Belden Swamp

State Natural Area (No. 317)

Location: Douglas County. T45N-R14W, Sections 18, 19, 30. T45N-R15W, Sections 13, 23, 24, 25, 26. 1862 acres.

Access: From the junction of State Highway 35 and County Trunk Highway M in Moose Junction, go north on Highway 35 approximately 5 miles to a pull-off on a rise on the west side of the road. Walk west into the natural area. A compass is recommended to navigate this large area.

Description: Belden Swamp is a huge wetland straddling the divide between two major watersheds. It forms the headwaters of the Spruce River, which flows south into the Mississippi River watershed; and the Black River, which flows north into the Lake Superior drainage basin. The wetland complex contains the largest remaining undisturbed open bog in Wisconsin, along with an extensive muskeg, northern wet forest and a zone of shrubby, emergent aquatic vegetation surrounding the wetland. The thinly timbered muskeg contains stunted black spruce and tamarack with ericaceous shrubs, and sedges over a carpet of Sphagnum moss. Other parts of the site are quite open with abundant wire-leaved sedges and a low growth of bog birch and ericads, including bog laurel and bog rosemary. A dense conifer swamp of black spruce and tamarack, recovering from long-ago logging, is found in the northeast corner of the site. The large size, isolated location, and roadless aspect provide excellent habitat for the resident pack of timber wolves. Also present are four rare species: LeConte’s sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii), yellow-bellied flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris), northern harrier (Circus cyaneus) and the Jutta Arctic butterfly (Oeneis jutta). Other resident birds include palm, Nashville, and yellow warblers, savanna and Lincoln’s sparrows, hermit thrush, veery, and sedge wren. Belden Swamp is owned by Douglas County and was designated a State Natural Area in 1997.