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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WEST BRANCH WHITEFISH BAY CREEK CORRIDOR<br />
LOCATION:<br />
The West Branch Whitefish Bay Creek Corridor covers approximately 2,150 acres in central<br />
<strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong> (T28N, R26E) in the Towns of Egg Harbor, Jacksonport, and Sevas<strong>to</strong>pol. As this report<br />
represents general areas of concern, exact locations of boundary lines have not been designated.<br />
SITE DESCRIPTION:<br />
The West Branch Whitefish Bay Creek Corridor, locally known as <strong>Map</strong>le Creek, begins east of a<br />
small pond in the Town of Egg Harbor. The corridor extends southeast <strong>to</strong> the West Branch of Whitefish<br />
Bay Creek, then it follows the creek <strong>to</strong> Whitefish Dunes State Park. South of Whitefish Dunes State Park<br />
is the proposed conservation project Shivering Sands, partially owned by the Nature Conservancy.<br />
ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE:<br />
Fac<strong>to</strong>rs contributing <strong>to</strong> the ecological significance of this site include the unroaded mosaic of<br />
forest types at the headwaters of the stream, the contiguous nature of the riparian habitat, and the<br />
structural quality and ecological function of several individual forest and wetland tracts within the site.<br />
The lack of roads through the headwater forests of this stream represent an opportunity <strong>to</strong> protect habitat<br />
for those species requiring large forested tracts. While the quality of the habitat structure throughout the<br />
forest varies the overall size and integrity of the forest is impressive for this portion of <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong>.<br />
The riparian habitat carried by this stream stretches through an agricultural landscape in portions<br />
of three <strong>to</strong>wnships in the south central northern <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong>, and connects the large forest block near<br />
Lake Michigan at Whitefish Dunes State Park with the large forest block at the headwaters of this stream.<br />
This important landscape connection while impaired by road crossings and a constriction of the riparian<br />
corridor at <strong>County</strong> Road WD is for the most part in tact and could be enhanced.<br />
Several individual locations within this site bear special note for their significance. The open<br />
semi-permanent marsh on the south side of <strong>County</strong> Road I at the extreme south west end of this site is<br />
annually used by large numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds during spring migration. The diversity of<br />
species is equally impressive, as it is not uncommon <strong>to</strong> see 10 or more species of waterfowl at one time at<br />
this wetland. Elsewhere, within the headwater forest, good quality upland tracts of mature hemlock,<br />
sugar maple and beech grow on the rolling glacial moraine formations along the stream. Several tracts<br />
show little evidence of recent cutting and hold a diverse native ground flora.<br />
A complete account of the ecological significance of this area is dependent on further biological<br />
inven<strong>to</strong>ries of the site. However, several rare plants and invertebrates have been cataloged; refer <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Natural Community Cross Reference, Appendix “A” and Wisconsin’s Natural Heritage Inven<strong>to</strong>ry,<br />
Appendix “B”.<br />
NOTEWORTHY CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL FEATURES:<br />
The area has a rich cultural his<strong>to</strong>ry. Artifacts found near the mouth of the creek may date as early<br />
as 1100 BC. Archaeological excavations carried out prior <strong>to</strong> the construction of the Whitefish Dunes<br />
Visi<strong>to</strong>r Center revealed eight occupations, beginning with the North Bay people about 100 BC, followed<br />
by the descendants, the Heins Creek people (Dirst 1993). Certain key environmental attractants, abundant<br />
fish, wild plant food, wildlife and easy beach access <strong>to</strong> mention a few, brought people <strong>to</strong> this locality time<br />
and time again.<br />
Around AD 900 the Oneota people arrived. They continued <strong>to</strong> visit Whitefish Dunes through at<br />
least AD1400. Then, around 1640 the Potawa<strong>to</strong>mis and Indian refugees from other eastern tribes moved<br />
in<strong>to</strong> the area. The Potawa<strong>to</strong>mis were still here when Euro-Americans arrived in the 1800’s.<br />
West Branch Whitefish Bay Creek Corridor 77