NATURAL AREAS

About 5,000 acres of nearly pristine northern forests, pine barrens, wetlands, and bogs in Douglas County have been permanently preserved as State Natural Areas.  The areas were designated through work done by the county's Forestry Department and the state Department of Natural Resources.  The designated areas include:

	Beldon Swamp is a huge wetland straddling the divide between two major watersheds.  It forms the headwaters of the Spruce River, which flows south into the Mississippi River watershed, and the Black River, which flows north into the Lake Superior drainage basin.  The wetland complex contains the largest remaining undisturbed open bog in Wisconsin.  The large size, isolated location, and roadless aspect provide excellent habitat for the resident pack of timber wolves.  Also present are four rare species - LeConte's sparrow, yellow-bellied flycatcher, northern harrier, and the Jutta Arctic butterfly.
	Located on end moraine, Black Lake Bog contains a vast, inaccessible, undisturbed wetland complex of bog lake, open bog, and northern wet forest, a community poorly represented in the younger drift-west zone.  The bog and Black Lake form the headwaters of the Black River.  Wildlife found on the tract includes waterfowl, great blue heron, beaver, and short-eared owl, which may nest in the bog.  The area is also within the territory of a pack of timber wolves.
	The Bois-Brule River is an outstanding south-shore stream of Lake Superior, flowing north in the former south-flowing outlet of Glacial Lake Duluth.  Numerous small springs and several large spring ponds occur upstream and downstream of the natural area.  Bird life is exceptionally varied.  Such uncommon species as olive-sided flycatcher, golden-crowned kinglet, Lincoln's sparrow, saw-shet owl, and black-backed woodpecker nest here regularly.
	Buckley Creek and Barrens contains an extensive pine/oak barrens with surrounding wetlands including northern sedge meadow, northern wet forest, alder thicket, streams, and spring pond.  Both the barrens and wetlands are structurally diverse and rich in species.  Numerous butterfly species can be found here including four rare Wisconsin species:  the dusted skipper, cobweb skipper, Henry's elfin, and Gorgone checkerspot.  Birds include the clay-colored sparrow, brown thrasher, field sparrow, Brewer's blackbird, Nashville warbler, and the Connecticut warbler, a species of special concern.  Osprey and bald eagle have also been found here.
	Located at the confluence of the Pokegama and St. Louis River near Lake Superior, Dwight's Point and Pokegama Wetlands feature boreal forest, emergent marsh, and wet clay flats supporting shrub swamp and wet meadow.  The natural area borders the St. Louis River estuary, which dissects the uplands into a series of narrow, steep-sided ridges, the largest of which is Dwight's Point.  Resident birds include many species associated with mature conifer forests, such as Blackburnian, black-throated green, Cape May, and pine warblers.  Rare plants found here include the threatened sweet colt's-foot, endangered clustered bur-reed, and small yellow water crowfoot.
	Erickson Creek Forest and Wetlands harbors a rich combination of natural communities with a diverse composition of species.  Erickson Creek forms the western boundary of the natural area before joining the Amnicon River on its journey to Lake Superior.  Eighteen rare species have been identified in the natural area, including several birds, butterflies, and plants.  This is the only known location in the state for the titania fritillary.
	Nemadji River Floodplain Forest, along the banks of the Nemadji River, supports a type of forest unusual in composition and perhaps unique in the state.  Floodplain forests are very rare along rivers flowing north into Lake Superior, most being located along major rivers emptying into the Mississippi or Lake Michigan.  Resident birds include the common raven, Nashville warbler, northern waterthrush, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, hermit, and wood thrush, and rose breasted grosbeak.  Nemadji River Floodplain Forest is owned by Douglas County as a County Forest Special Use Area.
	Situated on the rolling glacial outwash sand plain that extends from Burnett to Bayfield Counties, Solon Springs Sharp-tail Barrens features a large pine barrens with widely scattered clumps of jack pine, Hill's oaks, bur oak grubs, and occasional red pine.  Maintained by fire, the barrens are one of the best sharp-tailed grouse habitats in Wisconsin.  Bird life is dominated by species, which require extensive open landscapes, including the rare sharp-tailed grouse, upland sandpiper warbler, and Tennessee warbler.
	The Upper Brule River, a reach of the Bois-Brule Rier, meanders sluggishly through a bog surrounded by a wide zone of alders.  Bird life is very diverse, with records for several species of concern:  yellow-bellied flycatcher, evening grosbeak, gray jay, Connecticut warbler, and black-backed woodpecker.  The zebra clubtail, an uncommon dragonfly, cruises this stretch of the river.  The greatest threat to the area is the winter concentrations of deer, which have limited tree and shrub reproduction since the 1940's.

State natural areas dedicate sites offering prime examples of native plant and animal communities that have largely escaped the influence of human settlement.  These places are often the last refuges for rare and endangered plants and animals.  Official dedication as a state natural area permanently protects the parcels for scientific research, teaching of conservation biology, and preservation of their natural values for future generations.  The Wisconsin's State Natural Area Program is the oldest of this kind in the nation having begun in 1951.