09166 - East Torch

East Torch encompasses 4,647 acres within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin. The area centers on the headwaters of the Torch River and includes portions of the Moose River drainage. Water moves through this landscape as the defining feature—originating in seepage areas and small tributaries that coalesce into the named river systems, shaping both the forest structure and the ecological communities that depend on consistent moisture.

The forest here is dominated by boreal and transitional communities characteristic of the Lake Superior region. Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce (Picea mariana) form the canopy in the wettest areas, with velvetleaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides) and mountain holly (Ilex mucronata) composing the shrub layer. On better-drained sites, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) and American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) become more prominent. The forest floor supports a distinctive ground layer of threeleaf goldthread (Coptis trifolia), creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula), white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), and wide leek (Allium tricoccum). Orchids including Case's ladies' tresses (Spiranthes casei) and American wintergreen (Pyrola americana) occupy specific microsites within this acidic, organic-rich soil.

Large carnivores structure the food web across East Torch. The federally endangered gray wolf (Canis lupus) and the federally threatened Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are apex predators here, with lynx hunting snowshoe hares in the dense spruce-fir understory and wolves taking larger prey including wapiti (Cervus canadensis). American black bears (Ursus americanus) and North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) occupy mid-canopy and ground niches. In the river systems, muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and walleye (Sander vitreus) are the dominant predatory fish, while four-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum) and painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) inhabit the shallow margins and wetland pools. The federally endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) hunts insects above the forest canopy at dusk. Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), proposed for federal threatened status, migrate through the area seasonally. Barred owls (Strix varia) hunt from the canopy at night, and the Torch River headwaters support an experimental population of whooping cranes (Grus americana), a non-essential population under federal management.

Moving through East Torch, a visitor experiences the landscape as a gradient from open water and wetland margin to dense coniferous forest. Following the Torch River upstream, the sound of flowing water accompanies the transition from mixed pine-hardwood forest into increasingly dense black spruce and balsam fir stands, where the understory darkens and the ground becomes spongy with sphagnum and organic matter. The air cools noticeably as canopy closure increases. Climbing away from the river into upland areas, the forest opens slightly, eastern white pine becomes more visible in the canopy, and the understory shifts to include more hophornbeam and fewer conifers. The contrast between the dark, wet cove forests along the Moose River and the lighter, drier ridgeline communities defines the sensory experience of moving through this roadless area.

The Ojibwe people, primarily the Bad River Band, Lac Courte Oreilles Band, and Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, historically inhabited and used this region. The Ojibwe migrated to the Lake Superior region from the east, settling at Madeline Island before dispersing into the interior of northern Wisconsin by the mid-1700s. They gathered seasonal resources including maple sugar, berries, nuts, and medicinal plants. The area supported hunting of large game such as deer and bear, trapping of fur-bearing animals like beaver and muskrat, spearfishing in the waterways, and harvesting of wild rice from the region's aquatic resources. Under the Treaties of 1837 and 1842, the Ojibwe ceded this territory to the United States while specifically reserving rights to hunt, fish, and gather on the ceded lands. These treaty rights were reaffirmed by the 1983 Voigt decision. Today, the U.S. Forest Service manages these lands in consultation with eleven Ojibwe tribes to protect culturally significant sites and facilitate the exercise of treaty rights.

The region experienced extensive logging during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Willow River Lumber Company constructed rail lines in the early 1910s, which were later taken over by the Edward Hines Company (Park Falls Lumber) in 1920. The Bissell Lumber Company operated spurs reaching into eastern Price County beginning around 1919. The Superior and Southeastern Railroad, billed as the longest logging rail in Wisconsin, operated a main line approximately sixty miles long during the 1920s, running through nearby Clam Lake and connecting to Grandview and Loretta. Nearby Park Falls and Glidden served as major industrial hubs, housing large sawmills that processed logs transported from surrounding forests via rail and river. Following the timber boom, much of the land in Ashland and Price counties was cleared for agriculture, but many farms failed during the 1920s and 1930s, leading to widespread tax delinquency and land abandonment.

Federal acquisition of these lands was authorized under the Weeks Act of 1911, which provided authority to purchase private lands for protecting the headwaters of navigable streams. In 1925, the Wisconsin legislature passed an Enabling Act granting the federal government permission to acquire and manage lands within the state as National Forests. Purchase units were established in stages: the Moquah, Flambeau, and Oneida units in December 1928; the Mondeaux and Chequamegon units in May 1931; and the Oconto unit in 1932. On March 2, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation designating these purchase units collectively as the Nicolet National Forest. In July 1933, the original Nicolet was divided, with the western half becoming the Chequamegon National Forest, and East Torch became part of the Chequamegon. President Harry S. Truman enlarged both forests by Executive Order 10374 in 1952, adding lands acquired under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act and the Weeks Act.

During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed fire towers, fire lanes, and early forest roads throughout the surrounding district to facilitate reforestation and fire protection. The current forest cover is largely the result of massive replanting efforts by the CCC during this era, with most trees in the area representing even-aged second-growth forest. The East Torch area is now designated as a 4,647-acre Inventoried Roadless Area, protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and managed by the Great Divide Ranger District.

Vital Resources Protected

Headwater Protection for Cold-Water Fisheries

The East Torch area encompasses headwaters of the Marengo River and Twentymile Creek, which support brook trout populations dependent on cold, clear water and stable stream connectivity. Road construction in headwater zones directly increases sedimentation and stream temperature through canopy removal and erosion from cut slopes, degrading the spawning substrate and thermal conditions these fish require. The USFS has identified these watersheds as Priority Watersheds, recognizing that their current condition is essential to restoration goals across the broader landscape.

Habitat Connectivity for Federally Protected Carnivores

The roadless interior provides unfragmented habitat for gray wolves (federally endangered) and Canada lynx (federally threatened), species that require large territories and movement corridors across intact forest. Road construction fragments this habitat, creating edge effects that increase human-wildlife conflict and reduce the functional connectivity these species depend on to access prey and mates across the landscape. The presence of both species indicates this area functions as part of a critical regional network for large carnivore recovery.

Refuge for Cold-Adapted Forest Species Under Climate Stress

The area supports balsam fir, black spruce, and white spruce—species whose suitable habitat is projected to contract as regional temperatures warm. The roadless condition preserves these populations in their current distribution and allows them to persist as climate conditions shift, maintaining genetic diversity and ecosystem function. Road construction and associated timber harvest would remove mature individuals of these species and expose remaining trees to edge effects (wind, temperature extremes) that accelerate decline in a warming climate.

Migratory Bird Stopover Habitat

The interior forest provides stopover habitat for migratory bird species during spring and fall migration, when birds require undisturbed forest interior to rest and refuel. Road construction fragments this habitat and increases edge effects, reducing the quality and availability of shelter and food resources that migratory species depend on during their journeys. The loss of stopover habitat in one location cascades across the migration network, affecting population viability across multiple regions.

Threats from Road Construction

Sedimentation and Stream Temperature Increase from Canopy Removal

Road construction requires removal of forest canopy along the road corridor and cut slopes to create stable roadbeds. This canopy loss allows direct solar radiation to reach the stream, raising water temperature and reducing the cold-water refugia that brook trout require for survival and reproduction. Simultaneously, exposed soil on cut slopes erodes during rainfall and snowmelt, delivering fine sediment that smothers spawning gravel and clogs the interstitial spaces where trout eggs develop. In headwater streams like those in East Torch, where water is already thermally marginal, even modest temperature increases can exceed the thermal tolerance of cold-water species.

Habitat Fragmentation and Edge-Effect Expansion for Large Carnivores

Road construction divides the roadless area into smaller patches, reducing the continuous habitat available to gray wolves and Canada lynx, both of which require large territories to hunt and breed successfully. The road corridor itself becomes a barrier to movement and a zone of human activity (vehicle traffic, hunting access) that increases mortality risk and behavioral avoidance. Edge effects—including increased light penetration, wind exposure, and invasive species colonization—expand inward from the road, degrading habitat quality in the interior and reducing the effective size of remaining habitat patches.

Invasive Species Colonization Along Road Corridors

USFS assessments document that non-native plant species are twice as common within 500 feet of existing forest roads. Road construction creates a disturbed corridor that invasive species exploit for establishment and spread, radiating into the roadless interior where native species regeneration is currently unimpeded. These invasives inhibit the regeneration of balsam fir, black spruce, and white spruce, preventing these cold-adapted species from maintaining their populations as climate conditions shift. Once established, invasive species are difficult and costly to remove, making the roadless condition a critical buffer against this threat.

Culvert Barriers and Stream Connectivity Loss

Road construction across drainage networks requires culverts to allow water passage beneath the road surface. Culverts frequently become barriers to fish movement, particularly for brook trout attempting to access spawning habitat upstream or downstream. Even when culverts do not completely block passage, they alter stream flow and temperature, creating conditions unsuitable for fish migration. In a headwater area where stream connectivity is already stressed by climate-driven hydrological shifts, culvert barriers would further fragment populations and reduce genetic exchange, increasing extinction risk for isolated brook trout populations.

The East Torch Roadless Area encompasses 4,647 acres of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northeast Sawyer County, Wisconsin. This roadless tract protects the headwaters of the Torch River and the Moose River watershed, offering backcountry hunting, fishing, and birding accessible only by foot from the forest perimeter. All recreation here depends on carry-in access — the absence of interior roads preserves both the primitive character of the experience and the undisturbed condition of the streams and forest interior that support fish and wildlife.

Hunting for white-tailed deer, black bear, ruffed grouse, and American woodcock is the primary backcountry use. Hunters access the roadless interior on foot from National Forest System roads that border the area; consult the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest to locate where motorized travel ends. Wisconsin DNR regulations apply: portable tree stands and ground blinds are permitted but must be removed within one week after season closes; permanent stands and nails or screws on live trees are prohibited. Bear baiting is allowed under state guidelines; off-road vehicle use for stand placement or removal is strictly prohibited. The area falls within Wisconsin's Northern Forest Zone for deer management and supports elk as part of the regional reintroduction landscape.

Fishing the Torch River headwaters and Moose River offers access to brook trout and brown trout in cold-water streams, plus northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish in slower sections. No developed boat launches exist within the roadless area; anglers hike from the perimeter to reach these rivers. Wisconsin's general inland trout season runs from the first Saturday in May through October 15, with a daily bag limit of 5 trout (minimum 8 inches for brook trout, 10 inches for brown trout). The roadless condition preserves the headwaters' water quality and the quiet, primitive fishing experience.

Birding in and around East Torch focuses on forest interior and wetland specialists. The area hosts breeding warblers including Nashville, Yellow-rumped, Black-and-white, Black-throated Green, Northern Waterthrush, and Canada Warbler, along with Barred Owl, Ruffed Grouse, Broad-winged Hawk, Veery, Hermit Thrush, and Wood Thrush. Conifer specialists such as Blue-headed Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Northern Parula, and Blackburnian Warbler are found in mature stands. Boreal and bog species — including Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Canada Jay, and Boreal Chickadee — occur in nearby tamarack and black spruce wetlands. Winter birding is generally slow unless irruptive finches (Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll) move into the region. The roadless interior provides unbroken forest habitat essential for breeding warblers and interior-dependent species.