Non-DNR landsĮntrance fees: For non-DNR-owned SNAs, we are unaware of any vehicle or admission fees. A GPS unit or compass and a detailed topographic map are useful tools for exploring larger SNAs. Hiking trails may be nonexistent or consist of undeveloped footpaths. Parking lots and lanes are not plowed during winter. Some SNAs have vehicle access lanes or parking lots, but their accessibility may vary depending on weather conditions. The good majority of SNAs are isolated and have few or no facilities. A compass and topographic map or a GPS unit are useful tools for exploring larger, isolated SNAs. If a developed trail is present, it will normally be noted on the SNA map and/or under the Maps tab. Parking lots or designated parking areas are noted on individual SNA pages and maps. Generally, there are no picnic areas, restrooms, or other developments. Very few State Natural Areas have public facilities, but nearly all are open for a variety of recreational activities as indicated below. Cathedral Pines is owned by the US Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007. Visitors should be very careful not to disturb the birds and rookery in the spring, as too much disturbance may force the herons to abandon their nests and relocate the rookery. An active Great Blue Heron rookery is found in the red and white pines traversed by the hiking trail. In general, the forests here have had a relatively light management history and the present species mix appears to be similar to that of presettlement times. These are usually bordered by sedges and grasses and some are nearly filled with cattails and other emergent aquatics, providing good waterfowl habitat. Numerous small kettle ponds and bogs are located in the pitted area just north of Archibald Lake. In places, ephemeral ponds and small open areas form interesting habitats for rare plants, including sweet colt's-foot and woodland horsetail. The largest white cedars in the complex are found along the creek, often extending up the steep slopes where they become mixed with hemlock and white pine. Most stands are quite small due to the narrowness of the floodplain and the varying hydrological conditions. Several wet-mesic forest types occur in the McCaslin Brook floodplain, including red maple-black ash-elm, hemlock-white cedar, and mixed hardwoods dominated by yellow birch. A few rather dry areas along Archibald Lake have younger stands of red pine, sometimes with thickets of hemlock, balsam fir, and hazel beneath.Ī large colony of reproducing Canada yew also occurs along the lake. They're found in the area of the Cathedral Pines hiking trail, the west-central part of the complex, the uplands bordering McCaslin Brook, and near Archibald Lake. The highlights of the natural area are the stands of old-growth conifers dominated by hemlock, along with super-canopy red and white pines. The shrub layer is poorly developed, consisting of red elder and maple-leaved viburnum.Ĭommon ground layer species include intermediate wood fern, club mosses, partridgeberry, beech drops, sedges, and tree seedlings. Hardwoods only occasionally exceed pole and small sawlog size. Paper birch is also a common associate, forming almost pure stands in places. The majority of this large site consists of upland mesic forest on sandy loam soils with stands generally composed of combinations of sugar maple, yellow birch, hemlock, white ash, basswood and beech. Cathedral Pines features one of the finest old-growth pine-hemlock stands on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
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