Forbes Springs

State Natural Area (No. 490)

Location: Within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Oconto County. T33N-R17E, Sections 20, 29. 20 acres.

Access: From Lakewood, go east on County Highway F 3.1 miles, then east on FR 2101 (Smyth Road) seven miles, then north on Holt Ranch Road 0.15 mile to a footpath on the west side marked with a brown "Tour Stop 15" sign. Park along the road and walk west on the footpath. A short boardwalk leads to the spring pond.

Description: The centerpiece of this site is Forbes Springs, a spring pond. From this pond exits Forbes Creek, a fast, hard, cold waterway. Although outside the designated SNA, the adjacent federally designated Old-growth site also has some fine wetlands including a lengthy stretch of black ash and white cedar. A section of the cedar swamp houses a large number of rare plant populations including dragon’s-mouth (Arethusa bulbosa), adder’s-mouth (Malaxis brachypoda), and round-leaved orchid (Plantathera orbiculata). Other natural communities include northern mesic forest dominated by sugar maple and paper birch. Within the uplands there is some white pine regeneration. Early site surveys indicated the presence of super-canopy white pine, but a later survey only found 80 year old post logging trees, probably of fire origin. Some beech regeneration was encountered. Despite the ease of access to this site, protecting it affords the opportunity to preserve a collection of wetlands that supports viable populations of rare plants along with the spring source of the wetlands. Forbes Springs is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.