Western Coulee and Ridges ecological landscape Attributes and Characteristics Legacy Places This ecological landscape is characterized by Bad Axe River highly eroded, unglaciated topography. Steep-sided BX SW Snow Bottom- valleys are heavily forested and often managed BA Badger Army Blue River Valley for hardwood production. Agricultural activities, Ammunition Plant SP Spring Green Prairie primarily dairy and beef farming, are typically Badlands Thompson Valley confined to valley floors and ridge tops. Large, BN TV meandering rivers with broad floodplains are also BH Baraboo Hills Savanna characteristic of this landscape. They include the BO Baraboo River TR Trempealeau River Mississippi, Wisconsin, Chippewa, Black, La Crosse, Trimbelle River and Kickapoo. The floodplain forests associated with BE Black Earth Creek TB these riverine systems are among the largest in the BR Black River UD Upper Red Upper Midwest. Spring fed, coldwater streams that BU Buffalo River Cedar River support robust brown and brook trout fisheries are common throughout the area. Soils are typically silt CO Coulee Coldwater Along the Mississippi loams (loess) and sandy loams in the uplands and Riparian Resources Western Coulee & Ridges & Coulee Western alluvial or terrace deposits in the valley floors. CE Coulee Experimental Forest River corridor BT Battle Bluff Prairie FM Fort McCoy CV Cassville to GR Grant and Rattlesnake Rivers BARRON POLK Bagley Bluffs LANGLADE TAYLOR GC Greensand Cuesta UD OCONTO CY Cochrane City Bluffs EYER CHIPPEWA M ST CROIX MENOMINEE Hay River HR HR CZ Copper Creek to DUNN MARATHON THOMAS PIERCE Eau Claire KR Kickapoo River CLARK SHAWANO Lynxville Hollows LC EAU CLAIRE Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) and Prickly Pear Cactus TB RR LX La Crosse River (Opuntia macrorhoriza) at Spring Green Prairie Minnesota NP North Prairie WAUPACA BU WOOD OUTAGAMIE LE Little and Big Green Rivers du Chien Savanna UM TR PORTAGE JACKSON BROWN CY TV LC Lower Chippewa River RU Rush Creek JUNEAU BR FM WAUSHARA CALUMET and Prairies TD Trempealeau TD ADAMS LX WINNEBAGO MONROE MARQUETTE LW Lower Wisconsin River River Delta GREEN CE GC LAKE UM FOND DU LAC ML Mill Creek UM Upper Mississippi CO VERNON SAUK BN BX BH PN Pine River River National Wildlife BT KR PN BO COLUMBIA DODGE WASHINGTON and Fish Refuge RU BA Platte River CZ PL CRAWFORD LW SP BE DANE WY Wyalusing State Park Madison RR Rush River NP JEFFERSON WAUKESHA Iowa LE SW ML WY IOWA SL SL Shoveler Lakes- CV LAFAYETTE Black Earth Trench ROCK GR GREEN WALWORTH PL 142 Legacy Places by Ecological Landscape Wisconsin Land Legacy Report Key characteristics: Population: Natural communities: » Rugged landscape with » 533,000 (See Appendix B for descriptions) little glacial influence (10.0% of Wisconsin’s » Algific talus slope » Expansive tracts of oak forest population) » Bedrock glade » Large, undeveloped river » Notable species: Cedar glade systems with extensive stands » Dry and moist cliffs of floodplain forest » Cerulean warbler » Dry-mesic prairie » Numerous coldwater streams » Turkey » Dry prairie and springs » Bald eagle » Emergent aquatic » Hillside prairies » Timber rattlesnake » Floodplain forest » Oak savanna » Blue racer » Hemlock relict » Pine and hemlock relicts » Wood turtle » Oak barrens » Mississippi River valley » Pickerel frog » Oak opening and blufflands » Brook and brown trout » Oak woodland » Caves » Channel catfish » Pine relict » Gizzard shad Size: » Sand prairie » Paddlefish » 9,640 square miles » Shrub carr » Rare land snails » 6,168,000 acres » Southern dry forest » Northern monkshood (17.2% of Wisconsin) » Southern-dry mesic forest » Shadowy goldenrod » Southern mesic forest » White and red oaks » Submergent aquatic Western Coulee & Ridges & Coulee Western EYER M THOMAS Goat prairies overlooking the Mississipi River at Rush Creek State Natural Area Figure 91: Land cover of the Western Coulee and Ridges Figure 92: Public conservation and other land ownership Figure 93: Land cover of public conservation lands in the Western Coulee and Ridges in the Western Coulee and Ridges Open Water Urban Urban Open Wetland 2% State 1% County Forest 0% Agriculture 3% 3% Federal 0% 1% 7% Forested Grassland Wetland Open Wetland 7% 2% 22% Agriculture Shrubland 36% 0% Forest 42% Other 96% (private land, roads, Forested schools, cemetaries, Wetland Forest 40% military lands, etc.) 24% Grassland Shrubland 14% 0% Wisconsin Land Legacy Report Legacy Places by Ecological Landscape 143 Western Coulee & Ridges 144 Figure 94a: Cumberland Legacy Places by Ecological Landscape Legacy Places and public conservation lands of the Western Coulee and Ridges Legacy Places and publicRice conservation lands 8 Lake Ladysmith St. Croix Falls Western Coulee & Ridges 8 Barron 40 63 Chetek Amery 1 65 35 25 35 Public Conservation Lands 46 State 46 64 New Cornell Federal 64 Richmond 39 UD Bloomer Glenwood County Forest 178 City 27 HR 53 Miles 79 170 12 40 124 0 2.5 5 10 Hudson Stanley 94 22 18 29 35 40 River Falls 128 29 Chippewa 32 Falls 29 Menomonie Eau Claire Prescott 65 72 River a Chippew 12 M 2 is si ss 17 1 ip p LC 85 i R iv 63 36 er 10 37 Augusta TB RR 35 Durand 42 5 45 11 Mondovi 10 Osseo 51 11 BU 12 21 1 121 10 12 93 Minnesota 37 94 38 UM 53 Whitehall Alma 88 TR 95 50 Black River Blair Arcadia 28 Falls 7 CY Buffalo TV 95 55 54 30 49 River ck 48 la Fountain B City (continued) Galesville 4 35 TD BR 20 37 71 41 54 108 52 162 27 53 Sparta Legacy Places 1 BX Bad Axe River 16 LX 90 BR Black River Onalaska 14 BU Buffalo River CE CO Coulee Coldwater La Crosse Riparian Resources CE Coulee Experimental Forest 33 HR Hay River LX La Crosse River 13 LC Lower Chippewa River and Prairies 14 CO RR Rush River 162 Westby TV Thompson Valley Savanna 35 TR Trempealeau River TB Trimbelle River UD Upper Red Cedar River 56 Viroqua BX Wisconsin Land Legacy Report Along the Mississippi River corridor 26 CY Cochrane City Bluffs RU Rush Creek 2 TD Trempealeau River Delta RU UM Upper Mississippi Iowa 26 River National Wildlife 44 and Fish Refuge UM 23 Wisconsin L Figure 95a: Cumberland a Legacy Places and land cover of the Western Coulee and Ridges n d L Legacy Places andRice land cover ST. CROIX e Lake g a WATERSHED Ladysmith c y Re St. Croix Falls Western Coulee & Ridges 8 p 40 o Barron r UPPER CHIPPEWA t WATERSHED 63 Chetek Amery 65 35 25 46 64 Cornell New 64 Richmond UD Bloomer Glenwood 27 City 178 HR 40 170 53 12 79 124 Hudson Stanley 94 35 40 128 River Falls 29 Chippewa Falls 29 Menomonie Eau Claire LOWER CHIPPEWA Prescott 65 72 WATERSHED 12 LC 85 63 10 37 Augusta TB RR 35 Durand Mondovi 10 Osseo 93 BU BUFFALO-TREMPEALEAU 12 121 WATERSHED 37 94 UM 53 Minnesota Whitehall Alma 88 TR 95 Black River Blair Arcadia Falls CY Buffalo 95 TV 54 BLACK RIVER Fountain WATERSHED (continued) City Galesville 71 35 TD BR 108 162 27 53 Sparta 90 16 LX Onalaska CE La Crosse Land Cover 33 Urban Agriculture 14 CO Lega 162 Grassland Westby c y Pl BAD AXE-LA CROSSE Shrubland 35 a WATERSHED ces Forest 56 b Viroqua y Ecological Landscape BX Open Water Open Wetland Forested Wetland Iowa RU Miles 0 2.5 5 10 UM 145 Western Coulee & Ridges Western Coulee & Ridges 146 Figure 94b: Legacy Places by Ecological Landscape Greenwood 27 Mosinee 2 Legacy Places and public conservation lands of the Western Coulee and Ridges 1 Legacy Places andLoyal public conservation lands Augusta Western Coulee & Ridges Marshfield 10 11 10 Osseo Legacy Places Neillsville BX Bad Axe River 11 BA Badger Army 186 AmmunitionStevens Plant 21 Point 73 BN Badlands BH Baraboo Hills 121 Pittsville 38 BO Baraboo River BE Black Earth Creek 12 Wisconsin BR Black River 50 Rapids 54 CO Coulee Coldwater 53 Riparian Resources Black River Nekoosa CE Coulee Experimental Forest Blair 3 28 Falls FM Fort McCoy 7 GR Grant and Rattlesnake Rivers GC Greensand Cuesta KR Kickapoo River 94 54 27 173 LX La Crosse River (continued) 48 LE Little and Big Green Rivers River 5 LW Lower Wisconsin River k c 4 ML Mill Creek la 80 37 B BR 20 PN Pine River PL Platte River FM 21 SL Shoveler Lakes- 108 Black Earth Trench 162 27 Tomah SW Snow Bottom 53 Sparta Adams –Blue River Valley 4 31 SP Spring Green Prairie Onalaska LX 90 58 Along the Mississippi 26 New Lisbon River corridor 14 BT Battle Bluff Prairie CE 71 CV Cassville to Bagley Bluffs La Crosse 12 Mauston CZ Copper Creek to Lynxville Hollows 82 Montello GC North Prairie 94 NP Elroy du Chien Savanna 13 90 UM Upper Mississippi CO 56 River National Wildlife 162 Hillsboro and Fish Refuge Westby WY Wyalusing State Park 24 Ba rab BN oo Wisconsin Dells R 35 i 15 v e 82 r Viroqua 33 Portage BX 23 56 80 Reedsburg r 33 e v 26 i R Baraboo 16 kapoo BO 136 82 ic BT K 58 22 154 16 2 BH 40 RU KR PN 26 57 44 78 Richland 33 BA Center 60 UM 171 3 Lodi CZ 23 14 113 131 61 25 27 SP 29 60 29 LW 19 133 onsin isc River W 14 35 12 23 Boscobel BE 23 6 Middleton NP SW 130 80 ML 78 Madison 1 LE 47 29 53 SL Prairie 9 8 19 du Chien 43 Verona 58 18 18 Fitchburg 18 WY Fennimore Dodgeville 191 14 Mineral 39 Lancaster 35 Point 69 92 CV 61 151 81 Public Conservation Lands Wisconsin Land Legacy Report Platteville 34 State GR Darlington Federal Missi ssippi 81 River PL 80 23 County Forest Brodhead Cuba Monroe City Miles Iowa Shullsburg 11 0 2.5 5 10 78 Wisconsin L Figure 95b: 27 Greenwood Mosinee a Legacy Places and land cover of the Western Coulee and Ridges n d L Legacy PlacesLoyal and land cover e g a c Augusta y Re Western Coulee & Ridges Marshfield 39 p o r 10 t 10 Osseo Land Cover Neillsville 186 UrbanStevens Point 73 BLACK RIVER Agriculture 121 WATERSHED Pittsville Grassland 12 Wisconsin BUFFALO-TREMPEALEAU