and allows the soil to warm up quickly, making the prairie plants grow back faster…

Early explorers called Wisconsin "the Great Swamp," since the territory was covered with ten million acres of wetlands - lands where water stands for at least part of the year. Wetland ecosystems are…

Wisconsin - the word is thought to refer to a running river, which makes sense because lakes and rivers make up a large part of Wisconsin's natural resources.