Necedah Oak-Pine Savanna includes barrens and northern dry forest communities within the confines of the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in northern Juneau County and is one of two SNA’s within the refuge. The site, southwest of the Sprague-Mather Flowage, is most easily accessed via Bewick Trail, a gravel road. Note that some Refuge roads are sporadically closed by flooding and you may or may not be able to reach this area depending on the time of year and recent weather conditions or access may require a lengthy detour as there are few east-west routes across the refuge.
The two natural areas within the Refuge, Necedah Oak-Pine Savanna and Necedah Oak-Pine Forest (next blog post), are similar in their composition and arguably are both more savanna than forest. They probably could have been combined into one natural area, but for reasons I am not aware of, they are considered separate. I have stopped at this site twice, but both times was precluded from significant progress by higher than anticipated water levels on the site. The bulk of the savanna is some distance from the nearest road and is bounded by ditches in some areas and wetlands in others. Coupled with visits at less than ideal times of year, this is a site that I would like to give at least one more shot to really see in greater detail than I have to this point. The surrounding refuge is a great location for birding and wildlife observation. Deer and sandhill cranes abounded as I made my way along the various gravel roads. Here’s hoping for a sunnier day next time…
More of my photos (and full-res) from Necedah Oak-Pine Savanna can be viewed here.
400 more blog posts to go! Well, actually a few more than that remain; counting SNA’s delisted since I started and a few SNA’s to be designated, the current total is 687, though hopefully, that will increase!
If you would like to help support this project, please consider a donation. There are many SNA’s yet to visit and even more to revisit and I ultimately plan to put this together in the form of a book. Thank you!
Additional Information
| SNA # | 7 |
| County | Juneau |
| Natural Communities / Geology | Barrens, Northern Dry Forest |
| Size (Acres) | 328 |
| Parking | Roadside (Gravel) |
| Trails | No |
| Easy to Find | Yes |
| Best Seen By | Foot |
| Marked Boundaries | No |
| Ownership | US Fish & Wildlife Service; |
| Located Within | |
| Dates Visited | 5.25.13 / 8.17.13 |
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State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 
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