Trempealeau River Meadow

State Natural Area (No. 346)

Location: Buffalo County. T20N-R10W, Sections 19, 20, 29, 30. 443 acres.

Access: From the intersection of State Highways 95 and 35 in Fountain City, go east and north on Highway 95 7.4 miles, then east on Wolfe's Dugway Road (Doelle Valley Road) about 2.2 miles to the T-intersection with River Road and park along the road. The site lies east of the road.

Description: Trempealeau River Meadow is a high quality wetland complex located in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. The site features a large undisturbed sedge meadow with a diversity of species. Dominant plant species are tussock sedge, fox sedge, blue-joint grass, cord grass, fowl manna grass, and rice cut grass. Forbs include Canada anemone, marsh pea, panicled aster, swamp milkweed, spotted joe-pye weed, American water-horehound, and blunt-leaf bedstraw. Adjacent to the meadow is a shallow marsh with numerous emergent aquatics such as cat-tails, river bulrush, common rush, wool-grass, common bur-reed, swamp loosestrife, bulbet water-hemlock, wild rice, and broad-leaved arrowhead. At four locations the water deepens in old oxbows of the Trempealeau River forming deep-water marshes with an abundance of submerged aquatic species. An important aspect of these communities is the absence of invasive species. Large numbers of grassland birds, which are declining in Wisconsin, nest in the area. Species include bobolink, savannah sparrow, eastern meadowlark, sedge wren, and LeConte's sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii), a Wisconsin species of concern. Additional rare birds include the state-threatened great egret (Ardea alba), great blue heron (Ardea herodias), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and the red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). Trempealeau River Meadow is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2002.