Environment

The threat of chronic wasting disease to Wisconsin's booming whitetail deer herd is motivating efforts to track and research its spread, but this deadly ailment also imperils efforts to reintroduce wild elk to the state.
Large livestock and poultry farms generate complaints for the stenches they can produce. But do any stink more than the others?
Wisconsin scientists are hopeful that a raccoon virus may help deliver North America's hibernating bats from potential extinction.
How can all of the state's tiny, elusive nocturnal flyers be counted? That's not possible. But the downward spiral of several bat species in Wisconsin can be tracked through the work of passionate conservation professionals, specialized technology and, crucially, legions of enthusiastic volunteers.
Over the last few years, bridges and roads have washed away during flash floods across Wisconsin. But how can engineers tackle the problem in order to prevent this kind of infrastructure damage in the future?
A handful of North American bat species that were once common in Wisconsin are possibly heading toward extinction, or at least disappearance from the state.
How can livestock odors be measured and quantified in a systematic and fair way? Is it even possible to break down an odor into its component parts, or to identify an acceptable odor threshold? It turns out these questions are the subject of rigorous scientific research.
A state statute explicitly protects agricultural operators from all but the most serious nuisance lawsuits brought by neighbors. It's known as Wisconsin's "right-to-farm" law.
The connection between Wisconsin's rivers and the wetlands that feed them has become increasingly tenuous. Its consequences for human communities come into clearer focus when heavy rains transform streams and rivers into forces of wanton destruction.
The vast majority of what happens under the surface of lakes goes unrecorded, meaning potentially important ecological stories are often lost to history.