Charles Pond

State Natural Area (No. 39)

Location: Oconto County. T26N-R21E, Section 3. 125 acres.

Access: From Pensaukee, go south on County Highway S 4.5 miles to a walk-in access.

Description: Charles Pond was formerly a bay-mouth bar lake with a narrow outlet to Green Bay, surrounded by extensive shrub carr and shallow marsh. West of the pond was a hardwood forest, but high water levels during the 1980's have obliterated all of the marshland and a large portion of the hardwood forest. The remainder of the site is affected by Green Bay seiches, tide-like rising and falling of lake water due to wind action. Originally a well-developed lacustrine forest, this area is now used for monitoring long-term geological processes and the effects of the fluctuating water levels of Green Bay. Future erosion and deposition will depend upon lake levels and the location of long-shore currents. The inundated marsh area may develop its own submerged flora and fauna. Charles Pond is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 1965.