North Branch Bottoms

State Natural Area (No. 489)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Oconto County. T33N-R16E, Section 36. T33-R17E, Section 31. 113 acres.

Access: The site can be accessed from Lakewood, Wisconsin. From the intersection of Highways 32 and F in Lakewood, go north and east on F 3 miles, then east on FR 2101 (Smyth Road) 0.3 mile, then south on FR 2330 (Sullivan Springs Road) 2.4 miles to the North Branch of the Oconto River. The site lies north of the road on either side of the river.

Description: The core and highlight of North Branch Bottoms is the bottomland hardwood forest along the North Branch of the Oconto River. The floodplain forest is dominated by black ash, red maple, and large silver maple with a groundlayer of nettles and ostrich fern. Steep, rocky slopes border the floodplain with pockets of fire-scarred hardwoods on the slope with super-canopy white pine found along the river corridor. An isolated stand of remnant old-growth hemlock and American beech forest is included in the complex. Rare plant and bird species are found here. The understory is dominated by beech seedlings, maple-leaf viburnum, and witch hazel. Other plants include bracken fern, and hog-peanut. Upland stands are primarily red oak, sugar maple, and paper birch with some richer inclusions of sugar maple and basswood. Rare and uncommon species include butternut (Juglans cinerea), Indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), and the state-endangered little goblin moonwort (Botrychium mormo). The rich understory is dominated by hog-peanut with maidenhair fern, lady fern, spikenard, round-lobed hepatica, bloodroot, and large-flowered trillium. A disjunct hemlock stand is found west of the complex. The rare pygmy shrew (Sorex hoyi) has been found just outside the SNA/RNA boundary and sufficient habitat exists within the site to support it. A complete survey may reveal the occurrence of this and other rare species within the site. North Branch Bottoms is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.