Minito Lake State Natural Area

Minito Lake is a soft water drainage lake bordered by boggy sedge meadow, conifer swamp, alders, and second-growth northern hardwoods. There is no development along the lakeshore. The 14-acre lake contains a variety of aquatic vegetation including bur-reed, American eelgrass, common bladderwort, wild calla, water smartweed, broad-leaved arrowhead, bulrush, white water-lily, and rattlesnake manna grass. The lake also contains an abundance of freshwater sponges, a good indication of high water quality. On recently exposed shoreline are such species as blue-joint grass, pond sedge, elliptic spike-rush, oval spike-rush, river horsetail, wild iris, tussock sedge, and beaked sedge. On the lake's northeast edge is a tamarack swamp and the immediate shoreline is covered with a well-developed zone of leather-leaf and steeplebush sedge meadow with associated broad-leaved cat-tails. The meadow then grades into a mixed upland forest located on the surrounding basin slope. Both inlet and outlet streams are a part of the Prairie River. Beavers are known to use this lake. Minito Lake is owned by Langlade County and was designated a State Natural Area in 1995.