To enhance the wildlife habitat along a shoreland or anywhere, restore a diverse mix of native grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. There are many plants to choose from but several of the easiest to find at local nurseries and greenhouses are listed below. Even if you are unable to restore your shoreland all at once, finding places for these and other native plants is a good starting point to help wildlife.

GRASSES

Switch Grass – Panicum virgatum
Switch grass has delicate, airy seedheads that follow any breeze. It can reach a height of 3 to 6 feet depending on the soil moisture available. In the fall, the grass turns a burnished gold, providing color throughout the winter. It prefers full sun and can handle dry to moist soil conditions. In their caterpillar stage, many butterflies, such as the tawny-edged skipper and the Northern pearly eye, rely on switch grass and other grasses for food. Switch grass also provides important nesting habitat for many grassland birds.

Blue Joint Grass – Calamagrostis canadensis
Blue joint grass grows in clumps with finely-textured leaves. It can grow 2 to 4 feet tall, and prefers full sun. It is often found in wet areas, but can tolerate occasional dry conditions. Blue joint grass is a cool season grass that greens up earlier in the spring than most grasses. It is sometimes confused with reed canary grass, an invasive exotic plant, which should never be planted in shorelands.

Tussock Sedge – Carex stricta
Tussock sedge is commonly found in sedge meadows with its slender arching leaves. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and prefers full sun with moist soils. It favors areas with standing water, but will withstand occasionally drying conditions. Many different species of sedges capture nutrients from runoff to feed their growth, helping to protect water quality.

WILDFLOWERS

Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis
Columbine has brilliant red and yellow flowers, providing a splash of color in early summer and drawing hummingbirds like a magnet. Its flower stalks can reach 1 to 3 feet tall, preferring medium to dry soils. Columbine is common along woodland edges and in forests.

New England Aster – Aster novae-angliae
New England aster provides rich magenta to deep purple blossoms every fall, growing 1 to 4 feet tall. It prefers full sun or partial shade, and will grow in medium to wet soils. In their caterpillar stage and as adults, butterflies use asters for food. The seeds also provide food for many songbirds in the fall and winter.

Marsh Milkweed – Asclepias incarnata
Marsh milkweed has pink to magenta flowers and grows 1 to 4 feet tall. It prefers full sun and wet soils, tolerating an occasional flooding. Marsh milkweed is used by the monarch butterfly in all its life stages. Birds also use milkweeds when building their nests. Song sparrows line their nests with the fuzzy white “floss” from seed pods and Baltimore orioles use it in the construction of their hanging nests.

SHRUBS

Red Osier Dogwood – Cornus stolonifera
Red osier dogwood, a native deciduous shrub, provides excellent shoreland protection. It favors wet soils and can grow in sun or partial shade. The plant’s striking red stems are especially attractive in winter against the snow. Grouse, turkey, thrushes, bluebirds, and more favor its distinctive white fruits.

Highbush Cranberry – Viburnum opulus L. subsp. trilobum
Highbush cranberry has showy white flowers that are followed by scarlet fruits that persist into winter, offering food to wildlife. Its leaves turn a deep red to purple in the fall. This very hardy deciduous shrub tolerates wet conditions, and grows in sun to part shade. Grouse, pheasant, and small birds use the plant for cover, and bluebirds, cedar waxwings, cardinals, and others eat the fruit. Stay away from the potentially invasive improved or horticultural varieties of the highbush cranberry.

TREES

Swamp White Oak—Quercus bicolor
The swamp white oak can reach heights of 60 to 70 feet. It is common in wet soils along streams and swamps, and is tolerant of occasional flooding. Its acorns provide an important food source for many animals through the winter, including turkey and white-tailed deer.

Tamarack—Larix laricina
Tamarack is a deciduous conifer, which means it produces new needles every spring. In the fall the needles turn a bright golden color before the tree sheds them. Tamarack can grow to heights of 90 feet. It prefers sunny sites and does not tolerate shade. Tamarack is common in the wet, peaty soils of bogs and swamps, but can also be found in drier upland sites. Sharp-tail grouse, pine siskin and other birds will eat tamarack seeds from its cones. Snowshoe hares will also eat the bark and branches of tamarack.

LOCAL NATIVE PLANT RESOURCES

Brent Hanson, Hanson’s Garden Village

https://www.hansonsgardenvillage.com/

Stoney Creek Gardens

https://www.stoneycreekgardens.com/services-9

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/endangeredresources/nativeplants

Footnotes:

Additional Resources
Landscaping for Wildlife and Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality—Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1-800-657-3757
Life on the Edge: Owning Waterfront Property—(17-minute video) Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, (715) 346-2116
Shoreland Restoration: A Growing Solution—(GWQ032, 15-minute video) UW-Extension Publications, 608-262-3346 or 1-877-947-7827 (toll free)
The Water’s Edge: Helping fish and wildlife on your waterfront property (FH-428-00)—Available from local DNR service centers
Wisconsin Native Plant Sources: Seeds and plants for prairies, woodlands, wetlands, and shorelands—UW-Extension Basin Educator for Natural Resources, Milwaukee & Sheboygan River Basins, (414) 290-2434 http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/native/index.htm

Shoreland Stewardship Series:
This is the third fact sheet in the shoreland stewardship series. The entire series is available from the county UW-Extension offices, Extension Publications (1-877-947-7827), or Wisconsin DNR service centers. It is also available online at http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/shore. A publication of University of Wisconsin-Extension, Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Wisconsin Association of Lakes, and The River Alliance of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources acknowledges the Great Lakes Protection Fund and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region V (through Section 319 of the Water Quality Act) for their involvement in the partial funding of this publication.

©2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved. Text developed by Carmen Wagner, John Haack, and Robert Korth. Photos courtesy of Jeffery Baylis, Robert Korth, J. Nehls, Robert Queen, Jeff Strobel, Carmen Wagner, and DNR file photos. Editing and design by the Environmental Resources Center, UW-Extension.

UWEX PUB-GWQ039
DNR PUB-WT-764 2003
I-06-03-5M-25