Swan Lake Sedge Meadow and Barrens State Natural Area

Swan Lake Sedge Meadow and Barrens features and upland island and peninsula supporting oak barrens, savanna, and prairie remnants surrounded by a high quality sedge meadow with fen components. Black oak dominates the barrens at the north end of the site with white oak and red maple present in smaller numbers. The understory is dominated by Pennsylvania sedge and bracken fern. Characteristic forbs include bird’s-foot violet, wild columbine, frostweed, prairie alumroot, bastard toadflax, prairie pholox, wood betony, Cynthia, and common spiderwort. Hazelnut and early low blueberry are abundant in the shrub layer. Several openings are present on the island and represent former agricultural fields and homesteads. Areas of sand prairie are present and contain such species as switchgrass, little bluestem, June grass, sedges, arrow-leaved violet, lyre-leaved rock cress, hoary puccoon, and blue-eyed grass.

At the south end of the site, oak barrens are also present along with oak opening and small areas of dry prairie. The terrain here has numerous esker-like ridges with wet swales. Bur oak is present along with cylindrical blazing star, whorled milkweed, leadplant, side-oats grama, silky aster, prairie dropseed, Kalm’s brome and needle grass. This area provides good habitat for a number of rare herptiles.

Swan Lake Sedge Meadow and Barrens is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2012.