Riveredge Creek & Ephemeral Pond State Natural Area encompasses a portion of the Riveredge Nature Center, including a stream and pond, near Newburg in Ozaukee County. Primarily recognized for its diverse aquatic/invertebrate life, this natural area eventually connects with the Milwaukee River to the northwest. I often feel that having an SNA embedded within a…
Tag: Fen
Spring Lake (332/693)
Spring Lake State Natural Area contains a seepage lake ringed by a northern wet forest with areas of calcareous fen and shrubs as well. Located just west of the Mauthe Lake State Recreation Area, this 37-acre site is located within the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, just west of the town of…
Rice Lake (323/693)
*experimenting with post format; bear with me* Rice Lake State Natural Area contains the eponymous lake as well as surrounding wetland, sedge meadow, poor fen, and upland islands found within Thunder Lake State Wildlife Area in northeastern Oneida County, just south of Eagle River. The site can be easily accessed from a couple of Wildlife…
Karcher Springs (322/693)
*experimenting with post format; bear with me* Karcher Springs contains wetland and upland natural communities in southern Kenosha County. Located within Karcher State Wildlife Area, the SNA can be easily accessed from a Wildlife Area parking lot on the north side of CTH JB/31st St just west of STH 83. The west side of the…
Spaulding Fen (316/689)
Spaulding Fen is a beautiful, seemingly endless expanse of fen and sedge fen within the Jackson County Forest in central Wisconsin. The site is located just south of STH 54 at its intersection with Spaulding Rd. My access was via Lone Pine Rd on the west side of the natural area. As with previous posts…
Deer Island (315/689)
Deer Island in the Jackson County Forest contains the rare maple swamp natural community. It is located amidst sandy, backcountry roads and cranberry bogs more or less right along Deer Island Rd south of City Point. My friend and I continued our tour of Jackson County SNA’s with a stop at 2 of the 4…
Bear Bluff (314/689)
Bear Bluff features a mixture of wet and dry forests and open wetlands in the Jackson County Forest. Situated within the basin of the former Glacial Lake Wisconsin, Bear Bluff can be accessed via Goodyear Road north of CTH HH. Note that at the time of my visit in 2013, this stretch of road was…
Blueberry Trail (312/688)
Blueberry Trail preserves a floodplain forest along the slow, wide turns of Beaver Creek within the Meadow Valley State Wildlife Area in Juneau County. The site can be accessed from Mulloney Road. No parking areas are present, so this was another pull the car as far off the gravel road as possible situation. There are…
Upper Buckatabon Springs (302/687)
Upper Buckatabon Springs encompasses a variety of wetland habitats including springs, ponds, alder thickets, northern sedge meadow, fen, and tamarack swamp across two parcels in central Vilas County. Access to the western parcel is available directly from CTH K on the south side or 3 Springs Road on the west side. The eastern parcel appears…
Warnimont Bluff Fens (298/686)
Warnimont Bluff Fens represents a rather unusual place to find a fen, on tall bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan. The location is not disclosed by the DNR and will not be here either, but I was allowed some special dispensation by the county. So as not to not tread on the fragile ecosystem, I enjoyed the…
Lost Canoe (280/681)
Lost Canoe includes a nice array of natural communities including northern mesic and dry-mesic forests, fen, and several lakes southwest of Boulder Junction in central Vilas County. A parking area and trailhead are found on the north side of Nebish Lake Road west of Starrett Road. A total of 11 miles of trails loop around…
Germania Wet Prairie (276/681)
Germania Wet Prairie includes a wet to wet-mesic prairie with sedge-meadow- and fen-like areas in central Marquette County, just north of the subject of yesterday’s blog entry, Comstock B0g-Meadow. A DNR parking area is found east of Eagle Road and is accessible via an access lane just north of the intersection of Eagle Road and…
Van Vliet Hemlocks (271/679)
Van Vliet Hemlocks is a newer SNA and features an old-growth hemlock forest with a smattering of bog lakes, fen, kettle depressions, and other wetlands. The larger of two parcels is found on the east side of Van Vliet and Averill Lakes. The DNR describes a parking area at the end of East Van Vliet…
Snake Creek Fen (270/679)
Snake Creek Fen encompasses fen, wet prairie, and sedge meadow communities along a short stretch of Snake Creek in . Put your walking shoes on, so to speak, as this site is 1 mile from the nearest intersection, Swamp Road to the west and Saint Marie Road to the east. Follow the grassy Snake Creek…
Berlin Fen (268/679)
Berlin Fen’s primary features are two fen mounds composed of calcareous peat. This natural area is easily reached with a parking area on the east side of Willard Road, just south of the Mascoutin Valley State Trail. Walk north along the road to the southwestern corner of the site. Berlin Fen is certainly one of…
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin 