Island Lake Hemlocks State Natural Area

Island Lake Hemlocks features one of the oldest and most intact old-growth hemlock-hardwood stands in northern Wisconsin. They are extremely rare on today's landscape. This site still contains many large trees including a 10-acre upland island of undisturbed, old-growth hemlock and yellow birch with some trees reaching 30 inches in diameter. The "island" is situated within an extensive conifer-shrub swamp. Hemlock dominates the canopy with yellow birch and white cedar as the major canopy associates. Scattered throughout the site are kettle depressions containing small stands of swamp hardwood and mixed conifer swamp. Hemlock regeneration is notable along the edges of some of these wetter areas. Balsam fir is common in canopy gaps as saplings and small trees, but mixed thickets of hemlock-fir saplings occur on the western and southern edges. An open bog/muskeg is present within the site's interior and small ephemeral ponds are found in areas with a perched water table. Resident bird species include blackburnian warbler, black-throated green warbler, chimney swift, pileated woodpecker, and golden-crowned kinglet. Island Lake Hemlocks and the surrounding area is also critical habitat for a state-endangered species that has a breeding population in the central part of Iron County. This animal prefers older aged mixed hardwoods and hemlock/pine. This site, with its 250-plus-year-old hemlock, provides some of the best habitat in the area. Protection of this site and other core habitat parcels throughout this area is critical for the continued existence of this population. Island Lake Hemlocks is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2009.