Woodland On the Namekagon River

10 Minutes from the St. Croix Pine Barrens

While it is a young forest, the surrounding ecosystem is supportive of a thriving habitat with sightings of ruffed grouse, black bears, bobcats, wolves, coyotes, Blanding’s turtle (threatened), northern flying squirrels (special concern), and fireflies (a unique type that I’ve never encountered before). With many large, felled trees from a decade-old storm, the woodland is rich with lichen, clubmoss (a fern ally), bracken, mushrooms, red pine, white oak, (also oak hybrids, perhaps), American hornbeam, paper birch, and aspen. Except for the hand-cut trails and new clearing for a driveway and future studio, the lot has not been altered in many years. Perhaps a hundred or more large trees are breaking down on this small lot, which contributes to its habitat, bountiful in plants common to the area — and a few species of concern.

This woodland lot is surrounded by county forest and abuts NPS land along the Namekagon River, a federally-protected Wild & Scenic River, which also influences its ecosystem. Possibly because of its unique enclosure, I have yet to discover any significant invasive species. The lot is just a few miles from the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area (NBWA), a globally rare Pine and Oak Barrens with ecological importance that supports oak grubs, sweet fern, blueberry, forbs, and an open bog with elements of Poor Fen. Though my lot has quite a different from the landscape of the SNA, I wonder what elements it might have in common and sometimes field trip to compare.