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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HUNGRY SETTLEMENT MARSH<br />
LOCATION:<br />
Hungry Settlement Marsh encompasses approximately 375 acres located south of Sturgeon Bay<br />
in east central <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong> (T26N, R25E) in the Town of Nasewaupee. As this report represents general<br />
areas of concern, exact locations of boundary lines have not been designated.<br />
GENERAL SITE DESCRIPTION:<br />
Hungry Settlement Marsh lies adjacent <strong>to</strong> the Ahnapee State Trail. The site contains an acid bog,<br />
a vegetation type that is rare in this area. Because current property owners are amenable <strong>to</strong> protection<br />
there is currently minimal threat <strong>to</strong> the marsh at this writing.<br />
The Town of Nasewaupee does not currently utilize land use regulation or zoning, except for<br />
state-mandated zoning of shorelines and navigable streams. However, a planning initiative started in the<br />
summer of 1997 has spawned numerous public meetings, surveys, informational forums and professional<br />
land use planning services that are being used <strong>to</strong> develop a comprehensive land use plan. Considerable<br />
information has been gathered, all leading <strong>to</strong>ward a land use framework that reflects the public’s wishes<br />
and intentions. Many community members are volunteering substantial time and energy at various levels<br />
<strong>to</strong> develop the <strong>to</strong>wn’s comprehensive land use plan, which is scheduled for completion in the summer of<br />
2003.<br />
ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE:<br />
This large wetland complex contains areas of bog, alder thicket, and tamarack swamp and is<br />
mostly surrounded with upland forest. The bog community found here comprises only a portion of the site<br />
but represents the key ecological feature of the site. The bog holds well developed sphagnum hummocks,<br />
and typical bog species like bog laurel, leatherleaf and bog rosemary. This unusual occurrence appears<br />
stable, free of aggressive non-native species, well buffered by surrounding forest and wetland<br />
communities with little evidence of human disturbance.<br />
The Hungry Settlement Marsh contributes water <strong>to</strong> S<strong>to</strong>ny Creek via a small tributary. Wetlands<br />
of this type are very rare in <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong>. Bogs of this nature are more common in the northern sandy<br />
regions of Wisconsin. This is one of the few environments in the county where the bog laurel grows in<br />
great quantity and other plants typical of bogs are also found here. Alder thicket, open bog and shrub carr<br />
are three natural community types found within the marsh. (Refer <strong>to</strong> Appendix C for a more detailed<br />
description of these natural community types).<br />
NOTEWORTHY CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL FEATURES:<br />
This is an area of the <strong>to</strong>wn of Nasewaupee that has large wetland parcels intermingled with higher<br />
lands more suited for farming. However, it has his<strong>to</strong>rically been a marginal farming region in comparison<br />
with other parts of the Town, resulting in references being made through the years <strong>to</strong> the “Hungry<br />
Settlement”.<br />
The present Ahnapee Recreational Trail utilizes the former Ahnapee and Western Railroad righ<strong>to</strong>f-way.<br />
The marsh was centered in the chosen route for the railroad and proved <strong>to</strong> be a challenge for its<br />
entire life, with this section of the railway finally being stabilized after many years of annual rebuilding<br />
and costly fill with any material available. The impact <strong>to</strong> the marsh could have been avoided had the<br />
route of the railroad been moved only a half mile south.<br />
Hungry Settlement Marsh 57