Change in the urban-rural ecotone

Abstract

Conversion of the rural Wisconsin landscape from farms to housing poses serious wildlife management and utilization problems. The problems are aggravated by the unregulated and unplanned nature of the land use changes. Purchase of farms for future development often results in removal of the entire farm from crop production. Occasionally the choicest tillable acres are rented or leased to a neighboring farmer, but even so, the remaining land is allowed to lie fallow and undergo old field succession. In a few cases pine plantations or wildlife food patches may be established or a pond constructed.