Baraboo River Floodplain Forest

State Natural Area (No. 212)

Location: Columbia County. T12N-R8E, Section 24, SE¼NE¼, NE¼SE¼. 22 acres.

Access: From the intersection of Highways 33 and 78, west of Portage, go east on Highway 33 about 0.2 mile to County Highway U. Then go south on U 1.75 mile to the Baraboo River. Canoe upstream 0.5 mile to the site, just west of Highway 78. Access is also available from the Fish and Wildlife Service parking area on Cascade Mountain Road.

Description: The Baraboo River Floodplain Forest is a relatively undisturbed lowland forest that lies on nearly level terrain. Occasional sloughs are formed by the gradual filling of old stream meanders (oxbows). Large diameter trees dominate the forest--silver maple (to 30 inches diameter), hackberry, basswood (to 36 inches diameter), green ash, white ash, American elm, and cottonwood (to 60 inches diameter). The understory is quite open with only a few shrubs and saplings. The ground layer contains more than fifty species including green dragon, swamp milkweed, Virginia water-leaf, cardinal flower, wood nettle, sensitive fern, greenbriars, poison ivy, and several sedges. This area is an important breeding site for many waterfowl species. The property was originally purchased by The Nature Conservancy and later donated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Baraboo River Waterfowl Production Area. The site was designated a State Natural Area in 1988.