Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Air Quality
At one point in the 1970s, fully half of Wisconsin counties failed standards for ozone, total
suspended particulates, and sulfur dioxide. All have gotten better, save for ground-level
ozone—the main ingredient of smog—still found in 11 southeastern counties. The problem
is so severe that southeast Wisconsin was forced by federal law to begin using expensive
reformulated gas in the mid-1990s. (Wisconsinites naturally blamed Chicago for the pollu-
tion.)
Once a grave crisis for northern lakes and forests, acid deposition, known as acid rain
when it falls from the sky, has slowed, largely as a result of strict national legislation en-
acted in the mid-1980s. It's still a problem, however; 90 percent of the pollutants in Lake
Superior come from the air.
Give 'Em Hell
Pick an issue and Wisconsinites will passionately—but politely—be involved, pro or con.
Thelongstandingtraditionofgrassrootsactivisminthestateisaliveandwell,especiallyre-
gardingenvironmentalissues.Buthere'sthegoodpart:Itoftenain'tyourstereotypegrano-
las versus timber cutters. In fact, in many environmental issues, hunters, fishers, and snow-
mobilers work for common ground with heretofore “enemies”—the tree-huggers of Madis-
on.NocoincidencethattheProgressivePartyofFightin'BobLaFollettewasfoundedhere.
Flora
The Eastern Transition and Great Lakes Forest Zones cover most of Wisconsin. Both are
primarily mixed meadow and woodland, a far cry from presettlement periods when 85 per-
cent of the state was covered by forest and the rest by tall grass. By the mid-19th century,
thosenumbershaddippedto63percentforest,28percentsavanna,and9percentgrassland.
Today, the state's forest cover is 37 percent, and precious little of that is original. Of the
two million acres of prairie that once covered the state, only 2,000 scattered acres survive.
In all, Wisconsin has more than 2,100 species of plants, approximately a tenth of which are
classified as rare, and some of them are threatened.
