Pine-Oak Grove

State Natural Area (No. 308)

Location: Within Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Vilas County. T40N-R11E, Section 2. T41N-R11E, Sections 35, 36. 95 acres.

Access: From the intersection of U.S. Highway 45 and State Highway 70 in Eagle River, go east on Highway 70 7.6 miles, then north on FR 2178 (Anvil Lake Road) 4.5 miles to an old logging road and a gate on the west side of the road. Walk west on the logging road 0.5-mile to the site.

Description: Pine-Oak Grove features a forested tract with a diverse canopy composed of red oak, sugar maple, red maple, paper birch, big-tooth aspen, trembling aspen, balsam fir, and white pine. Uncommon trees include red pine and white spruce with hemlock more locally common toward the south portion of the site. Relatively dense stands of pole-sized timber, especially on the hogback ridge near the north end, are interspersed with well-structured, uneven-age stands of mature timber. Some of the larger pines exceed 30" in diameter and add a super canopy stratum to the forest. The understory varies from open park-like expanses in which ground-hugging herbs predominate to dense thickets of shrubs and saplings. Common understory species include ironwood, beaked hazelnut, fly honeysuckle, red-berried elder, and raspberries. Pennsylvania sedge, big-leaved aster, and wild sarsaparilla dominate the herbaceous layer under deciduous trees and in areas where pine is a significant canopy component characteristic species are barren strawberry, wintergreen, and blueberries. Canada mayflower, wood sorrel, bunchberry, three-leaved gold-thread, and American starflower are more common in rich mesic areas. Breeding birds include ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, black-throated green, blackburnian, and pine warblers, and yellow-bellied sapsucker. Pine-Oak Grove is owned by the USDA Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 1996.