Lost Lake Esker

State Natural Area (No. 462)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Taylor County. T32N-R1W, Sections 6, 7, 18. T32N-R2W, Sections 1, 11, 12, 13. 1,264 acres.

Access: From the intersection of Hwy M and Sailor Creek Road (FS 571) just east of Perkinstown, go north on FS 571 approximately 5 miles to the Ice Age Trail crossing. Take the trail into the site.

Description: Located south of Lost Lake, this complex is centered around a prominent esker, which rises over 80 feet above the surrounding till plain. High ranking natural communities include several good quality stands of lowland swamp conifer dominated by white cedar and black ash, extensive tracts of mature hemlock hardwood forest of varying degrees of quality (including some small patches of relatively undisturbed forest), a small acreage of rich, maple-basswood forest, a large open marsh/wet meadow associated with the upper reaches of Sailor Creek, and several headwater, morainal stream segments canopied with long lived species. Together these form a relatively complete complex representing most of the major and minor natural features associated with this land type. The hemlock-hardwood forest is the dominant forest type occurring on hummocky end moraine and esker topography. Common associates include yellow birch, sugar maple, and red maple. Paper birch, basswood, white ash, red oak, white spruce, and super-canopy white pine are also present. Northern white cedar is frequently found on slopes bordering wetlands and in some ground moraine areas, but never in any great quantity. The forest stands vary in age, quality, and composition with the highest quality stands supporting trees up to 24 inches in diameter and larger under occasional super-canopy white pine. Frequent snags and coarse woody debris contribute to the old-growth structure. The open shrub layer is dominated by American fly honeysuckle, hazelnut, and gooseberry. Ground flora includes sweet cicely, intermediate wood fern, Canada mayflower, common oak fern, and rough-leaved rice grass. The lowland coniferous forest forms a closed canopy white cedar forest in some areas. Black ash, red maple, yellow birch, hemlock, and balsam fir are common associates. The groundlayer is lush and diverse featuring such species as cinnamon fern, sensitive fern, poison ivy, one-sided shin-leaf, alder-leaf buckthorn, dwarf red raspberry, bunchberry, and bryophytes. The understory is dense and consists of mountain maple, speckled alder, common winterberry, and swamp fly honeysuckle. Fairly extensive bog forests of tamarack and black spruce with red maple, paper birch, yellow birch, and white pine are also present. Northern sedge meadows are common along Sailor Creek, especially where beaver have flooded the hardwood swamps. Both the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) are documented breeding birds. Common resident birds include winter wren, hermit thrush, red-eyed vireo, ovenbird, blackburnian warbler, and black-throated green warbler. Lost Lake Esker is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.