Finnerud Pine Forest State Natural Area

Finnerud Pine Forest features an old-growth red pine stand more than 140 years old. Red pine dominates with many trees in the 2-foot diameter size class. White pine is much less prevalent, the largest being around 30 inches in diameter. Additional canopy species are paper birch, red oak, red maple, and aspen. The shrub layer is often dense and is composed of tree saplings, beaked hazelnut, and various briars. Herbaceous plants typical of this forest type are pipsissewa, wintergreen, barrens strawberry, bunchberry, and trailing arbutus. Also included in the area is a 36-acre open bog and about one-mile of littoral zone on Lake Kawaguesaga. Soils in the uplands are Pence-Vilas sandy loams formed over glacial deposits. Soils of the bog are Peat-Cable. Finnerud Pine Forest is owned by the University of Wisconsin and was designated a State Natural Area in 1958.