The Wetland Gems® of Northwest Wisconsin

Explore the map below to learn more about the ten Wetland Gems® sites in the Northwest Region of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Wetlands Association

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1

Belden Swamp

County: Douglas

Property Owner: Douglas County

Belden Swamp is a large, undisturbed, acid peatland that straddles the divide between the Mississippi River and Lake Superior watersheds in Douglas County. The swamp forms the headwaters of both the Spruce River, which flows southwest to the St. Croix River, and the Black River, which flows north to Lake Superior. This wetland complex features the largest remaining undisturbed open bog in Wisconsin and is part of one of the largest roadless blocks in the state. The open bog is surrounded by extensive coniferous bog and some areas of fen and alder thickets. Vegetation varies throughout the site, likely reflecting varied subsurface drainage patterns. Numerous rare plant and animal species thrive in these remote, high-quality wetlands, including the bog copper, bog fritillary, purple lesser fritillary, and Jutta arctic. Rare and unusual mammals include timber wolf and moose.

2

Black Lake Bog

County: Douglas

Property Owner: Douglas County

Black Lake Bog is a vast and remote acid peatland spanning the Wisconsin-Minnesota border in Douglas County. This large lake and associated wetland complex of open bog, coniferous bog, alder thicket, and sedge meadow form the headwaters of the Black River, which flows north to the Nemadji River and eventually into Lake Superior. The shallow Black Lake has a maximum depth of four feet and a muck bottom. Several thousand acres of undisturbed, high-quality wetlands surrounding the lake are part of one of the largest roadless blocks in the state. Bog habitats at the site are blanketed by sphagnum mosses. Open bog habitats are dominated by leatherleaf while coniferous bog habitats are characterized by dense stands of spruce with some tamarack. Because of its wild character, this Wetland Gem® provides important habitat for a variety of wildlife, including beaver, moose, and timber wolves. Black Lake Bog supports a variety of birds, including the yellow-bellied flycatcher (found where spruce tree cover is dense). 

For information about how to access this site,  visit the Black Lake Bog page of the State Natural Areas website .

3

Blomberg Lake

County: Burnett

Property Owner: Wisconsin DNR

This Wetland Gem® features a northern bog lake surrounded by a few hundreds of acres of coniferous bog and other wetland habitats within the Amsterdam Sloughs State Wildlife Area. The site is part of a sandy glacial plain that was once the bottom of a huge glacial lake occupying the area 10,000 years ago. The small (68-acre), shallow Blomberg Lake has a maximum depth of four feet and is covered in some areas by marsh vegetation. Marsh habitats on the lake are characterized by white and yellow water lily and large-leaved pondweed. The ground layer changes moving away from the lakeshore towards the upland edge of these wetlands, shifting to plants like blue joint grass, drooping wood reed, bristly sedge, woolly fruit sedge, yellow blue bead lily, sweet gale, marsh skullcap, and American starflower. Blomberg Lake supports abundant and rich wildlife. Migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, in particular, are attracted to these high-quality wetlands. Birds common here include ring-necked duck, common yellowthroat, and common loon. A number of trumpeter swans, a species that has been the focus of intensive recovery efforts, also use these wetlands.

4

Blueberry Swamp

County: Douglas

Property Owner: Douglas County

Blueberry Swamp comprises more than 500 acres of high-quality forested wetlands within the Douglas County Forest adjacent to the Brule River State Forest. Blueberry Creek, headwater to the Brule River, drains the mineral-rich eastern portion of the swamp. The site is relatively undisturbed and features one of the best lowland hardwood swamps in all of northern Wisconsin. Blueberry Swamp’s value comes from its size, high quality, and diversity as well as its role in providing clean water to the Brule River, one of the state’s top trout streams. This Wetland Gem® features an extensive lowland hardwood swamp dominated by black ash. Other canopy trees include white cedar, yellow birch, paper birch, and red maple. Under the canopy, alder, red osier dogwood, highbush cranberry, and winterberry shrubs thrive. The swamp has high structural diversity, including some large trees, standing snags, woody debris, tip-up mounds, and pools of standing water up to half a foot deep. This wetland complex provides important habitat for numerous rare plants, including a variety of orchids. Blueberry Swamp also supports a diversity of wildlife, including a number of rare species. Birds include yellow-bellied flycatcher and blue-headed vireo.

5

Brule Glacial Spillway

County: Douglas

Property Owner: Wisconsin DNR

This riverine Wetland Gem® comprises more than 2,500 acres of diverse, high-quality wetlands within Brule River State Forest. Here, the upper Brule River meanders through the extensive coniferous swamp, coniferous bog, alder thicket, shrub swamp, and sedge meadow. Groundwater connections at the site are illustrated by numerous groundwater seeps and spring runs that deliver clean, cool water to these wetlands and the river. The site remains in nearly pre-settlement conditions, with some areas of old-growth, because the wet and sloped ground conditions discouraged logging that was once common in surrounding areas. The Brule Glacial Spillway features one of the best examples of undisturbed alder thicket in the state. This Wetland Gem® supports a diversity of birds and several rare insects, including the Jutta arctic butterfly and the ski-tailed emerald and zebra clubtail dragonflies. Many amphibians are associated with the site’s many groundwater springs.

This Wetland Gem® is best viewed by canoe. For information about how to access this site,  visit the Brule Glacial Spillway page of the State Natural Areas Program website .

6

Crex Meadows & Rice Lake

County: Burnett

Property Owner: Wisconsin DNR

This vast Wetland Gem® comprises thousands of acres of wetlands within Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area and surrounding Rice Lake near the Minnesota border in northwest Wisconsin. These wetlands are part of the remnants of Glacial Lake Grantsburg. Sedge meadow and marsh are the dominant wetland types; several other wetland types, flowages, and high-quality uplands of brush prairie, oak savanna, and oak woodland create a mosaic of habitats that support a tremendous abundance and diversity of wildlife. Crex Meadows takes its name from the species Carex stricta, a common sedge at the site. Animal life includes more than 270 species of birds, nearly every mammal found in the state, and a variety of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. As one of the Midwest’s premier wildlife viewing areas, this Wetland Gem® attracts hundreds of thousands of birdwatchers, naturalists, hunters, and other outdoor explorers each year. Birdlife is unusually diverse and includes a number of rare or uncommon species. This is also the original release site for the Wisconsin trumpeter swan recovery program and today boasts a healthy population of trumpeter swans. Besides many birds, the site supports a variety of other animals including black bears, badgers, river otters, and timber wolves.

Recreational opportunities abound at this site. The Crex Meadows Wildlife Education and Visitors Center is a great place to start your visit. For details,  visit the Friends of Crex Meadows website .

7

Empire Swamp

County: Douglas

Property Owner: Douglas County

Empire Swamp is a vast, intact peatland in Douglas County that forms the headwaters of the Tamarack River, part of the Upper St. Croix River basin. This relatively flat area features a complex of high-quality coniferous bog, lowland hardwood swamp, sedge meadow, and a variety of other wetland types. Part of one of the largest roadless blocks in the state, the Swamp has an unusually wild quality. Coniferous bog of black spruce and tamarack and lowland hardwood swamp dominated by black ash form the core of this site. The site supports at least nine rare plant species. Because of its size and undisturbed character, Empire Swamp supports abundant and diverse wildlife, including numerous rare species. Bird diversity is exceptional, with 19 warbler species present including Nashville warbler, black-and-white warbler, and Canada warbler. Timber wolf and moose are some of the uncommon mammals found here. 

8

Ericson Creek Peatlands

County: Douglas

Property Owner: Douglas County

This Wetland Gem® features more than 2,000 acres of peatlands surrounding Ericson Creek just upstream of its confluence with the Amicon River, a tributary to Lake Superior in Douglas County. This landscape is diverse in terms of both species composition and natural communities, with high-quality wetland and upland habitats. These wetlands are relatively undisturbed; past disturbances such as logging and fire in upland forest inclusions have increased the site’s diversity. A large open bog flanked by a coniferous bog is the key feature of this wetland complex. The wetland complex also includes an extensive sedge meadow along the creek and pockets of coniferous swamp dominated by northern white cedar. The site supports several rare plants, including dragon’s mouth orchid and the endangered small shin-leaf, which in Wisconsin is found only in Douglas and Bayfield Counties. Ericson Creek Peatlands support a large number of rare plant and animal species, particularly birds and butterflies. Birds include the state threatened three-toed woodpecker, great gray owl, Cape May warbler, and black-throated blue warbler. Rare butterflies include bog fritillary, freija fritillary, and frigga fritillary.

9

Fish Lake Meadow

County: Burnett

Property Owner: Wisconsin DNR

This Wetland Gem® comprises several thousand acres of wetlands within the Fish Lake State Wildlife Area near the Minnesota border in northwest Wisconsin. This vast northern sedge meadow bordering the 200-acre Fish Lake and extending southward is part of the former glacial Lake Grantsburg. The site features gently rolling topography and many flat basins that make the meadow very wet, with areas of standing water of a few inches up to a foot in depth. Sedge meadow is the key wetland type at this Wetland Gem®, though coniferous bog, open bog, and shrub care habitats are also present. The site also provides stopover habitat for many thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds during migration. Fish Lake Meadow, along with the larger Crex Meadows to the northeast and several other public properties, form a highly valuable habitat corridor for myriad wildlife species. Thousands of sandhill cranes and other migratory birds use these wetlands in the fall. Rare and interesting birds include trumpeter swan, yellow rail, and yellow-headed blackbirds. This site is part of a larger corridor that is considered prime habitat for the recovery of a federally endangered butterfly.

10

St. Croix & Namekagon River Corridor

County: Burnett/Douglas

Property Owner: National Park Service, Wisconsin DNR

This riverine Wetland Gem®, located within the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, comprises the confluence of the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers and a corridor stretching from several miles upstream of the confluence on both rivers to the Minnesota border several miles downstream of the confluence. With its headwaters in the Brule River State Forest, the St. Croix is known to be one of the cleanest rivers in the Midwest and supports many rare species. This corridor features several types of high-quality forested wetlands and a number of other non-forested types and is also a popular paddling destination thanks to wildlife viewing opportunities and stunning scenery. Above the confluence of the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers, the St. Croix flows through a narrow valley with steep sides. Below the confluence, the river slows, widens and deepens, and flows through a wide valley with low banks and extensive floodplain wetlands. Numerous forested seeps create groundwater connections and habitat complexity that increases plant diversity. This Wetland Gem® is a haven for wildlife of all kinds. More than 240 species of birds have been documented in the St. Croix Scenic Riverway, at least 160 of which nest here. Numerous amphibians and reptiles are also found here. Mammals using these wetlands include beaver, muskrat, otter, and black bear.

This area is best seen by canoe. For information about how to access to the site,  visit the National Park Service St. Croix Scenic Riverway website .

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