Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Unfortunately, early rapacious forest practices have, by most biologists' standards, af-
fectedtheeco-diversityoftheforest.Vasttractsofmixedforesthavebeenreplacedbyfast-
growing trees such as aspen, and cutover land is left open for bird hunting. Somehow, there
are still stands of old-growth trees—some more than 200 years old—in the forest.
Human History
Ancient powwow sites or burial grounds sit adjacent to abandoned European homesteads
decaying in the weeds, while gracefully rusting logging machinery lies nearby.
Archaeological evidence dates human occupation of the northern swath of the forest,
near Chequamegon Bay, back as far as 1000 BC, to the early Woodland period Indians. It
was a strategic Indian trail stretching south from Chequamegon Bay to the Chippewa River
headwaters. Radisson and De Grossilliers established the first aboriginal contact in 1659
near Hayward, just west of the forest.
The seemingly triple-thick forest canopy brought Wisconsin's largest share of timber
opportunists, with full-scale logging beginning in the 1820s, upward of 100 million board
feet of lumber per year by the 1880s. The Chequamegon National Forest took shape in the
1930s.
Flora and Fauna
Two hundred twenty-nine species of birds inhabit the national forest as planted breeders,
migrants,orpermanentresidents;you'llincessantlyheartheforestcalledtheruffedgrouse/
muskellunge/etc. “Capital of the World.” Hundreds of mammal species also live within the
forest's confines. The black bear population, particularly around Glidden, is the highest in
the state. Even once-doomed species such as martens and fishers are rebounding. There are
wildlife-viewing areas dotted throughout.
Recreation
The national forest has a $5 daily ($20 annual) fee for
some
places (beaches, boat launches,
and the like) inside the forest, but not all. Basically, if you can park there, you need to pay
the fee. Camping does not cost extra.
TRAILS
The forest boasts two National Scenic Hiking Trails: the
North Country
and the
Ice Age.
Other trails total more than 200 miles, all doubling as cross-country ski trails in winter; 50
miles of that total is tracked weekly.
