Open grasslands provide optimal habitat for pocket gophers and thirteen-lined ground squirrels, which along with abundant ground dwelling insects, provides the best habitat in Wisconsin for our state symbol, the badger. Red fox and coyotes also prefer open areas for hunting and resting.   Bird species most often found in the open grassland are upland sandpipers, bluebirds, northern harrier, rough-legged hawks, short-eared owls, vesper sparrows, and sharp-tailed grouse.  Other animals found here include toads, smooth green snakes, hog-nosed snakes, and northern prairie skinks.  Skinks and toads may be rarely seen as they live much of their lives underground, often in the soft soil of recent gopher diggings.  Hog-nosed snakes feed primarily on small mammals and amphibians, especially high on their food preference are toads.  Winter visitors include horned larks, snow buntings, and snowy owls.

The wetlands are critical to maintaining most of the amphibians and several reptile species.  Seasonal wetlands are critical to blue-spotted salamanders, cope's and eastern gray tree frogs for breeding habitats, whereas green frogs, toads, tiger salamanders, painted turtles, and blandings turtles requires more permanent wetlands such as the seepage lakes.   Birds such as spotted sandpipers, great-blue herons, Canada geese, mallards, and sora rails can be found in most wetlands.  Mammals such as beaver, otter, muskrat and mink are also dependent on wetlands.

The above text is from "Plant and Animal Communities of the DCWMA" which is found here.

Grouse image Copyright © 1985-2004 Scott Nielsen