Grandma Lake Wetlands State Natural Area

Grandma Lake Wetlands contains a 44-acre pristine soft water bog lake surrounded by an open mat that supports an unusual and diverse flora. Ringing the lake is a wide, open mat of sphagnum moss, sedges, rushes, and low ericaceous shrubs. Locally, the mat composition is quite unusual, with species such as bog club-moss, horned bladderwort, and a bulrush assuming dominance. A conifer swamp of tamarack and black spruce surround the open bog. Northern white cedar is also present. The transition zone between open bog and conifer swamp is occupied by a muskeg of widely scattered, stunted swamp conifers within a matrix of typical bog vegetation. Of particular importance is the presence of numerous rare plants, including one that was unknown in the state until 1982. Insectivorous species are quite common including pitcher plant, narrow-leaved sundew, round-leaved sundew, and several bladderworts. Birds include common loon, merlin, and American bittern. Grandma Lake Wetlands is owned by the U.S. Forest Service and was designated a State Natural Area in 1996. This site is also recognized by the Forest Service as an established Research Natural Area.