White River Prairie/Tamaracks features sizable wet prairie and tamarack bog communities along the White River in northwestern Green County west of Berlin.  Found within the White River Marsh State Wildlife Area, there are ample parking areas in the general vicinity.  The two nearest this natural area are located on the south side of CTH E near the west end of the SNA and the south side of South Road near the east end.

My first visit entailed parking near the west end.  Here the area around the parking area is forested and generally slopes toward the river.  My visit on this day was cut short by the steady rainfall that began as I arrived.  Rain is always one hindrance, but clouds are not preferable for this photographer.  I finally returned last month and explored the east side. Here the access is not as easy as it would appear from the satellite.  Entering the prairie, one encounters a veritable tussuck minefield.  Spotted Joe-pye weed, marsh bellflower, Epilobium spp., goldenrods, orange jewelweed, and common sneezeweed were the dominant flowering species in the prairie here.  Butterfly and odonate life was quite active as well including monarchs, silvery checkerspots, and American rubyspots.  The White River was quite photogenic with its numerous oxbows and seemingly ribbon-like channels cutting through the prairie landscape.  The site is also home to a large tamarack bog which I hope to explore on a future visit, though as of the writing of this post, I haven’t nailed down its exact location.  The bog may be on the south side of the river which would require paddling in from up/down river to access.

Wet Prairie

American Rubyspot

Silvery Checkerspot

Monarch

Wet Prairie

Monarch caterpillar

White River

More of my photos (and full-res) from White River Prairie/Tamaracks can be viewed here.

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