Foulds Creek

State Natural Area (No. 435)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Price County. T39N-R3E, Sections 13, 22-27. 1,351 acres.

Access: The site can be accessed from Fifield. From the intersection of 70 and 13 in Fifield go east on 70 17 miles, then south on Sheep Ranch Road (FR 132) approximately 2 miles. The site is located on both sides of the road. An esker on the west side of the road provides good upland access to the interior of the site.

Description: Fould’s Creek is an aggregation of forested and non-forested stands, which span the continuum of moisture and nutrient gradients from northern mesic forests to wet-mesic to bogs and streams. The primary feature of is a large acreage of lowland conifer swamp with numerous good quality stands of northern white cedar. Hemlock dominates the wet-mesic forest with associated species white pine, yellow birch, red maple, white cedar, white spruce, and balsam fir. The dominant shrub is American fly honeysuckle. Other shrubs include early low blueberry, and mountain maple. American starflower, bunchberry, wood sorrel, Canada mayflower, and wild sarsaparilla dominate the ground layer. Dominant trees of the northern mesic forest include hemlock, yellow birch, and sugar maple. Associated species include basswood, white pine, and red pine. Associated communities include a black spruce-tamarack bog, alder thicket, hard-water spring runs, and a cold, slow, hard-water stream. Rising above the surrounding till plain and organic peat deposits is a prominent esker running through the site’s interior. The esker is oriented in a SE to NW direction, which is unusual on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. This “knife-like” ridge is forested with a high quality example of upland northern mesic forest with hemlock, white cedar, and large diameter super-canopy red pine, and white pine. Several springs originate at the base of the esker and flow through an adjoining conifer swamp. Small stands of northern hardwoods occur throughout the site. Some areas have a mature stand structure and still retain a residual conifer and yellow birch component. Foulds Creek forms a natural site boundary on the northern and western edges of the site. The interior forest provides important breeding and stopover habitat for many neotropical migrants and other bird species. Foulds Creek is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.