Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map
Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map
Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
EUROPE LAKE FOREST AREA<br />
LOCATION:<br />
The Europe Lake Forest Area is composed of approximately 1700 acres located immediately<br />
north of Europe Lake in the northern most portion of <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong>, in the Town of Liberty Grove (T32N,<br />
R28E). As this report represents general areas of concern, exact locations of boundary lines have not<br />
been designated.<br />
GENERAL SITE DESCRIPTION:<br />
The Europe Lake Forest Area is an extensive forested landscape at the northern most point of the<br />
<strong>Door</strong> Peninsula. Included in this natural area are Europe Lake, Wisconsin Bay, and Table Bluff. Europe<br />
Lake is separated from the Lake Michigan shoreline by a dolos<strong>to</strong>ne ledge and sand dune <strong>to</strong>pography<br />
(Watermolen and Bougie 1995). Newport State Park adjoins the southern boundary of the forest area and<br />
Europe Lake. The lake, once a bay of Lake Michigan, was created by wave action forming a sand and<br />
gravel bar across the mouth of the embayment (Merryfield 2000).<br />
ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE:<br />
Northern mesic forest dominates the area, and sections east of Europe Lake support what appear<br />
as good representations of “boreal” forest. Near the shoreline are dolos<strong>to</strong>ne outcrops of the Niagara<br />
Escarpment and sand dunes created by wave action of Lake Michigan.<br />
The site holds a diverse array of forest, wetland, and shoreline habitats and its ecological<br />
significance is enhanced by Newport State Park <strong>to</strong> the south, a portion of which is designated as Europe<br />
Bay Woods State Natural Area. As the northern most series of Lake Michigan coastal landscapes, along<br />
the <strong>Door</strong> Peninsula, the Europe Lake forest block represents the last migra<strong>to</strong>ry staging habitat for<br />
northward migrating birds in the spring, before they begin their crossing of the Grand Traverse Islands<br />
in<strong>to</strong> northern Michigan. The landscape is equally important for birds migrating south from Michigan in<br />
the fall. The mosaic of habitat types, especially the near shore forest, provides essential resources <strong>to</strong> these<br />
migrants.<br />
Exotic species do not appear <strong>to</strong> be prevalent in the area. Perhaps the most significant feature of<br />
the site is the shoreline of Europe Lake. While cottages have been built on the lake, there are<br />
opportunities <strong>to</strong> preserve portions of the shore. Protection of the remaining shoreline would compliment<br />
the already protected portion of the lake in Newport State Park. The species composition is rich, and<br />
partial inven<strong>to</strong>ries conducted in the area have documented twenty rare species of animals, invertebrates,<br />
and plants. Four natural community types are found in the area. (See Appendices “A”, “B” and “C” for<br />
specifics.)<br />
NOTEWORTHY CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL FEATURES:<br />
Early settlement of this area was like a roller coaster in the county’s his<strong>to</strong>ry. First, the village of<br />
Newport was created in the 1870’s, primarily <strong>to</strong> support the wood cutting business of a Dane named Hans<br />
Johnson. He specialized in selling cordwood <strong>to</strong> fire kilns in Milwaukee, which had become well known<br />
for their “Cream City” bricks. His enterprises built an entire village, including sawmill, pier, s<strong>to</strong>re, horse<br />
barn, home and post office. Later, the area’s woodland was harvested for cedar juice used in making<br />
furniture polish. The village became a ghost <strong>to</strong>wn at the turn of the century, but was revived for a brief<br />
period by the Christmas tree business. Thousands of trees were shipped <strong>to</strong> larger cities around Lake<br />
Michigan. The community was deserted once more around 1904 when the trees were gone (Lotz 1994).<br />
In the decade of the 1920’s, a large area around Europe Lake became a kind of public park owned<br />
by Ferdinand Hotz, a Chicago diamond broker. Hotz acquired 2200 acres and built a summer lodge. He<br />
opened his land <strong>to</strong> visi<strong>to</strong>rs and late in the decade offered it <strong>to</strong> the State Conservation Commission <strong>to</strong> be<br />
maintained as a wildlife refuge. The commission accepted the land and eventually it became Newport<br />
State Park (Lotz 1994).<br />
Europe Lake Forest Area 123