Bayshore Blufflands

State Natural Area (No. 377)

Location: Door County. Parts of T28N-R26E, Section 6. T29N-R26E, Sections 10, 16, 20, 21, 29, 31, 32. 150 acres.

Access: Located near the shores of Green Bay approximately 2 miles west of Carlsville and 8 miles north of Sturgeon Bay. To access the upper trailhead, from the intersection of Highways 42 and 57 just north of Sturgeon Bay, go north on 42 4.5 miles, then west on W. Town Line Road 1.5 miles, then north on Reynolds Road 0.5 mile to a small parking area and Door County Land Trust kiosk west of the road. To access the lower trailhead, continue north on Reynolds Road 0.7 miles, then south on County B 0.9 miles to a parking area and trailhead east of the road. Trails provide access into and through the site.

Description: Located along more than three miles of the Niagara Escarpment, Bayshore Blufflands is an ecologically complex site with a diversity of plant communities both above and below the escarpment and a series of seeps and springs at the base of the bluff's talus slopes. Rising 150-200 feet above the low terrace of Green Bay, the steep carbonate cliffs and outcrops support numerous rare land snails including the cherrystone drop snail (Hendersonia occulta), a state-threatened species. Aspen, sugar maple, red oak, hemlock, and white cedar grow out of the talus affording complete shade to the escarpment maintaining the cool and damp conditions, which support a lush growth of mosses. The unique site conditions also support such uncommon species as climbing fumitory, mountain maple, bulbet fern, common polypody, and fragile fern. Above the escarpment is a dry-mesic forest of red and white pine with red oak. The ground layer is dense dominated by round-leaved dogwood with northern bush honeysuckle, zig-zag goldenrod, big-leaved aster, and bracken fern. The site slowly grades into a richer, more mesic forest containing sugar maple, beech, and red oak with hemlock, and white pine. Also present is a wet-mesic forest of white cedar, big-tooth aspen, and black ash. Several white cedars reach impressive sizes here. Below the escarpment are seasonally flooded forests dominated by silver maple, and green ash with swamp white oak, American bladdernut, and great water-leaf. The site contains many rare plants including the federally threatened dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris). Other species are variegated horsetail (Equisetum variegatum), Hooker's orchid (Platanthera hookeri), long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata), and large-flowered ground-cherry (Leucophysalis grandiflora). Rare animals include red-shouldered hawk (Buteo linneatus), Midwest Pleistocene vertigo (Vertigo hubrichti), and Iowa Pleistocene vertigo (V. iowaensis). Bayshore Blufflands is owned by The Door County Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy and was designated a State Natural Area in 2002.