Elk River Valley State Natural Area

Elk River Valley contains a diversity of communities including northern wet-mesic forest, hardwood swamp, spring pond, and spring runs. Of notable interest is the high quality northern wet-mesic forest dominated by older northern white cedar with super canopy white spruce and associated species including balsam fir, yellow birch, and black spruce. The forest is predominantly closed canopy with small wind throw gaps with good structure and composition, numerous snags, and coarse woody debris. Two rare species, Canada yew and northern black currant are found here. Understory plants include speckled alder, American mountain ash, mountain holly, and blueberry. The groundlayer contains at least 7 species of orchid including moccasin-flower, blunt-leaved orchid, early coralroot, and spotted coralroot. Cinnamon fern is common throughout. Other herbaceous species include drooping woodland sedge, swollen sedge, and two-seeded sedge, marsh fern, sensitive fern, shining club-moss, three-leaved gold-thread, swamp saxifrage, small bishop's-cap, wild sarsaparilla, Canada mayflower, and American starflower. Black ash and red maple dominate the northern hardwood swamp. Included in this site is a stretch of the Elk River and associated wetlands. Northern sedge meadow dominated by blue-joint grass and tussock sedge, alder thicket, and shrub carr are found along the river. The Elk River is a large drainage river that empties into the Flambeau River South Fork. Numerous feeder creeks and streams add to its flow. It has a warm water fishery that includes muskie, northern pike, walleye, both large and small-mouth bass, and panfish. Breeding birds include olive-sided flycatcher, least flycatcher, black-and-white warbler, black-throated green warbler, blackburnian warbler, northern parula, Nashville warbler, and ovenbird. Elk River Valley is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.