The Headwaters Wilderness is a
wilderness area
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
located within the Nicolet unit of the
Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northeastern
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. It is the largest federally designated wilderness area on Wisconsin's mainland.
The wilderness area contains the headwaters of the Pine River, a legally protected wild river and a tributary of the
Menominee River
The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Dece ...
. The landscape is primarily forested
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
land and
bogs; the generally flat terrain is covered by
pine forest, with some features of
northern hardwood forest
The northern hardwood forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem found over much of southeastern and south-central Canada, Ontario, and Quebec, extending south into the United States in northern New England, New York, and Pennsyl ...
s.
The northern section of the wilderness area contains Kimball Creek, which feeds into the Pine River. In the southwest is the Shelp Lake unit, containing some of the largest and oldest trees in the national forest.
- United States Forest Service. Retrieved 17 Feb 2012 In the southeast section features the Pine River, which flows east out of the forest towards the upper peninsula
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...
of Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
.
The Headwaters Wilderness area provides opportunities for hiking, although most trails are primitive and the area contains only a few miles of designated hiking trails. The trails travel past old growth eastern white pine
''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lakes ...
and eastern hemlock
''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...
, some of Wisconsin's oldest and largest trees. Hunting, fishing, and birdwatching are other popular activities. Several species of bird that are uncommon in Wisconsin can be found in the area including Canada jay
The Canada jay (''Perisoreus canadensis''), also known as the gray jay, grey jay, camp robber, or whisky jack, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae. It is found in boreal forests of North America north to the tree line, and in the Rock ...
s, boreal chickadees, and black-backed woodpecker
The black-backed woodpecker (''Picoides arcticus''), also known as the Arctic three-toed woodpecker, is a medium-sized woodpecker ( long) inhabiting the forests of North America.
Taxonomy
The black-backed woodpecker was described and illustrat ...
s.
See also
* List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies:
*United States National Park Service (NPS)
*United States Forest Service (USFS)
*United States Fish and Wild ...
* Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...
References
External links
Official Site
at United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
Headwaters
- Wilderness.net
{{Protected areas of Wisconsin
IUCN Category Ib
Protected areas of Forest County, Wisconsin
Wilderness areas of Wisconsin
Protected areas established in 1984
1984 establishments in Wisconsin