Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map

NOTEWORTHY CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL FEATURES:
Ephraim was first inhabited by Native Americans, then later by Europeans from Norway. It
became the first platted village in Door County. It also had the first public school in the county and the
first church, a Moravian congregation begun in 1853 (Holand 1917).
North Bay was yet another of the early 1870’s settlements built around a lumber shipping pier. It
is one of the two largest harbors along the eastern shore of the Peninsula and has been known for many
years by sailors as a refuge in a storm.
The Marshall family moved to the area now called Marshall’s Point in 1868. Mary Marshall was
the daughter of Increase and Mary Claflin, acknowledged as the first white settlers in the county. The
unique boreal forest and wilderness setting of Marshall’s Point were factors that led to its becoming a
State Natural Area.
SITE FEATURES:
Ephraim Swamp
Ephraim Swamp begins along the shoreline of Eagle Harbor and follows a corridor southeastward
to the Town of Baileys Harbor. Two small creeks, Hidden Spring Creek and Ephraim Creek, are located
in this area. Hidden Spring Creek originates in Ephraim Swamp. Ephraim Creek originates south of
Hidden Spring Creek in a similar habitat. Overlooking the swamp to the west is a wooded section of the
Niagara Escarpment.
• Ephraim Swamp is in the Town of Gibraltar. The town has adopted the county’s zoning ordinance.
Land use is mainly cropland with lesser amounts of woodlots, recreational public, transportation, idle
farmland, and other natural areas.
• Soils are shallow to deep, well drained, and moderately steep. A sandy loam or loam subsoil covers
sandy loam or fine sandy loam till or dolostone bedrock (USDA SCS 1978).
• Hidden Spring Creek is 1 mile long and 2 feet wide; it has a gradient of 10 feet per mile and is
classified as a Class I trout stream for 0.5 miles. Ephraim Creek is 1 mile long and 9 feet wide and
has a gradient of 15 feet per mile. It has a good habitat ranking and is also classified as a Class I and
II trout stream (Corbisier 2000).
• Vegetation consists of lowland swamp species such as black spruce (Picea mariana), tamarack (Larix
laricina), and white cedar (Thuja occidentalis). Upland hardwood portions contain maple (Acer
spp.), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and yellow birch (Betula allgheniensis).
• Hidden Spring Creek is historically known to have white suckers (Catostomus commersoni) and
brook trout. However, there is little new information to support the presence of brook trout. Ephraim
Creek could attract spring runs of smelt (Osmerus mordax), suckers, and occasionally rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) (Corbisier 2000).
• It is unknown if any threatened or endangered plant or animal species are present, as biological
inventories have not been completed.
Baileys Harbor Forest Corridor
This portion is located from the town line of Baileys Harbor southeast to the shoreline of Lake
Michigan. There are 2 creeks that flow east into this swamp. Hidden Brook Creek follows a ridge and
swale system. An unnamed stream originates in the corridor and flows east into Mud Lake.
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Ephraim / Baileys Harbor Forest Corridor & North Bay Lowlands