Rush Creek

State Natural Area (No. 170)

Location: Crawford County. T10N-R6W, Sections 5, 6, 7. T10N-R7W, Section 1. T11N-R6W, Sections 19, 21, 28, 31, 32, 33. T11N-R7W, Sections 11, 35, 36. 2,460 acres.

Access: From the intersection of State Highway 35 and County Highway C in Ferryville, go north on Highway 35 3.1 miles, then northeast on Rush Creek Road 0.5 mile to a parking area west of the road. Cross the road and walk east on an access lane to the bluff top. Or, continue north on 35 from its junction with Rush Creek Road 0.8 miles to a parking area. Walk up the slope.

Description: The outstanding feature of Rush Creek is a two-mile long series of dry lime prairies situated on the steep southwest facing limestone-capped bluffs of the Mississippi River. These “goat prairies”, named for their steep, rocky terrain, are part of the most extensive dry prairie remnants left in the state. While most Wisconsin prairies were lost to the plow or development, Rush Creek’s steepness and dry southwestern exposure are largely responsible for its preservation. Characteristic plants include lead-plant, little blue-stem, side-oats grama, silky aster, blazing-star, wood betony, compass plant, and bird’s-foot violet. The narrow north and east-facing slopes bluff tops are forested with red and white oak and a significant amount of black walnut, hickory, basswood, sugar maple, and aspen. Common shrubs and mid-canopy species include gray and round-leaved dogwood, American hazelnut, sumac, and ironwood with a good diversity of woodland herbs and forbs. The spring-fed Rush Creek is cool and clear and supports a floodplain forest of silver and red maples, elm, cottonwood, river birch, and willow. The extensive nature and diversity of vegetation make Rush Creek important habitat for numerous rare plants and animals. Rare plants include purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), hairy meadow-parsnip (Thaspium barbinode), broad beech fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera), and Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica). Rare animals include wing snaggletooth (Gastrocopta procera), Kentucky (Oporornis formosus) and cerulean warblers (Dendroica cerulea), Acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens), red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus), and the gorgonne checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne gorgone). Rush Creek is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 1981.