Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat - Door County Web Map

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Kayes Creek Kayes Creek, located within both the Towns of Brussels and Gardner, is a perennial stream approximately 7 miles in length, with an average width of 4 feet and a gradient of 8 feet per mile. • A variety of vegetation occurs adjacent to Kayes Creek. Upland forests contain sugar maple, basswood, hemlock, beech, red oak (Quercus rubra), aspen, and paper birch. • Kayes Creek supports three aquatic community types: coldwater, warmwater sport fish, and warm water forage fish. Cold water communities contain surface water capable of supporting cold-water fish and aquatic life, as well as providing cold water spawning habitats. Warm water sport fish communities support sport fish and their spawning habitats, and warm water forage fish communities support an abundance of warm water forage fish and aquatic life (Corbisier 2000). • Soils are of two types. The northern section of Kayes Creek, which flows into Little Sturgeon Bay, consists of deep, well to poorly drained, level to sloping soils. A loamy sand to silt loam subsoil covers sandy loam to loam till. The second type found near the headwaters of Kayes Creek is poorly drained, nearly level, and organic (USDA SCS 1978). • Kayes Creek is the primary surface water body associated with the Gardner Swamp and arises in lowlands west of the north face of Brussels Hill. Two separate branches flow northward and later join. The creek continues north through Gardner Swamp until it enters Little Sturgeon Bay between Squaw Island Point and the mainland. • Coastal wetlands bordering the mouth of the creek are important spawning locations for fish and are used extensively by breeding and migratory birds. Spring fish runs have been documented, including suckers (Catostomus commersoni), northern pike (Esox lucious), walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), and large bowfin (Amia calva) (Corbisier 2000). Gardner Swamp The Gardner Swamp Area encompasses over 5 square miles, and contains a variety of habitats including wetlands, sugar maple dominated forests, Kayes Creek, upland islands, and lowland forests. The Gardner Swamp is located directly north of Brussels Hill in southern Door County approximately 10 miles west– southwest of Sturgeon Bay. Of the 5 square miles comprising Gardner Swamp, only 1.5 square miles are part of the Gardner Marsh State Wildlife Area. The remaining portion is privately owned. • Land use consists predominantly of agriculture with lesser amounts of woodlots, residential, and commercial. Past and present disturbances in the Gardner Swamp include logging, quarrying, and clearings for campgrounds, recreation, and residential development (Clark 1999). • Soils consist mainly of deep to moderately deep, well to poorly drained, and nearly level to moderately steep soils. Silty clay subsoil overlays silty clay or dolostone bedrock (USDA SCS 1978). • Vegetation consists mainly of open to semi-open wetland. Wetland species include sedge (Carex spp.), cattail (Typha spp.), bulrush (Scirpus spp.), blue-joint grass (Calamagrostis canadensis), willow (Salix spp.), dogwood (Cornus spp.), black ash (Fraxinus nigra), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), white cedar, elm (Ulmus americana), aspen, paper birch and tamarack (Larix laricina). Sugar maple, basswood, hemlock, beech, red oak, aspen, and paper birch dominate upland forest areas (Clark 1999). Brussels Hill / Kayes Creek / Gardner Swamp Complex 53
• The main surface water body of Gardner Swamp is Kayes Creek. • A Wisconsin special concern species, long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata) is found at Gardner Swamp (Clark 1999). It is unknown if any additional threatened or endangered plants and animals are present, as biological inventories have not been completed. CONSERVATION GOALS: • Protect the remaining upland forest habitat throughout the Brussels Hill area and limit further fragmentation of the landscape. • Restore and maintain the water quality and landscapes buffers along the Kayes Creek corridor to protect the fish-spawning habitat. • Eliminate or prevent the introduction of exotic invasive species within the site (e.g., garlic mustard in the Brussels Hill area). • Enhance the ecological integrity and landscape connectivity within the corridor of Brussels Hill, Gardner Swamp and Kayes Creek. THREATS: • Escalating numbers of residential and commercial developments, seasonal housing and recreational facilities threaten the ecological health of the area. Because of close proximity of this area to Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay, people find it convenient to live in this outlying area and commute to work in the city. This tendency is expected to increase with the upgrade of Highway 57 to a divided 4-lane road in the near future. • Water quality is threatened in some areas by unsuitable septic system uses. • Pesticide use and agricultural runoff from inadequately monitored/managed farms also contribute to water quality degradation. This is especially problematic in Door County because of shallow soils and fractured bedrock. Fractures act as pathways for polluted water to directly enter underground aquifers (Stieglitz and Schuster 1985), and contaminants are often not filtered by adequate soil amounts before contact is made with groundwater (Grimm et al. 1999). • Water quality in Kayes Creek is threatened by low dissolved oxygen content and abundant algae growth. Sources of these threats are cropland erosion, stream bank pasturing, and barnyard or exercise lot runoff (Corbisier 2000). • Agricultural lands and other open spaces are declining due to residential development. The average age of farmers is increasing as land prices are escalating, supporting an incentive to sell. INFORMATION NEEDS / GAPS: • Biological and habitat inventory for Brussels Hill and Kayes Creek ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Planning for Natural Areas in Door County, Wisconsin, May 1995, by Laura E. Hewitt 54 Glaciokarst Depressions in the Door Peninsula, Wisconsin, Physical Geology 1987, by Carol Rosen and Michael Day Brussels Hill / Kayes Creek / Gardner Swamp Complex
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Cover Photographs Top: Dwarf Lake I
Page 4 and 5: Illustrations © 1997 Chris Baird,
Page 6 and 7: This volume indicates that Door Cou
Page 8 and 9: 6 — Acknowledgement — This publ
Page 11: — Table of Contents — Foreword
Page 14 and 15: As notable as the county is as a si
Page 17 and 18: A (very) Short Course in Ecology &
Page 19: Obviously, these are broad concepts
Page 22: 20 Site Index Wildlife Habitat & Na
Page 25 and 26: SITE FEATURES: Ahnapee River Corrid
Page 27 and 28: 26 Ahnapee River Corridor
Page 29 and 30: Ahnapee River Corridor ALL PHOTOS B
Page 31 and 32: • Dominant tree species of this f
Page 33 and 34: Black Ash Swamp ALL PHOTOS BY PAT R
Page 35 and 36: • A small man-made spring fed pon
Page 37 and 38: 36 Delwiche - Sand Hill Pineries &
Page 39 and 40: COLEEN FEUCHT COLEEN FEUCHT JERRY V
Page 41 and 42: • Near the Green Bay shoreline, s
Page 43 and 44: 42 Renard Swamp
Page 45 and 46: Renard Swamp ALL PHOTOS BY COLEEN F
Page 47 and 48: A description of Foscoro was writte
Page 49 and 50: 48 Stony Creek Wetlands Complex
Page 52 and 53: BRUSSELS HILL / KAYES CREEK GARDNER
Page 56 and 57: ROAD WHITE ROAD Door County ROAD RO
Page 58 and 59: HUNGRY SETTLEMENT MARSH LOCATION: H
Page 60 and 61: W A U P E E 42 ROCK RIDGE Y-INN RD.
Page 62 and 63: SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN SHORELINE LO
Page 64 and 65: • One important soil characterist
Page 66 and 67: • The wettest portion of the fen
Page 68 and 69: CONSERVATION GOALS: • Protect the
Page 70 and 71: e or DRIVE ement OT ROAD EWOOD BLUF
Page 72 and 73: SAWYER HARBOR / LOST CREEK & LARSON
Page 74 and 75: Larson Creek Watershed Larson Creek
Page 76 and 77: RD. N. BAY KLUTH RD. POPLAR LANE EL
Page 78 and 79: WEST BRANCH WHITEFISH BAY CREEK COR
Page 80 and 81: CONSERVATION GOALS: • Enhance and
Page 82 and 83: WILLOW COURT RD. G G BOTTOM ROAD OA
Page 84 and 85: BAY SHORE BLUFF LANDS LOCATION: The
Page 86 and 87: • Below the escarpment are severa
Page 88 and 89: CONSERVATION GOALS: • Maintain or
Page 90 and 91: Door County GARDNER WEST N NASEWAUP
Page 92 and 93: LOGAN CREEK / LOST LAKE CORRIDOR LO
Page 94 and 95: • The northern shore of Lost Lake
Page 96: OAK ROAD ROAD HILLSIDE WILLOW COURT
Page 99 and 100: Presettlement ecological processes
Page 101 and 102: • Vegetation in the basin is pred
Page 103 and 104: • The stream is annually stocked
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The site boundaries include some of
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• Agricultural practices includin
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MIKE GRIMM STEVE KELLERMAN
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NOTEWORTHY CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL
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• Sometime prior to 1950, County
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MINK RIVER / ROWLEY’S BAY SYSTEM
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commercial fishermen. Seventeen spe
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THREATS: • As the quality of the
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GRASSE ROAD HIGH E OD LA. ROAD Door
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SITE FEATURES: Europe Lake Forest A
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Europe Lake Forest Area ALL PHOTOS
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Inventories of plants and animals c
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• Federally threatened dwarf lake
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132 edentula) occurs on Washington
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Detroit Island Detroit Island is 2.
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• Rock Island has excellent quali
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• Deer herbivory is widespread (J
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Horseshoe Island Horseshoe Island,
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Hog Island Hog Island is a small, l
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144 Grand Traverse Islands
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D. ISLE ROAD VIEW ROAD 2000 0 N 200
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Holand, H. 1925. Old Peninsula Days
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152
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environmentally sensitive area Comm
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On the Pacific coast of North Ameri
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158
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160 The Natural Heritage Inventory
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Rare Species & Natural Communities
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170 Appendix B - Door County’s Ra
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Bedrock Shore Wave-splashed bedrock
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Great Lakes Dune (formerly called L
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Northern Mesic Forest This forest c
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Springs and spring runs; hard. Spri
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Recognizing qualitative differences
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The State Natural Areas Program cel
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184 Peninsula Park Beech Forest Sta
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186 Toft Point State Natural Area D
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188 Whitefish Dunes State Natural A
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190 Coffee Swamp State Natural Area
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192 Rock Island Woods State Natural
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194 North Bay State Natural Area De
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196
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The Ridges Sanctuary P.O. Box 152 8
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Wisconsin Department of Natural Res
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202 Reader’s Notes
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