Little Willow Drumlin

State Natural Area (No. 437)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Price County. T38N-R3E Sections 13, 14, 23. 560 acres.

Access: The site is located about 17 miles east of Fifield, WI on Highway 70. From Fifield, go east on 70 17 miles, then south on Forest Road 132 9 miles, then east on Forest Road 131 for 2.3 miles to unnamed private access on north side of FR 131. The site lies about 1 mile north of this point.

Description: Little Willow Drumlin features a mosaic of upland and wetland communities including the headwaters of Little Willow Creek, a tributary of the Willow River. The uplands are dominated by a rich, mesic sugar maple-basswood forest (AViO) grading through transitional hemlock (TMC) into mixed white cedar-black ash. The core uplands have a mature canopy structure with gaps and include large diameter (16-24 inch) sugar maple, basswood, white ash and red oak with scattered hemlock. Coarse woody debris and snags are scattered throughout. The ground flora is typical of rich (AViO) northern forest. The conifer swamp is dominated by white cedar (12-16 inch) and black ash and typifies northern wet forest. Rare plants include Assiniboine sedge (Carex assiniboinnensis), spreading wood fern (Dryopteris expansa), and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). Other notable attributes include numerous ephemeral ponds and the site’s remote nature. Little Willow Drumlin is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.