Northeast Sands Landscape

Map showing the Northeast Sands Ecological Landscape

General Description

The Northeast Sands Ecological Landscape occupies a relatively narrow, vertical band of land in northeast Wisconsin. This landscape formed in glacial outwash sand plains (some of them pitted), and has steep outcropping Precambrian bedrock knolls of basalt, rhyolite, or granite. Sandy ground moraines and end moraines are also interspersed in the landscape.

Vegetation

Historically, extensive oak/jack pine barrens and jack pine forests were found in the outwash sand portions of this Ecological Landscape. Moraines supported forests of hardwoods, red pine, and white pine. Outwash plains often contained pitted depressions, resulting in numerous wetlands and kettle lakes. Most of this Ecological Landscape is still forested; aspen predominates, followed by northern hardwoods. Jack pine remains on the outwash plains along with northern pin oak. There are several important occurrences of jack pine/oak barren communities. A small percentage of this Ecological Landscape contains spruce-fir-cedar forest and lowland hardwood forest. The Brazeau Swamp is one of the best representations of large cedar swamp forests in northern Wisconsin.

Hydrologic Features

The Northeast Sands contains several important river systems as well as extensive wetlands. The Menominee is the largest, located on the Michigan-Wisconsin border. Several wild rivers in Landscape are the Wolf, Pine, Popple, and Pike. The Upper Peshtigo River runs through the Landscape's center and includes the Caldron Falls Flowage and the High Falls Reservoir. Extensive wetlands, including the Peshtigo Brook State Wildlife Area, are found here. This Ecological Landscape has high levels of watershed pollution, according to Wisconsin DNR, with three of five watersheds classified as highly polluted. Its lakes, though few, ranked second worst in pollution levels among the Ecological Landscapes.

Land Use

The total land area of the Northeast Sands Ecological Landscape is approximately 987,000 acres, of which 77% is classified as timberland. About a third of the Ecological Landscape is publicly owned, mostly by counties.

Socioeconomics

Socioeconomic data are summarized based on county-level approximations of the Ecological Landscape (referred to as a "region"). Economic data are available only on a political unit basis with counties as the smallest unit. The counties included in this socioeconomic region are Florence, Marinette, Menominee and Oconto ("Northeast Sands Region"). The economy of the Northeast Sands Region is largely dependent on forest industry. The forest products and processing industries contribute 24% to the region's total industrial output. Compared with other regions, the Northeast Sands is not heavily agricultural or recreational. It has below-average percentages of acreage in farmland (only 14%) and acreage per farm, and it ranks below the mean in milk and corn production per acre. (Farmland includes all land under farm ownership, such as cropland, pastureland, and woodland.) Acreage in lakes and rivers is relatively low but has important recreation value. Although there are relatively few state parks, forests, recreation areas, or fishery and wildlife areas, a significant portion of the Nicolet National Forest is located within this region. Relatively little of the forested or agricultural land is sold or diverted to other uses. The region has a fairly low per capita water usage, with industrial needs accounting for over 50% of total water use. The Northeast Sands Region is sparsely populated and has a somewhat elderly population. It has fewer African Americans than any other region, but the percentage of Native Americans is second highest. The area is economically depressed, with the second lowest per capita income, the highest rate of unemployment, and the second highest rate of adult poverty. The percentage of manufacturing jobs is the highest in this region, and the proportion of service jobs the lowest.

For any questions regarding the maps presented on this site or the "DNR Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin" handbook, please contact Jeff Schimpff at Jeff.Schimpff@wisconsin.gov. Suggested Citation for Handbook: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. In Prep. DRAFT Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin. State of Wisconsin, Dept. of Nat. Resources, Handbook. 1805.1. Madison, WI.

Last Revised: Thursday February 08 2006