Goose Lake Drumlins

State Natural Area (No. 375)

Location: Within Goose Lake Wildlife Area, Dane County. T7N-R12E, Sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11. 760 acres.

Access: From the junction of Highway 73 and Liberty Road in Deerfield, go north on 73 2.2 miles, then east on County BB 1.3 miles, then north on Krueger Road to a gate and DNR parking area. Walk northeast or northwest into two separate natural area units.

Description: Goose Lake Drumlins contains all or part of 6 drumlins located in the two units which comprise the natural area. A remnant of the wetland-drumlin complex left by the receding Wisconsin glacier, the area is a forested complex with tamarack and mixed deciduous forest on adjacent drumlins. Also present are two lakes, Mud Lake and Goose Lake. Southwest of the 133-acre Goose Lake is a relatively undisturbed bog that harbors pitcher plant and bog rosemary –two uncommon Dane County plants. The lake itself is surrounded by a semi-floating mat of mixed vegetation including wiregrass sedge, broad-leaf cat-tail, blue-joint grass, bur-reed, beaked sedge, and bristly sedge. The considerable rice cutgrass in the center of the lake is an indicator of shallow, silty conditions in the summer. In low areas, the mat is bordered by willows, red-osier dogwood, bog birch, poison sumac, sensitive fern, and also has an abundance of manna grass, marsh nettle, and tear-thumb. The 40-acre Mud Lake is a shallow, muck bottom lake with a tamarack swamp to the north. Banded killfish, green sunfish, largemouth bass, and northern redbelly dace are among the fish, which inhabit the lake. The drumlins themselves contain dry-mesic forest with red oak, red maple, and shagbark hickory. The upland woods have an excellent ground flora with large-flowered bellwort, bloodroot, blue cohosh, rue-anemone, Canada mayflower. Numerous waterfowl use the area including sandhill crane, lesser scaup, blue-winged teal, and wood duck. Other animals include otter, mink, and muskrat. Rare plants include swamp agrimony (Agrimonia parviflora), tufted bulrush (Scirpus cespitosus), and two orchids. Goose Lake Drumlins is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2002.