Pine Island Wildlife Area

 

Pine Island Wildlife Area is a 5,499-acre property located just west of Portage on Levee Road off of Highway 33. The property consists of approximately 1,200 acres of wetland habitats, 1000 acres of grasslands, 1500 acres of oak/savanna habitats and 1,900 acres of wooded habitat. The Pine Island Wildlife Area lies in the floodplains of the Wisconsin and Baraboo rivers and includes several islands of the Wisconsin River. The name for the wildlife area was taken because a large island in the Wisconsin River which is referred to as “Pine Island.”

The floodplain area between the two rivers was originally farmed by early settlers and as late as the 1950s. A hand dug ditch remains in a wetland portion of the area. Between 1890 and 1900, a levee was constructed by the Corps of Engineers on the south and north side of the Wisconsin River for flood control purposes to protect the city of Portage and the farmlands along the river. The levee on the south side of the Wisconsin River runs the entire length of the wildlife area just north of Levee Road.

A private businessman from Portage, Mr. Ross Bennett, was influential in promoting the idea for establishing a wildlife area along the Wisconsin River west of Portage. The area was considered as a wildlife area project because of its use by Canada geese. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, several hundred Canada geese consistently used the area. In 1952, the Pine Island Wildlife Area was established.

Today, the use of the property by Canada geese is not nearly as prevalent as it was in the mid-1900s. However, the wildlife area is home to many endangered species of reptile, bird and insect, as well as many more commonly seen animals, such as whitetail deer and wild turkey. In late fall, thousands of sandhill cranes congregate along the Wisconsin River adjoining and in Pine Island Wildlife Area before migrating south.

The property is part of the Leopold-Pine Island Important Bird Area (IBA) due to its extensive grasslands containing rare grassland birds.

A small tract of Pine Island Wildlife Area, Lewiston Marsh, is located on the north side of the Wisconsin River west of Portage, between Co Hwy O and Hwy 16.  There is a small parking area on Hwy O.