Chequamegon Hardwoods

State Natural Area (No. 292)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Ashland County. T44N-R3W, Section 6, N½NW¼. 80 acres.

Access: From the intersection of State Highway 13 and County Highway GG in Mellen, go southwest on GG about 8 miles, then northwest on FR 187 (Mineral Lake Road) 0.7 miles, then north on FR 188 (Hanson Road) 1.6 miles to where the North Country Trail crosses the road. Park along the road and walk due north 0.25 mile to the southern boundary of the site. The North Country Trail just skirts the southeastern tip of the natural area as it heads in a northeasterly direction.

Description: Chequamegon Hardwoods is an old second-growth northern mesic hardwood forest with an undisturbed understory. Scattered throughout the site are several very large exposures of gabbro bedrock, some up to 50 feet in height. Although the stand was logged in the 1930's, it still retains patches of old-growth hemlock, various hardwoods and some very large big-tooth aspen. Sugar maple, basswood, and yellow birch dominate most of the stand with canopy associates of red oak and white ash. Other areas feature hemlock and large big-tooth aspen. The midstory includes such characteristic species such as leather-leaf, mountain maple, beaked hazelnut, and alternate-leaved dogwood. The herbaceous layer has never been grazed and is diverse with over 80 plant species including spikenard, blue cohosh, green adders-mouth, nodding trillium, maidenhair fern, and bloodroot. Three orchids, purple fringed, spotted coral, and early coral root are also present. Low areas of wet-mesic forest are dominated by black ash with white cedar, red maple, yellow birch, and hemlocks with an understory of speckled alder, swamp aster, and spotted Joe-Pye-weed. The stream running through the site contains a good population of Fontinalis, an aquatic moss, and an abundant larval caddisfly fauna. Numerous forest interior birds are present such as Nashville, black and white, and black-throated green warblers, ovenbird, and wood pewee. Amphibians include wood frog and red-backed salamander. Chequamegon Hardwoods is owned by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 1996.