Miscauno Cedar Swamp

State Natural Area (No. 92)

Location: Within the Miscauno Wildlife Area, Marinette County. T36N-R20E, Sections 13, 14, 23, 24. 555 acres.

Access: From the intersection of U.S. Highway 141 and County Highway Z in Beecher, go east on Z 1.6 miles, then south on Miscauno Lane 0.25 miles to the northwest corner of the site.

Description: Miscauno Cedar Swamp features a northern wet-mesic forest in a steep-sided basin along the South Branch of Miscauno Creek. The timber varies from nearly pure stands of pole-sized white cedar to mixtures of white cedar, balsam fir, and black spruce with black ash and elm along the stream. Tamarack snags indicate a former forest of this species and which was undoubtedly logged in the past. The surrounding uplands are mainly an aspen-oak and pine cutover forest. The groundlayer is rich in smaller orchid species along with one-flowered pyrola, bunchberry, American starflower, yellow blue-bead-lily, gaywings, Canada mayflower, and several ferns. In the numerous headwater springs is a rich flora of mosses and lichens. Breeding bird surveys have shown that such uncommon birds such as ravens, hermit thrush, black and white warbler, pine warbler, scarlet tanager, and black-billed cuckoo are found during the nesting season. Although the lowlands have been logged they still retain natural conditions. The swamp was also the site of a 20-year research study looking at the effects of cedar thinning. Miscauno Cedar Swamp is owned by the DNR and was designated in 1971.