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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BAY TO LAKE WILDLIFE CORRIDOR<br />
LOCATION:<br />
The Bay <strong>to</strong> Lake <strong>Wildlife</strong> Corridor covers approximately 15,200 acres in north central <strong>Door</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong>. The corridor extends in two branches south of Peninsula State Park <strong>to</strong> the shore of Lake<br />
Michigan in eastern <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong> (T29-30N, R28E). This area is in the Towns of Gibraltar, Egg Harbor,<br />
Jacksonport and Bailey’s Harbor. As this report represents general areas of concern, exact locations of<br />
boundary lines have not been designated.<br />
GENERAL SITE DESCRIPTION:<br />
The Bay <strong>to</strong> Lake <strong>Wildlife</strong> Corridor is adjacent <strong>to</strong> and contiguous with Peninsula State Park. The<br />
Fish Creek Watershed begins on the western shore of <strong>Door</strong> <strong>County</strong> along the Niagara Escarpment, a<br />
prominent ridge of dolos<strong>to</strong>ne bedrock. Thorp Pond and its associated wetlands are connected <strong>to</strong> the Fish<br />
Creek Watershed. Both upland forest and lowland hardwood and conifer swamps are ecological features<br />
of this portion of the corridor. Hibbards Creek originates southeast of Thorp Pond and flows through wet<br />
and dry mesic woodlands, a conifer swamp, shrub-carr, and ridge and swale complex before draining in<strong>to</strong><br />
Lake Michigan. As a continuous corridor, Hibbards Creek, Fish Creek and Thorp Pond connect the bay<br />
side of the county with the lakeside.<br />
The second branch of the Bay <strong>to</strong> Lake <strong>Wildlife</strong> Corridor encompasses the shoreline of the north<br />
end of Kangaroo Lake, the Piel Creek Corridor, adjoining lowland and lowland forests, and several tracts<br />
of old fields that buffer the site. Piel Creek is the major surface water source for Kangaroo Lake.<br />
Connecting the southern portion of Kangaroo Lake and the Lake Michigan Shore is Meridian Park, an<br />
area with intact lakeshore ridge and swale communities.<br />
ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE:<br />
The site encompasses a major natural corridor between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. This<br />
corridor not only holds many rare species and significant natural areas it also provides a major ecological<br />
connection across the Peninsula, despite the fragmentation by roads, agricultural land and residential<br />
development. Places like Thorp Pond, Hibbards Creek, Piel Creek, the north basin of Kangaroo Lake,<br />
and Meridian Park which lie within this site contain numerous state listed species and high quality natural<br />
communities. Three designated State Natural Areas are contiguous with this corridor: Peninsula Park<br />
Beech Forest; Peninsula Park White Cedar Forest; and Kangaroo Lake.<br />
The corridor is rich in diverse habitat types including a fen with boreal elements, alkaline sedge<br />
marshes, open water wetlands and small lakes, perennial and intermittent streams (both warm and cold<br />
water), lowland conifer forests, swamp hardwood forests, stands of northern conifer/hardwoods on clay<br />
loams and sand. There are several exposures of dolos<strong>to</strong>ne especially in the Fish Creek / Peninsula Park<br />
landscape and in Meridian Park. Ridge and swale formations exist in Meridian Park and near the outlet<br />
of Hibbards Creek.<br />
The highest quality forest communities in this corridor hold mature <strong>to</strong> near old growth conditions<br />
with large diameter shade <strong>to</strong>lerant trees, an uneven age forest structure, and large fallen trees. These<br />
conditions are most common in the wet-mesic forests south of Kangaroo Lake and in the hardwood /<br />
conifer swamps near Thorp Pond and the upper Fish Creek watershed. These old-growth patches lie in a<br />
matrix of younger aged forests of varying species composition and often-simpler structure.<br />
Local areas of high species diversity and rarity include Thorp Pond, Meridian Park, the north end<br />
of Kangaroo Lake, and the upper Fish Creek forest and escarpment landscape. The presence of nonnative<br />
aggressive species is currently minimal, however troublesome species like Japanese knotweed,<br />
barberry, exotic honeysuckle, and Scotch pine are present in scattered locations.<br />
Bay <strong>to</strong> Lake <strong>Wildlife</strong> Corridor 97