OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is at the center of a dispute over the removal of native plants on campus, with faculty, students, and community members raising concerns about biodiversity and academic use of the natural spaces.

The university says it is relocating the plants, not removing them, according to a press release. But Paul Van Auken, a UWO sociology and environmental studies professor who started a petition to prevent such a move, disputes that characterization, pointing to a plot of prairie that was recently mowed down rather than relocated.

"Natural spaces are being mowed down, plants being removed, and ideas circulating that there's going to be a complete redo of the campus landscape to look more like a golf course or something like that," Van Auken said.

Environmental studies professor Misty McPhee said a golf course-style lawn would be detrimental to campus biodiversity. She compared the biodiversity of mowed grass to a cookie-cutter strip mall seen in every downtown, while native wildflowers, she said, are more like downtown Manhattan — home to a plethora of bugs, birds, and wildlife.

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UW-Oshkosh native plant removal sparks biodiversity debate

McPhee also raised concerns about a chilling effect on faculty speech surrounding the issue.

"A colleague of mine who isn't tenured was scared to death. She emailed me and said, my classes depend on these gardens, but I can't say anything because she's worried about retaliation," McPhee said.

UWO undergraduate Elizabeth Frohn Hengst said the native plants serve as a hands-on classroom for multiple disciplines.

"As an environmental student, we use them for teaching. Not only like within our groups, but when other groups like biology, anthropology, geography, want to learn about them and what they mean to our environment," Frohn Hengst said.

The university argues that environmental stewardship and responsible facilities management can work together, and that sustainability remains a guiding principle of campus landscape management.

The university declined an interview, directing inquiries to a previous press release. The university also indicated that more information would be released soon.

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