Proposed Special Conservation Area (SCA) for the Lakewood

and Laona Districts of the Nicolet National Forest

Jeanette Jaskula, Monica Hauck-Whealton, and Sarah Wielgus

What is the importance of a Special Conservation Area?

To maintain:- undisturbed water, soil, and air- diverse plant and animal communities- habitat for threatened or endangered species dependent on large, undisturbed areas of land- undisturbed reference landscapes

SCA Goals

• Preserve 10,000 acres within the Lakewood and Laona Districts of the Nicolet National Forest as one patch or multiple patches

• Include areas that can be converted to roadless areas

• Include old-growth forest stands and riparian areas

Importance of ForestRiparian Buffers

• Trap sediment and associated nutrients (road construction can be the largest source of sediment in forestry operations)

• Moderate stream temperatures• Provide cover and important organic debris

used as food by stream invertebrates• Reduce the impacts of downstream flooding by

reducing upstream flow

Generalized Forest Types

• Conifers – Pine, Balsam Fir, Hemlock, Cedar, Tamarack

• Lowland Hardwoods – Ash, Elm, Maple

• Upland Hardwoods – Birch, Basswood, Beech, Maple

• Aspen/Birch

• Nonforested areas – sedge meadows, shrub swamps, bogs, marshes

Forest Types in Lakewood SCA

Conifer

Lowland Hardwoods

Upland Hardwoods

Aspen/Birch

52%

14%

10%

24%

Average Year of Origin of Forest Types in Lakewood SCA

1840

1860

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

Year of Origin

Conifers Lowland Hardwoods

Upland Hardwoods

Aspen/Birch

1932

1964

1924

1963

18%

0%

67%

15%

Percent Acreage of Lowland Conifers in Lakewood SCA

1925 1937 1930

1908

Northern White Cedar

Tamarack

Mixed Swamp Conifers

Cedar, Aspen, Paper Birch

Year of Origin of Mixed Swamp Conifers in Lakewood SCA

1880-1900

1901-1920

1921-1940

(81%)

(6%)

(13%)

Acres of Old Growth in Forest Types in Lakewood SCA

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Total Acres

Old Growth

Conifers Lowland HW

Upland HW

Aspen/Birch

Acres65%

24%32%

29%

Total Acreage in Lakewood and SCA for Three Timber Types

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

Acreage in Lakewood Acreage in SCA

26%

29% 12%

1.5%

2.3%

0.19%

Aspen-Birch

Upland Hardwoods

Red, Jack PineAcres

Lakewood SCA

Tiarella cordifolia – Foamflower

• Endangered in Wisconsin

• Needs rich deciduous woods

comprised of sugar maple,

yellow birch, and basswood

WIDNR

Botrychium mormo – Goblin fern

• Endangered in Wisconsin

• Associated with northern

mesic forests, particularly

sugar maple.

• Indicator of nutrient

rich sites

USF&W

Red-Shouldered Hawk

• Threatened in WI

• Needs unfragmented, mature floodplain forests along rivers

• Needs large pines

20-70 ft. tall

WIDNR

Percent Acreage of Forest Types in Laona SCA

Non-forested

7 % Conifer

28 %

Lowland HW

8 %

Upland HW

23 %

Aspen 34 %

Average Year of Origin for Each Forest Type in Laona SCA

1800

1820

1840

1860

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

Yea

r of

ori

gin

Conifer Lowland HW Upland HW Aspen Non-Forested

19221930

19381976 1970

Percent Acreage of Forest Types in Laona SCA vs. Laona District

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

Percent of

Forest Type

Upland HW

Aspen

Red / White PineDistrict

SCA

38.2 %

26.5 %

4 %

1.3 %2.7 %

2.8 %

Total Acreage Comparisons for Timber Species

0%

10%

20%

30%

Laona SCA

Mixed Hardwoods

Sugar Maple

Quaking Aspen

26.6%23%

7%

1.7%

0.1%

0.2%

SCA Distribution by Type

Non-Forested

Aspen-Birch

Conifers

Upland Hardwoods

12.2%

13.3%22.6%

51.5%

Average Year of Origin by Type

Aspen-Birch

Non-Forested

Conifers

Upland Hardwoods

1971

UNK

1935

1923

Average Year of Origin by Type

1850

1870

1890

1910

1930

1950

1970

1990

Conifer Upland Hardwood Aspen-Birch

1935 1923 1971

Percent of Old-Growth in SCA by Type

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Conifers Lowland Hardwoods

Aspen-Birch

Acres

18%

100%

41%

Total Acres

Old Growth

Algae-Like Pondweed (Potamogeton confervoides)

• Threatened in Wisconsin

• Grows in shallow water of inland lakes

WIDNR

Braun’s Holly Fern (Polysticum braunii)

• Threatened in Wisconsin

• Grows in Sugar Maple and Basswood areas

• Needs cool, shaded sites; sensitive to logging activity

• Found in Lakewood and Laona districts

WIDNR

Fairy Slipper (Calypso bulbosa)

• Threatened in Wisconsin

• Grows in Swamp Conifer and Tamarack areas

• Prefers sites with old-growth characteristics

WIDNR

Total Acres for Forest Types in Lakewood and Laona vs. SCA

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

Acres

Conifers Low HW

Up HW Aspen Non-forested

LKWD/LAONA

SCA