Richter Lake Hemlocks

State Natural Area (No. 468)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Taylor County. T31N-2W, Section 12. 302 acres.

Access: The site can be accessed from Perkinstown, which is located in the central portion of Taylor County, Wisconsin. From Perkinstown, go east on Highway M just over 2 miles, then south on FR 115 1 mile to FR 116. The site lies south of the road.

Description: Richter Lake features a mosaic of rich upland northern mesic forest as well as northern wet-mesic forest, northern hardwood swamp, and a collapsed ice-walled lake plain. A large tract of debris flow till with colluvium drainages and potholes between uplands supports a northern mesic forest dominated by hemlock and sugar maple with yellow birch and red maple common canopy associates. Super-canopy white pine and occasionally red pine are common throughout. Associated trees include basswood, white ash, paper birch, bitternut hickory, butternut and white pine. Understory species include balsam fir, red maple, American hornbeam, and eastern hophornbeam. Of note is the presence of the state-endangered little goblin moonwort (Botrychium mormo). Most stands occur as low islands within a matrix of mixed conifer-hardwood swamp drained by black ash dominated drainages. Within the site is a partially collapsed ice-walled lake plain that supports a pole-sized northern mesic forest dominated by sugar maple, basswood, and white ash. Microtopography within this landform includes an intermittent stream channel, which drains a northern hardwood swamp dominated by black ash with basswood, American elm, and red maple. At the base of the lake plain, a small white cedar swamp grading into northern wet forest surrounds a small kettle bog lake, which formed in an ice-block depression. Tamarack and black spruce dominate the northern wet forest. Other associated tree species include red maple, balsam fir, and hemlock. The understory is composed of a mat of sphagnum with numerous bog ericads including Labrador tea, bog laurel, and leather-leaf. Other shrubs are American fly honeysuckle, alder, and mountain maple. Ground flora includes moccasin flower, rose pogonia, pitcher plant, common bladderwort, and marsh fern. Several orchid species restricted to these habitats occur on the open sedge mat, which surrounds the lake margin. Altogether this relatively small site contains a microcosm of many of the predominant natural features associated with the Perkinstown End Moraine. Richter Lake Hemlocks is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.