Brooks Bluff State Natural Area

Brooks Bluff lies on the south-facing slope of an east-west tending mesa and contains oak barrens, an exceedingly rare community in Wisconsin. The bedrock is near the surface and is composed primarily of sandstone, although there is also a thin limestone cap. The bluff summit is mostly open with scattered oaks, white birch, and old-field juniper. The oak barrens is dominated by grasses such as big and little blue-stem, Indian grass, needle grass, and grama grasses, and typical dry prairie forbs such as azure aster, four species of milkweed, prairie coreopsis, alumroot, sunflowers, rough blazing-star, wild lupine, wood betony, and goldenrods. The area also harbors four rare plants including the state-endangered Hudson Bay anemone. The remainder of the slope is forested with a relatively open oak woods.

The Area is managed as a reserve for rare plants and bedrock communities. Natural processes will determine the structure of the natural communities, along with prescribed understory manipulation on the bedrock communities. The Area provides opportunities for research and education on the highest quality native ecosystems.

In the forest growing on the bedrock, the native dominant tree species (primarily pines and oaks) are managed passively. However, understory manipulation and shrub control via small-scale brushing or fire may be needed to mimic natural disturbance patterns. These management activities are done to assure the continued presence of rare plant species. Other allowable activities throughout the site include control of invasive plants and animals, maintenance of existing facilities, salvage of timber after storms, and access to suppress wildfires.

Brooks Bluff is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 1990.

Source: WDNR