Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area

Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area is a 7,155-acre (2,896 ha) protected area just off of U.S. 2 in Florence County, Wisconsin, USA. The nearest unincorporated community is Spread Eagle, Wisconsin, but the closest large city is Iron Mountain, Michigan; 6 miles (10 km) away. The Spread Eagle Barrens is owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Energy Corporation, and was designated a State Natural Area in 1995.[2]

Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area
Location of Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area in Wisconsin
Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area (the United States)
LocationFlorence, Wisconsin, United States
Coordinates45°51′49″N 88°59′38″W
Area7,155 acres (28.96 km2)
Elevation1,122 ft (342 m)[1]
Established1995
Governing bodyWisconsin Department of Natural Resources

In February 1993, the Natural Resources Board approved the creation of an 8,500-acre (3,400 ha) Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area. In August 1995, the Board approved the first purchase of land for the new natural area: 3,900 acres (1,600 ha) acres from Florence County at a cost of $1,400,000. Governor Tommy Thompson authorized the purchase in September 1995.[3]

Despite the barrens name, many plants and animals call Spread Eagle home. The large grasslands and barrens are dominated by scattered jack pine, red pine, scrub oak,[4] and quaking aspen trees. The open landscape is maintained by timber harvesting and controlled burns. Some of the birds that live in the area are: northern harrier, upland sandpiper, northern raven, winter wren, eastern bluebird, warbling vireo, Nashville, chestnut-sided, pine, and mourning warblers, clay-colored sparrow, common nighthawk, eastern towhee, and Brewer's blackbird. Black bears, fishers, badgers, coyotes, red foxes, and white-tailed deer are some of the animals that roam the area. There are two rivers that run through the barrens: the Pine River and the Menominee River.[2]

References
  1. "Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1999-09-30. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  2. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (2010-10-19). "Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area".
  3. Crehore, Dave (April 1997). "A sense of space: Spread Eagle Barrens preserves a place with a long view over rolling, open country". Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine. Madison, Wis.: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
  4. Scrub oaks may be Quercus dumosa, dwarf Chinkapin oak (Quercus prinoides), or simply undernourished black oak (Quercus velutina), white oak (Quercus alba), northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis), or bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa). Less common but possible is bear oak (Quercus ilicifolia).
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