Download the Northwest Sands chapter [PDF] of the Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin. This chapter provides a detailed assessment of the ecological and socioeconomic conditions for the Northwest Sands. It also identifies important planning and management considerations and suggests management opportunities that are compatible with the ecology of the landscape. The tabs below provide additional information.
Please note that each of these topics is covered in much more detail in the Northwest Sands chapter [PDF].
Physical & Biotic Environment | Socioeconomic Conditions | Considerations for Planning & Management
| Physical & Biotic Environment | |
|---|---|
|
Size |
1,956 square miles (1,251,723 acres) of land surface are within the Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape. This is 3.5% of the land area of the State of Wisconsin. |
|
Climate |
Mean annual temperature (41.30 F) is similar to other northern Ecological Landscapes. Annual precipitation averages 31.4 inches and annual snowfall about 61 inches, also similar to other northern Ecological Landscapes. The growing season is short and averages 121 days. Although there is adequate rainfall to support agricultural row crops such as corn, the sandy soil and short growing season limit row crop agriculture, especially in the northern part of the Ecological Landscape. Learn more from the chapter [PDF] |
|
Bedrock |
Underlying bedrock at the southern edge of the Northwest Sands is Cambrian quartzose and glauconitic sandstone and silt-stone. In the northern portion, the bedrock is Precambrian basalt, lithic conglomerate, shale, and feldspathic to quartzose sandstone. Bedrock is covered with 100 to 600 feet of glacial drift (sand, gravel, and silt), with the thickest deposits in the northern half. No terrestrial bedrock exposures are known from this Ecological Landscape. Learn more from the chapter [PDF] |
|
Geology & Landforms |
This Ecological Landscape is the most extensive and continuous xeric glacial outwash system in northern Wisconsin. It has two major geomorphic components. One is a large outwash plain pitted with depressions, or "kettle lakes." The other component is a former spillway of Glacial Lake Duluth (which preceded Lake Superior) and its associated terraces. The spillway is now a river valley occupied by the St. Croix and Bois Brule Rivers. The hills in the northeast are formed primarily of sand, deposited as ice-contact fans at the outlet of subglacial tunnels. Lacustrine deposits (especially fine materials of low permeability such as clays) from Glacial Lake Grantsburg underlie Crex Meadows and Fish Lake Wildlife Areas, and are responsible for impeding drainage, leading to the formation of the large wetlands there. Learn more from the chapter [PDF] |
|
Soils |
Upland soils are typically sands or loamy sands over deeper-lying strata of sand, or sand mixed with gravel. These soils drain rapidly, leading to xeric, droughty conditions within the Ecological Landscape. Wetlands in low-lying depressions have organic soils of peat or muck. Learn more from the chapter [PDF] |
|
Hydrology |
This Ecological Landscape has significant concentrations of glacial kettle lakes, most of them seepage lakes, a well-developed pattern of drainage lakes, and several large wetland complexes. The lakes cover roughly 4.8% of the area of the Northwest Sands, the third highest percentage among ecological landscapes in Wisconsin. The headwaters of the St. Croix and Bois Brule rivers are here. Major rivers include the St. Croix, Namekagon, Yellow, and Totagatic. Springs and seepages are common along the Upper Bois Brule but local elsewhere. Learn more from the chapter [PDF] |
|
Current Landcover |
Landcover is a mix of dry forest, barrens, grassland, and agriculture, with wetlands occupying significant parts of the bed of extinct Glacial Lake Grantsburg, kettle depressions, and some river valleys. Within the forested portion, pine, aspen-birch, and oak are roughly equally dominant. The maple-basswood, spruce-fir, and bottomland hardwood forest types occupy small percentages of the Ecological Landscape's forests. The open lands include a large proportion of grassland and shrubland. Emergent/wet meadow and open water are significant in the southern part of the Northwest Sands. There is very little row-crop agriculture. Learn more from the chapter [PDF] |
|
Socioeconomic Conditions
(based on data from Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas and Washburn counties) |
|
|---|---|
|
Population |
90,010, 1.6% of the state total |
|
Population Density |
20 persons/ sq. mile |
|
Per Capita Income |
$26,208 |
|
Important Economic Sectors |
The largest employment sectors in 2007 were: Government (18.7%); Tourism-related (15.8%), Retail trade (10.7%); Health care and social services (9.7%). Although forestry does not have a large impact on the number of jobs, it is the sector that has the largest impact on the natural resources in the Ecological Landscape. |
|
Public Ownership |
Forty-eight percent of the land and water in the NWS EL is in public ownership. Federal lands include parts of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Important state-owned lands include Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and Douglas County Wildlife Areas, and parts of the Brule River and Governor Knowles State Forests. Extensive county forests are owned and managed by Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, and Washburn counties. The Wisconsin DNR leases county land for the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area explicitly for barrens management. A map showing public land ownership (county, state, and federal) and private lands enrolled in the Forest Tax Programs in this Ecological Landscape can be found at the end of this chapter. |
|
Other Notable Ownerships |
The Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy has developed conservation agreements with a number of persons owning land along and near the Brule River in Douglas County. |
| Considerations for Planning & Management | |
|---|---|
Lakeshore development has been occurring at a rapid rate, partly because of this Ecological Landscape's close proximity to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The sandy soils are low in productivity and highly erodible, and great care must be taken when planning and conducting timber harvests, and in using motorized recreational vehicles such as ATVs, to avoid causing damage to slopes and fragile vegetation. Many rare plants and animals occur here, especially in the barrens and sedge meadow habitats, and these need consideration when planning and conducting management activities here. Increasing connectivity between patches of open or semi-open lands such as pine or oak barrens remnants, and reducing habitat fragmentation and isolation, are major management considerations for the Northwest Sands. Achieving greater connectivity between open habitats may be accomplished by the use of firebreaks, rights-of-way, pastureland, CRP, or other types of non-forested cover. There is typically sharp contrast ("hard edge") between the open, non-forested habitats and the surrounding dry forests. Identifying areas where some of this high contrast hard edge may be reduced is needed to plan for and provide greater structural variability in the dynamic barrens ecosystems and to better meet the needs of species not well adapted to either very open or densely canopied habitats. In recent years there has been a great increase in the amount of land planted up to pine plantations, usually at the expense of dry forest and barrens communities. Much of the vegetation here is dependent on periodic disturbance, especially via the use of prescribed fire. Some types of land disturbance can facilitate the colonization and spread of invasive plants. Leafy spurge and spotted knapweed are among the invasive plants currently posing problems in sandy uplands. Common reed is present in some open wetlands and may be increasing. Glossy buckthorn has been reported from the extensive cedar swamps along the upper Brule River. Learn more about management opportunities from the chapter [PDF] |
The following species are listed according to their probability of occurring in the Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape, based on the findings in Wisconsin's 2015 Wildlife Action Plan.
See the key to association scores [PDF] for complete definitions.
(Please see also the Significant Flora [PDF] and the Significant Wildlife [PDF] sections in the Northwest Sands chapter).
| Amphibians | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Four-toed Salamander | Hemidactylium scutatum | 2 |
| Mink Frog | Lithobates septentrionalis | 2 |
| Pickerel Frog | Lithobates palustris | 1 |
| Ants, wasps, and bees | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee | Bombus insularis | 2 |
| Confusing Bumble Bee | Bombus perplexus | 1 |
| Yellow Bumble Bee | Bombus fervidus | 1 |
| Yellowbanded Bumble Bee | Bombus terricola | 1 |
| Aquatic and terrestrial snails | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Pillar | Cochlicopa morseana | 1 |
| Boreal Top | Zoogenetes harpa | 1 |
| Cherrystone Drop | Hendersonia occulta | 1 |
| Beetles | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| A Crawling Water Beetle | Haliplus apostolicus | 3 |
| A Leaf Beetle | Pachybrachis luridus | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Rhantus sericans | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Hydroporus morio | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Hydrocolus rubyae | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Hydrocolus persimilis | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Agabus leptapsis | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Hygrotus falli | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Hygrotus compar | 3 |
| A Predaceous Diving Beetle | Hygrotus farctus | 3 |
| A Riffle Beetle | Stenelmis quadrimaculata | 3 |
| A Riffle Beetle | Stenelmis antennalis | 3 |
| A Water Scavenger Beetle | Helophorus latipenis | 3 |
| A Water Scavenger Beetle | Agabetes acuductus | 3 |
| Northern Barrens Tiger Beetle | Cicindela patruela patruela | 3 |
| Robust Dubiraphian Riffle Beetle | Dubiraphia robusta | 3 |
| Sylvan Hygrotus Diving Beetle | Hygrotus sylvanus | 3 |
| A Leaf Beetle | Pachybrachis peccans | 1 |
| A Leaf Beetle | Distigmoptera impennata | 1 |
| A Minute Moss Beetle | Hydraena angulicollis | 1 |
| A Pear-shaped Weevil | Sayapion segnipes | 1 |
| A Straight-snouted Weevil | Eutrichapion huron | 1 |
| Birds | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| American Bittern | Botaurus lentiginosus | 3 |
| American Woodcock | Scolopax minor | 3 |
| Black Tern | Chlidonias niger | 3 |
| Black-backed Woodpecker | Picoides arcticus | 3 |
| Bobolink | Dolichonyx oryzivorus | 3 |
| Common Nighthawk | Chordeiles minor | 3 |
| Connecticut Warbler | Oporornis agilis | 3 |
| Eastern Whip-poor-will | Antrostomus vociferus | 3 |
| Golden-winged Warbler | Vermivora chrysoptera | 3 |
| Le Conte's Sparrow | Ammodramus leconteii | 3 |
| Least Flycatcher | Empidonax minimus | 3 |
| Nelson's Sparrow | Ammodramus nelsoni | 3 |
| Red-headed Woodpecker | Melanerpes erythrocephalus | 3 |
| Sharp-tailed Grouse | Tympanuchus phasianellus | 3 |
| Upland Sandpiper | Bartramia longicauda | 3 |
| Vesper Sparrow | Pooecetes gramineus | 3 |
| Yellow Rail | Coturnicops noveboracensis | 3 |
| Brewer's Blackbird | Euphagus cyanocephalus | 2 |
| Eastern Meadowlark | Sturnella magna | 2 |
| Grasshopper Sparrow | Ammodramus savannarum | 2 |
| Least Bittern | Ixobrychus exilis | 2 |
| Northern Goshawk | Accipiter gentilis | 2 |
| Olive-sided Flycatcher | Contopus cooperi | 2 |
| Purple Martin | Progne subis | 2 |
| Red-necked Grebe | Podiceps grisegena | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Buteo lineatus | 2 |
| Rusty Blackbird | Euphagus carolinus | 2 |
| Wilson's Phalarope | Phalaropus tricolor | 2 |
| American Black Duck | Anas rubripes | 1 |
| Boreal Chickadee | Poecile hudsonicus | 1 |
| Common Goldeneye | Bucephala clangula | 1 |
| Dickcissel | Spiza americana | 1 |
| Gray Jay | Perisoreus canadensis | 1 |
| Kirtland's Warbler | Setophaga kirtlandii | 1 |
| Loggerhead Shrike | Lanius ludovicianus | 1 |
| Long-eared Owl | Asio otus | 1 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | Regulus calendula | 1 |
| Spruce Grouse | Falcipennis canadensis | 1 |
| Swainson's Thrush | Catharus ustulatus | 1 |
| Western Meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1 |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | Icteria virens | 1 |
| Yellow-headed Blackbird | Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus | 1 |
| Butterflies and moths | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Chryxus Arctic | Oeneis chryxus | 3 |
| Karner Blue | Lycaeides melissa samuelis | 3 |
| Mottled Dusky Wing | Erynnis martialis | 3 |
| Phlox Moth | Schinia indiana | 3 |
| Cobweb Skipper | Hesperia metea | 2 |
| Cross Line Skipper | Polites origenes | 2 |
| Doll's Merolonche | Acronicta dolli | 2 |
| Dusted Skipper | Atrytonopsis hianna | 2 |
| Gorgone Checker Spot | Chlosyne gorgone | 2 |
| Gray Copper | Lycaena dione | 2 |
| Owl-eyed Bird Dropping Moth | Cerma cora | 2 |
| Persius Dusky Wing | Erynnis persius | 2 |
| Columbine Dusky Wing | Erynnis lucilius | 1 |
| Leadplant Flower Moth | Schinia lucens | 1 |
| Liatris Borer Moth | Papaipema beeriana | 1 |
| Whitney's Underwing Moth | Catocala whitneyi | 1 |
| Caddisflies | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| A Humpless Casemaker Caddisfly | Brachycentrus lateralis | 3 |
| Dragonflies and damselflies | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Extra-striped Snaketail | Ophiogomphus anomalus | 3 |
| Forcipate Emerald | Somatochlora forcipata | 3 |
| Pronghorn Clubtail | Gomphus graslinellus | 3 |
| Sioux (Sand) Snaketail | Ophiogomphus smithi | 3 |
| St. Croix Snaketail | Ophiogomphus susbehcha | 3 |
| Alkali Bluet | Enallagma clausum | 1 |
| Delta-spotted Spiketail | Cordulegaster diastatops | 1 |
| Incurvate Emerald | Somatochlora incurvata | 1 |
| Lake Emerald | Somatochlora cingulata | 1 |
| Mottled Darner | Aeshna clepsydra | 1 |
| Plains Emerald | Somatochlora ensigera | 1 |
| Ringed Boghaunter | Williamsonia lintneri | 1 |
| Spatterdock Darner | Rhionaeschna mutata | 1 |
| Sphagnum Sprite | Nehalennia gracilis | 1 |
| Subarctic Darner | Aeshna subarctica | 1 |
| Zigzag Darner | Aeshna sitchensis | 1 |
| Fishes | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Least Darter | Etheostoma microperca | 3 |
| Pugnose Shiner | Notropis anogenus | 3 |
| River Redhorse | Moxostoma carinatum | 3 |
| Gilt Darter | Percina evides | 2 |
| Lake Sturgeon | Acipenser fulvescens | 2 |
| Flies | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| A Non-biting Midge | Pseudodiamesa pertinax | 3 |
| Leafhoppers and true bugs | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| An Issid Planthopper | Fitchiella robertsonii | 2 |
| A Leafhopper | Prairiana kansana | 1 |
| Mammals | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin's Ground Squirrel | Poliocitellus franklinii | 3 |
| Northern Flying Squirrel | Glaucomys sabrinus | 3 |
| Big Brown Bat | Eptesicus fuscus | 2 |
| Little Brown Bat | Myotis lucifugus | 2 |
| Water Shrew | Sorex palustris | 2 |
| Woodland Jumping Mouse | Napaeozapus insignis | 2 |
| Northern Long-eared Bat | Myotis septentrionalis | 1 |
| Silver-haired Bat | Lasionycteris noctivagans | 1 |
| Mayflies | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| A Flat-headed Mayfly | Rhithrogena undulata | 3 |
| A Flat-headed Mayfly | Macdunnoa persimplex | 3 |
| A Small Minnow Mayfly | Plauditus cestus | 3 |
| A Spiny Crawler Mayfly | Drunella cornuta | 3 |
| Wisconsin Small Square-gilled Mayfly | Cercobrachys lilliei | 3 |
| A Flat-headed Mayfly | Maccaffertium pulchellum | 2 |
| A Cleft-footed Minnow Mayfly | Metretopus borealis | 1 |
| A Spiny Crawler Mayfly | Eurylophella aestiva | 1 |
| Mussels and clams | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Elktoe | Alasmidonta marginata | 2 |
| Purple Wartyback | Cyclonaias tuberculata | 2 |
| Spectaclecase | Cumberlandia monodonta | 2 |
| Eastern Elliptio | Elliptio complanata | 1 |
| Salamander Mussel | Simpsonaias ambigua | 1 |
| Reptiles | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Blanding's Turtle | Emydoidea blandingii | 3 |
| Gophersnake | Pituophis catenifer | 3 |
| Prairie Skink | Plestiodon septentrionalis | 3 |
| Wood Turtle | Glyptemys insculpta | 3 |
| Eastern Ribbonsnake | Thamnophis sauritus | 1 |
| Stoneflies | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| A Perlodid Stonefly | Isogenoides frontalis | 3 |
| A Perlodid Stonefly | Isogenoides olivaceus | 2 |
The Natural Heritage Inventory has developed scores indicating the degree to which each of Wisconsin's rare plant species is associated with a particular natural community or ecological landscape. This information is similar to that found in the Wildlife Action Plan for animals. As this is a work in progress, we welcome your suggestions and feedback.
Scores: 3 = "significantly associated," 2 = "moderately associated," and 1 = "minimally associated."
The Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape contains opportunities to manage for the following natural communities, based on the findings in the 2015 Wildlife Action Plan (originally presented by the Ecosystem Management Team).
See the key to association scores [PDF] for complete definitions.
The Northwest Sands is the best place in Wisconsin and, arguably, the planet to manage for the globally rare Pine Barrens community. Large-scale barrens management is possible here because of the ecological suitability of the land, the presence of numerous remnants and substantial public ownership. There are opportunities to connect existing barrens remnants and restoration projects with corridors and manage them with a mosaic of compatible vegetation types. Prescribed fire and other management tools can be used to develop more diverse structural characteristics and to enhance or restore species composition in many pine-oak barrens communities.
Some of the state's best places to manage for dry forests of jack pine, northern pin oak and red pine are found here. There are also opportunities to manage for older dry-mesic white pine-red pine-red oak forests, in the rugged northern part of the landscape, on the slopes above the Bois Brule River in Douglas County, along the St. Croix River in Burnett and Polk counties and at scattered locations elsewhere.
Wetlands are extensive, provide habitat for many sensitive species and represent major management opportunities. The open meadows and marshes in the southwestern part of the Northwest Sands are particularly important because of their size, condition, intact hydrology and the presence of numerous habitat specialists. Some of the larger marshes are within the managed flowages at Crex Meadows and Fish Lake Wildlife Areas and at Gordon on the St. Croix River. Acid peatlands of black spruce-tamarack swamp, muskeg, open bog and poor fen are widespread and common, especially in areas of pitted outwash, where lakes and poorly drained kettle depressions are important landscape features.
The Northwest Sands harbors significant concentrations of glacial kettle lakes. Development pressures are high. The lakes provide high quality habitats for aquatic organisms, resident and migratory birds and many other species. Inland Beaches are rare, localized, or absent in most of Wisconsin. Here, beach communities occupy the sand and gravel littoral zones of softwater seepage lakes with upland shorelines and which experience naturally fluctuating water levels. There is a need to conduct an inventory of lacustrine and beach habitats to identify the best occurrences and associated rare species populations. The protection of undeveloped lakes and associated high-quality habitats is a significant opportunity in the Northwest Sands.
The St. Croix, Namekagon, Totagatic, Bois Brule and Eau Claire rivers warrant special attention because of their excellent water quality, exceptional aquatic biota, recreational opportunities and aesthetic features. The north-south orientation of the St. Croix and Bois Brule rivers, along with the generally unfragmented condition of the forests bordering these rivers, makes them highly significant to migratory birds and probably, to other species. The extensive white cedar swamp along the upper Bois Brule River is among Wisconsin's best examples of that community type and merits strong protection. Excellent occurrences of alder thicket, springs and spring seeps and spring ponds also occur along the upper Brule and present additional management and protection opportunities.
1. The text presented here is a summarized version of a longer section developed for the Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin.
Also see the statewide maps.
Landtype Associations (LTAs) are units of the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units (NHFEU), a hierarchical ecological land classification system. LTAs are much smaller than Ecological Landscapes, ranging in size from 10,000 and 300,000 acres. In Wisconsin, they are usually based on glacial features like individual moraines or outwash plains. LTAs can be very useful for planning at finer scales within an Ecological Landscape.
The following are the LTAs associated with the Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape. The Northwest Sands LTA map [PDF] can be used to locate these LTAs. Clicking on an LTA in the list below will open a data table for that LTA in PDF format. Descriptions are included, where available.
Map of Wisconsin's 16 Ecological Landscapes