Sheboygan Marsh Wildlife Area

History

The formation of the marsh started as a large ice block, which melted and formed a kettle lake after the last glacial advance. After being a deep, open-water system for thousands of years, sedimentation eventually caused the lake to transform into a shallow-water marsh. Up to 50 feet of marl and peat is evidence that the glacial lake has been converted to a shallow-water marsh over the past 12,000 to 14,000 years.

Native American tribes that occupied the marsh as far back as 12,000 years ago include the Menominee, Chippewa and Potawatomi. The earliest European settlements in the area date back to the mid-1800s. In 1870, Sheboygan businessman John Bertschy bought approximately 6,000 acres of Sheboygan Marsh from the federal government, which acquired it from the Menominee Tribe in 1831. To drain the marsh for agricultural use, Bertschy dug ditches and removed the natural limestone dam to drain the marsh for agricultural use. However, this first attempt to drain the marsh failed, and Bertschy went bankrupt.

From 1912 to 1921, a second attempt to drain the marsh was fairly successful, with the digging of over 20 miles of ditches from 6 to 20 feet deep and over 60 feet wide. Due to low post-war prices and the high availability of farmland, the demand for this new "wilderness farmland" vanished. By 1927, restoration efforts to build a dam to restore the marsh to its natural water level and to nurture the habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife were led by Charles E. Broughton and the Sheboygan Chapter of the Izaak Walton League.

In 1937, the County purchased 6,349 acres of the marsh at a public foreclosure auction for $17,646. The current concrete dam was constructed under the federal Works Progress Administration in 1938. That same year, construction began on a campground, roadways, picnic shelters, concession stand, boat accesses, piers and a restaurant and tavern at the east end of the marsh adjacent to the dam site. This area and facilities are known as Broughton Sheboygan Marsh Park [exit DNR], managed separately from the current wildlife area by the Sheboygan County Planning Department [exit DNR].

Today, the Department of Natural Resources staff provides wildlife, fish and forestry management of the 8,166-acre Sheboygan Marsh Wildlife Area. In addition to managing the 752 acres of state-owned lands, the DNR manages the 7,414 acres of county-owned lands by a formal management agreement executed with Sheboygan County in 1984.

Management Objective

Historically, the area was a shallow-water marsh formed by a natural limestone dam in the Sheboygan River. The marsh water level dropped after the natural limestone dam was removed and drainage ditches were dug. Since constructing a man-made dam to restore the historic level of the natural dam, water levels have been managed by attempting to imitate the fluctuations and drawdowns of a natural shallow-water marsh system. Today, management activities on Sheboygan Marsh are directed at habitat improvements for nesting and migratory waterfowl, small and big game animals, grassland and forest wildlife, and the development of facilities for compatible outdoor recreational pursuits.

The wetlands are managed through drawdowns, prescribed burning, invasive species management and native vegetation seeding.
Lowland timber of northern white cedar, tamarack and hardwoods are managed through modern sustainable forestry practices using occasional selective-cut and salvage timber harvests.

Abandoned farm fields in the upland areas have been planted for prairie and grassland species. These fields are managed through prescribed burning, mowing and farming agreements. 

A 1,522-acre waterfowl refuge is established on the southern end of the property to provide resting and feeding areas for migratory waterfowl. Waterfowl hunting in this refuge is prohibited at all times, and all entry is closed to all entry from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30.