Gary S. Casper
UWM Field Station, gscasper@uwm.edu
The Wisconsin Herp Atlas is a distribution database of amphibians and reptiles in Wisconsin. The author initiated the Atlas in 1986 at the Milwaukee Public Museum, with the cooperative support of the Natural Heritage Inventory Program (WDNR) and The Nature Conservancy (Wisconsin Chapter). The Atlas collects and verifies records obtained from museum collections, field surveys, the literature, and field notes provided by volunteer observers throughout the state.
Over 600 new county records have been confirmed by the project. The data collected helps to map species distributions, document rare species occurrences, analyze distribution and habitat associations, and plan conservation priorities. In 2007 the Atlas was moved to the UWM Field Station, and currently houses over 73,000 occurrence records for Wisconsin. Record collection and vetting continued in 2015, and 62 new county distribution records were published.