Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map

DELWICHE – SAND HILL PINERIES
& FABRY CREEK COMPLEX
LOCATION:
Delwiche-Sand Hill Pineries & Fabry Creek Complex covers approximately 930 acres in
southwestern Door County (T25N, R23E) in the Town of Union. As this report represents general areas
of concern, exact locations of boundary lines have not been designated.
GENERAL SITE DESCRIPTION:
The forest cover of this site ranges from dry xeric on top of the escarpment to wet-mesic across the
west-facing slope near Highway 57. This area is known for its large diameter native red pine (Pinus
resinosa) and white pine (Pinus strobs) trees. Fabry Creek, a 3.7-mile long stream runs through this
complex. The western edge of the Niagara Escarpment can be seen as ridges or small bluffs in the
interior portion of the Pinery. A major wildlife corridor runs north and south paralleling the edge of the
wooded bluff (Lukes 2001).
The Union community has been working to develop a local zoning ordinance. The town board has
been gathering information, conducting community surveys and holding public meetings to help define a
workable ordinance. Adoption of an ordinance is anticipated in 2003. State-mandated zoning applies to
land use along shorelines and navigable streams.
ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Several features of the Delwiche-Sand Hill Pineries & Fabry Creek Complex make this area
ecologically significant, including the presence of dry xeric forests (which are relatively uncommon in
Door County), large diameter native red pine and white pine, the Niagara Escarpment, and Fabry Creek.
The south forty of Delwiche Woods contains one of the most pristine stands of native trees and shrubs in
eastern Wisconsin (Lukes 2001).
The pinery thrives along the top western edge of the Niagara Escarpment with stands of
predominantly white pines and red pines of at least 100 years old. This parcel has been enrolled in the
Managed Forest Law Program since the mid 1990's and only recently has timber been selectively
harvested. As far as the owners can tell, up until this time, the forest has not been logged since the
Peshtigo Fire of October 1871. The pinery remains a good example of uninterrupted succession over
the past 125 years.
NOTEWORTHY CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL FEATURES:
Belgian immigrants were attracted to this area of the county between 1853 and 1857 from their
homes, primarily in the south central provinces of Brabant, Hanant and Namur. Extensive mixed forests
provided logs for the first structures erected by the Belgians. Few of these buildings exist today. Most
were leveled in early October 1871 by extensive and intense fires (exactly contemporaneous with, but
unrelated to, the Great Chicago Fire), which destroyed buildings, crops, livestock, timber and took more
than 200 lives. The fire partially cleared thousands of acres, and land was thus more readily available for
farming (Laatsch and Calkins 1992).
SITE FEATURES:
Delwiche – Sand Hill Pineries Area
• The complex is predominantly natural forest area, intermixed with cropland, pasture and selectively
logged woodlots.
Delwiche - Sand Hill Pineries & Fabry Creek Complex 33