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
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SITE FEATURES:<br />
Europe Lake Forest Area<br />
• Europe Lake Forest Area is in the Town of Liberty Grove. Liberty Grove has adopted the county’s<br />
zoning ordinance. The surrounding land use is primarily natural area with lesser amounts of idle<br />
cropland, cropland, orchards, and residential lots.<br />
• Soils are shallow <strong>to</strong> deep, well drained, and level <strong>to</strong> moderately steep. A sandy loam or loam subsoil<br />
overlays sandy loam or fine sandy loam till or dolos<strong>to</strong>ne bedrock (USDA SCS 1978).<br />
• The shoreline of Wisconsin Bay is comprised of rubble, cobble, and gravel with small portions of<br />
shelving bedrock, and is the northern most bay on the tip of the peninsula.<br />
• Europe Lake is a 273-acre seepage lake with an average depth of 6 feet and maximum depth of 10<br />
feet. Lake is classification is oligotrophic, meaning it is generally unproductive and nutrient poor.<br />
Water quality of the lake is considered very good, however increased boating pressures could<br />
intensify turbidity within the lake (Corbisier 2000).<br />
• Common vegetation includes butternut (Juglans cinerea), oak (Quercus spp.), hemlock (Tsuga<br />
canadensis), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and pine (Pinus spp.). Vegetation surrounding the lake<br />
is birch (Betula spp.), northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), and pine species with a marsh at the<br />
northern end. A red pine (Pinus resinosa), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) and old-growth beechsugar<br />
maple mesic forest is located between Europe Lake and Lake Michigan. Swampy sections of<br />
boreal forest occur east of the lake and support many rare plants.<br />
• The site provides good habitat for many species of migra<strong>to</strong>ry birds. Fish species present in Europe<br />
Lake include walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui), northern pike<br />
(Esox luscious), rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and pumpkinseed<br />
(Leposis macrochirus).<br />
• In Wisconsin Bay, smallmouth bass are present along with Chinook salmon (Onchorynkus<br />
tshawytscha) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), which are annually s<strong>to</strong>cked for fishing purposes<br />
CONSERVATION GOALS:<br />
• Integrate and maintain an ecological connectivity with Newport State Park.<br />
• Protect the remaining ecological integrity of the Lake Michigan shoreline including the upland forest<br />
and hydrology supporting the coastal areas.<br />
THREATS:<br />
• Residential development is the main threat <strong>to</strong> northern <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong>.<br />
• The major threat <strong>to</strong> this area is fragmentation of the ridge and swale <strong>to</strong>pography, dolos<strong>to</strong>ne<br />
escarpment, shoreline of Europe Lake, mesic hardwood forest and lowland boreal forests of areas<br />
west of Europe Lake.<br />
INFORMATION NEEDS / GAPS:<br />
• Completed inven<strong>to</strong>ries of plant and animal species<br />
• Develop list of individuals and supportive groups interested in conservation efforts<br />
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Europe Lake Forest Area