Jump River Woods State Natural Area

Situated along the Jump River is a floodplain forest of black ash and American elm with yellow birch, basswood, ironwood, and bur oak. This area is frequently disturbed by the scouring of the quickly rising and falling Jump River. The understory contains many prairie species including prairie cordgrass, fowl manna grass, prairie alumroot, and tall meadowrue. Bur oak dominates on the terraces above the floodplain with red maple and basswood. The understory is a combination of very rich northern hardwood forest and oak savanna species, a combination that is unknown elsewhere in Wisconsin. Plants include blue cohosh, nodding trillium, bloodroot, Canada mayflower, bottlebrush grass, wild sarsaparilla, zig-zag goldenrod, and wood thistle. Also present is a small patch of sugar maple, yellow birch, and basswood forest with abundant hemlock and scattered supercanopy white pines. This stand is important in that it is at the threshold for attaining old-growth characteristics. Characteristic groundflora include wild sarsaparilla, mountain wood-sorrel, yellow bluebead lily, red baneberry, shinleaf, Canada bunchberry, and three-leaved goldthread Jump River Woods is owned by Price County and was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.