09162 - Moose

The Moose area encompasses 6,161 acres of rolling lowland forest within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, situated on the Glidden Loamy Drift Plain in northern Wisconsin. The landscape is defined by the Moose River headwaters and the Moose River itself, which drain this region and create the hydrological backbone of the area. Water moves through a network of wetlands and forest depressions, originating in the low-lying terrain and flowing northward through a mosaic of forest types adapted to fluctuating moisture conditions.

The forest composition reflects the interplay of moisture and elevation across this lowland terrain. Northern whitecedar (Thuja occidentalis) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) dominate the wetter depressions and seepage areas, their dense canopies creating cool, moist microclimates where cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) and creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula) carpet the forest floor. On slightly higher ground, sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) form mixed hardwood stands, with eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) scattered throughout. The understory transitions from shade-tolerant species in hemlock coves to more open conditions beneath the hardwoods, where velvetleaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides) and mountain holly (Ilex mucronata) create a shrub layer. Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and three-leaved false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum trifolium) occupy the herb layer in areas where moisture persists but standing water does not.

The area supports a diverse mammalian predator community. The federally endangered gray wolf (Canis lupus) and the federally threatened Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) hunt across this landscape, with lynx preying on snowshoe hares in the dense understory and wolves taking larger ungulates including elk (Cervus canadensis). American black bears (Ursus americanus) forage on berries and other vegetation throughout the forest. The federally endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) hunts insects in the canopy and understory at dusk. Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) nest on the forest floor, while the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), proposed for federal threatened status, passes through during migration. In the Moose River and associated wetlands, muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and walleye (Sander vitreus) occupy the aquatic food web, and wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) move between water and terrestrial habitats. The four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) inhabits the moist forest floor near seepage areas. The whooping crane (Grus americana), part of an experimental non-essential population, occasionally uses the wetland margins.

Walking through the Moose area, the landscape reveals itself as a series of transitions. Moving from the upland hardwood stands, the forest darkens and cools as eastern hemlock becomes dominant, the canopy closing overhead and the understory opening into a carpet of ferns and low shrubs. The sound of water becomes audible before the Moose River itself appears—first as seepage through the forest floor, then as small streams flowing through hemlock coves. Crossing into the river corridor, the forest opens slightly, and the understory shifts to sedges and moisture-loving plants. Climbing back out toward higher ground, the canopy lightens again as sugar maple and birch replace hemlock, and the understory thickens with blueberry and mountain holly. This vertical and horizontal complexity—the interweaving of wet and dry, open and closed, flowing water and still forest—defines the character of this lowland forest.

The Moose roadless area lies within lands historically inhabited and used by multiple Indigenous nations. Lake Superior Ojibwe bands, including the Bad River Band, Lac du Flambeau Band, Lac Courte Oreilles Band, Red Cliff Band, St. Croix Chippewa, and Sokaogon Chippewa, are the primary historical inhabitants of this region. The Forest County Potawatomi historically used and inhabited the broader forest area, often in alliance with Ojibwe and Odawa nations. The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Ho-Chunk Nation also historically occupied and traveled through these lands. Through treaties signed in 1836, 1837, 1842, and 1854, Ojibwe tribes retained rights to hunt, fish, and gather on these ceded lands. The lakes and wetlands of this region served as critical harvesting grounds for wild rice (manoomin), central to Ojibwe spiritual migration traditions. The forest provided traditional medicines, berries, maple sugar, birchbark for canoes, and other materials essential to Indigenous life. Madeline Island, located to the north in Chequamegon Bay, served as a central spiritual and economic hub for Lake Superior Ojibwe bands. Today, the U.S. Forest Service operates under a 1998 Memorandum of Understanding with eleven Ojibwe tribes and a separate 2016 MOU with the Forest County Potawatomi to implement and protect reserved treaty rights within the forest.

Between 1860 and 1920, the region experienced intensive industrial logging during the "Great North Woods" timber boom. Initial extraction focused on white pine, which was floated down local rivers to mills. Following pine depletion, the arrival of railroads enabled extraction of hardwoods—maple, birch, and hemlock—that could not float. Logging dams were constructed to manage water levels for log drives. By the early twentieth century, the landscape had become "cutover" lands: vast tracts of stumps and fire-prone terrain abandoned by timber companies. During the 1910s and 1920s, European immigrants attempted to farm the cleared land, but most efforts failed due to poor soil and short growing seasons, resulting in widespread tax delinquency and land abandonment.

Federal acquisition of these lands began under the Weeks Act of 1911, which authorized the purchase of private lands to protect navigable stream headwaters. The Wisconsin Enabling Act of 1925 granted the federal government permission to acquire and manage National Forest lands in the state. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation establishing the Nicolet National Forest from several purchase units, including Oneida, Oconto, and Mondeaux. In 1952, President Harry S. Truman enlarged both the Nicolet and Chequamegon National Forests by adding lands acquired under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act and the Weeks Act. The two forests were administratively merged in February 1998 as the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The forest grew from approximately 409,000 acres in 1929 to over 1.5 million acres today.

During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps operated camps throughout the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The CCC replanted millions of trees across the region, constructing fire towers, fire lanes, and early forest roads to facilitate reforestation and fire protection. Most of the current forest cover in this area consists of even-aged second-growth forest resulting from these massive replanting efforts. In 2007, the Moose River Cedar Hills State Natural Area was designated to protect rare upland mesic cedar forests and old-growth white pine trees that escaped or regrew after the logging era.

The Moose roadless area, comprising 6,161 acres, is protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and is managed within the Great Divide Ranger District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest under the 2004 Forest Plan.

Vital Resources Protected

Moose River Headwater System The Moose Roadless Area contains the headwaters of the Moose River, a major tributary within the West Fork Chippewa River basin. This headwater position means the area's forests and soils directly control water quality, temperature, and flow patterns for downstream fisheries and communities. The roadless condition preserves the intact riparian buffer—unbroken forest canopy along waterways—that filters sediment, regulates stream temperature, and maintains the cold-water conditions required by native fish species throughout the drainage network.

Interior Forest Habitat for Federally Protected Carnivores The unfragmented forest interior within this 6,161-acre area provides essential habitat for three federally protected predators: the federally endangered gray wolf (Canis lupus) and federally endangered northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), and the federally threatened Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). These species require large, continuous territories and depend on the absence of road-induced fragmentation, which breaks movement corridors and increases human-caused mortality. The roadless condition maintains the landscape connectivity these wide-ranging predators need to sustain viable populations across the northern forest.

Breeding and Migratory Habitat for Federally Protected Birds The area provides critical habitat for the federally endangered whooping crane (experimental population) and the monarch butterfly, proposed as federally threatened. Both species depend on specific vegetation structure and connectivity across large landscapes—whooping cranes require open wetland and grassland areas within forested regions, while monarchs depend on milkweed plants in unfragmented habitats that allow safe migration. Road construction fragments these habitats and increases edge effects that expose both species to predation and parasitism.

Northern Hardwood and Conifer Forest Structural Complexity The Moose area contains northern hardwood, spruce, pine, and balsam fir stands with the structural complexity—varied tree ages, dense understory, and intact soil profiles—that supports the full native species assemblage. This structural complexity takes decades to centuries to develop and is easily destroyed by soil compaction and canopy removal. Once lost, these forest conditions are difficult to restore, making the roadless condition's protection of existing old-growth and mature forest characteristics irreplaceable in the short term.

Threats from Road Construction

Sedimentation and Stream Temperature Increase from Canopy Removal and Cut Slopes Road construction requires removal of forest canopy along the road corridor and cutting into hillsides to create stable grades. In the Moose area's rolling terrain, these cut slopes expose mineral soil to erosion, generating sediment that enters the headwater drainage network. Simultaneously, canopy removal eliminates shade, allowing solar radiation to warm streams directly. Together, these mechanisms degrade spawning substrate for cold-water fish species and raise water temperatures above the tolerance thresholds for northern long-eared bats' aquatic insect prey. Because the Moose River headwaters are the source of downstream water quality, sedimentation and warming here propagate throughout the entire West Fork Chippewa River basin.

Habitat Fragmentation and Edge-Effect Exposure for Federally Protected Predators Road construction divides the continuous forest interior into isolated patches, breaking the movement corridors that gray wolves, Canada lynx, and northern long-eared bats require to access prey, mates, and seasonal habitat. Roads also create hard edges where forest meets open pavement, exposing these species to vehicle strikes and increasing visibility to human hunters. For wide-ranging predators like wolves and lynx, fragmentation below a critical threshold makes populations non-viable; the Moose area's current unfragmented condition is essential to maintaining connectivity across the northern Wisconsin landscape.

Chronic Erosion and Soil Compaction Reducing Forest Regeneration Road construction and maintenance cause ongoing soil compaction from vehicle traffic and chronic erosion from road surfaces and ditches. Compacted soils reduce water infiltration and nutrient availability, impairing the regeneration of northern hardwood and conifer seedlings. The documented regional threat of forest regeneration failure—driven by poor soil conditions and deer overgrazing—would be accelerated by road-induced soil degradation. Once soil structure is compromised, recovery requires decades, making the roadless condition's protection of intact soil profiles critical to maintaining the forest's capacity to regenerate after natural disturbance.

Invasive Species Establishment and Spread via Road Corridors Roads function as invasion corridors for gypsy moths and aquatic invasive species, which are documented emerging threats in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Disturbed soil and edge habitat along roads favor invasive plant establishment, which then spreads into adjacent forest. Gypsy moth populations, identified as an "emerging concern" in nearby forest management projects, can defoliate the hardwood and conifer stands that define the Moose area's habitat value. Because the area's forest structure is difficult to restore once degraded, invasion by gypsy moths or other pests would permanently alter the ecosystem's composition and the habitat it provides for federally protected species.

The Moose Roadless Area encompasses 6,161 acres of rolling lowland forest in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The area's roadless character supports a range of backcountry recreation opportunities centered on the Moose River system, Dead Horse Run Trail, and adjacent Moose Lake.

Hiking, Mountain Biking, and Horseback Riding

Dead Horse Run Trail (214) is the primary corridor through the roadless area, a 54-mile multi-use trail open to hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The trail follows hard-packed native material through mixed forest of maple, oak, aspen, and birch at elevations between 1,400 and 1,500 feet. Terrain is moderately rolling with some wetter sections. The trail connects to the 74-mile Tuscobia State Trail to the north and the Flambeau Trail system to the south, creating access to a larger backcountry network. Camp Loretta Trailhead, located 2.6 miles north of Loretta on County Highway GG, offers parking for 30 vehicles and serves as the primary jumping-off point. Day Road Trailhead near Clam Lake and Dead Horse Slough Trailhead provide additional access. The trail closes mid-March through the end of April during spring thaw. A small day-use fee is charged at trailheads. The roadless condition of this area means hikers and riders encounter minimal motorized traffic on the trail itself, though the trail is open to ATVs and UTVs with proper permits.

Hunting

The Moose Roadless Area lies within the Clam Lake Elk Management Zone and the Northern Forest Zone Deer Management Unit. Elk hunting is highly regulated, with licenses awarded through a once-in-a-lifetime drawing; the season typically opens the Saturday nearest October 15. White-tailed deer and American black bear are also present. Ruffed grouse inhabit the forest, and turkey, bobcat, and fisher are documented in the broader region. Hunting is permitted throughout the National Forest except within 150 yards of buildings and developed recreation sites. Portable stands and ground blinds are allowed but must be removed within one week after season closes; permanent stands are prohibited. Off-road vehicle use for stand setup or game retrieval is strictly prohibited in the roadless area. Hunters access the interior on foot or horseback, experiencing a quiet wilderness setting away from the higher road densities that typically increase harvest pressure. Moose Lake Campground, located 20 minutes east of Hayward, provides a developed access point for the roadless area.

Fishing

The Moose River, a significant perennial stream over 40 feet wide, supports a self-sustaining fishery for muskellunge, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and panfish. The Little Moose River, a tributary feeding Moose Lake, provides additional fishing opportunity. Both waterways are part of Outstanding Resource Waters designated by the Wisconsin DNR. Access to the Moose River is non-motorized—via hiking or carry-in watercraft—along the Little Moose River Walking Trail and Forest Roads 164 and 174 where they cross or approach the river. Moose Lake, a 1,670-acre flowage, offers lake fishing from the boat ramp and sandy beach at Moose Lake Campground off Forest Road 174. The roadless condition preserves the quiet, remote character of the river corridor and maintains the high-quality watershed that supports these fisheries.

Birding

The area supports diverse breeding and migratory bird populations. Common species include Ruffed Grouse, Broad-winged Hawk, Barred Owl, Least Flycatcher, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Veery, and Hermit Thrush. Conifer specialists such as Blue-headed Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Northern Parula, and Blackburnian Warbler are found in mature stands. Wetland and bog habitats host Winter Wren, Northern Waterthrush, Canada Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and rare residents including Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Canada Jay, and Boreal Chickadee. Common Loons and Bald Eagles are frequently observed at Moose Lake and surrounding flowages. The area is recognized as an eBird hotspot (Chequamegon NF—NE Sawyer Co. and Chequamegon NF—Clam Lake area). Winter birding may feature irruptions of Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll, and Pine Siskin. The roadless condition maintains interior forest habitat essential for breeding warblers and other songbirds sensitive to fragmentation.

Paddling

The Moose River is a calm, tannin-dyed waterway suitable for kayaking and canoeing, characterized by slow water and wildlife viewing opportunities. The river features only playful riffles and mild bumps from hidden rocks—no whitewater. Moose Lake, a 1,670-acre flowage with clear water, is the primary paddling destination and is popular for non-motorized boating. Put-in and take-out access is available at Moose Lake Campground and Recreation Area off Forest Road 174, which features a boat ramp and sandy beach. The river becomes too narrow and shallow to navigate upstream from the lake. Winter drawdown of the flowage may affect seasonal access. The roadless character preserves the quiet-water experience and wildlife habitat that make paddling here distinctive.

Photography

Scenic opportunities include views of the Moose River and its headwaters, particularly from bridge crossings on Forest Road 74. Rustic Road 111, a 26-mile designated route comprising Forest Road 74 and portions of County Highway S, passes through hilly, twisty sections with views of forest and wetlands. The area's diverse tree composition—sugar maple, yellow birch, aspen, and birch—provides significant fall color in late September and October. Wildlife photography subjects include the reintroduced elk herd, Ruffed Grouse, American Black Bear, White-tailed Deer, and Wood Turtles nesting along sandy forest road edges in mid-June. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is classified as Bortle Class 2 "typical truly dark site," with the Milky Way visible to the naked eye, supporting high-quality night-sky photography. The roadless condition maintains the dark-sky conditions and undisturbed wildlife behavior that enhance photography opportunities.