Tranus Lake

State Natural Area (No. 277)

Location: Washburn County. T41N-R10W, Sections 19, 30. 175 acres.

Access: From the intersection of Highways 63 and M in Springbrook, go east on 63 about 3.2 miles, then north on Tranus Lake Road 2.2 miles, then west on Tranus Lake Landing Road 0.2 miles to a boat landing and parking area. The lake is best explored by canoe.

Description: Tranus Lake is a 175- acre soft water drainage lake near the headwaters of Tranus Creek, which drains into the Namekagon River. The lake has retained its wilderness aspect, which is unique for a lake of this size. The shallow lake basin (12 foot maximum) supports extensive beds of wild rice and numerous other species of aquatic plants soft-stem bulrush and arrowhead. On the west shore of the lake are large areas of hard-stem bulrush and a floating mat of sphagnum moss and sedges. Adjoining the wetland is a conifer swamp of black spruce and tamarack with a dense understory of leather-leaf. A northern sedge meadow with tamarack and alder dominate the north end of the lake. The surrounding uplands are forested with second-growth stands of sugar maple, paper birch, and aspen. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), a state-threatened species have nested here and large numbers of diving ducks and coots use the lake during spring and fall migration. Tranus Lake is owned by Washburn County and was designated a State Natural Area in 1993.