Grandma Lake Wetlands State Natural Area
| Grandma Lake Wetlands State Natural Area | |
| Wisconsin State Natural Area | |
 Grandma Lake Wetlands
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Wisconsin |
| County | Florence |
| Location | Long Lake |
| - coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Area | 495 acres (200 ha) |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Owner | U.S. Forest Service |
  Location of Grandma Lake Wetlands State Natural Area in Wisconsin
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Grandma Lake Wetlands State Natural Area is a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-designated State Natural Area featuring the undeveloped, pristine 44-acre Grandma Lake, which lies in a depression formed during the last glacial period. The lake is ringed by a large, open sphagnum bog mat. The bog mat is surrounded by a coniferous swamp of tamarack (Larix laricina) and black spruce (Picea mariana). The bog mat supports a plant community that is considered diverse and unusual, with several rare species present, including: bog arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima), dragon's mouth orchid (Arethusa bulbosa), livid sedge (Carex livida), small-headed bog sedge (Carex tenuiflora), as well as one of only a few known populations of bog rush (Juncus stygius) in the State of Wisconsin. In 1991, the US Forest Service designated the site as a Research Natural Area. Also, the site is listed as one of Wisconsin's Wetland Gems, by the Wisconsin Wetlands Association.[1][2][3]
Location and access
Grandma Lake Wetlands is located within the Nicolet National Forest, in southwest Florence County, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Long Lake. Access is via a walking trail that leads west from Grandma Lake Road, approximately 0.5 miles south of its intersection with Tie Mill Road. A small, brown breeding bird survey fencepost marks the trailhead.[4]
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GrandmaLake2.jpg
Wide, open bog mat on the northeast side of Grandma Lake
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Black spruce and tamarack muskeg at the north end of Grandma Lake
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A close-up of the bog mat, near the northeast shore of Grandma Lake
