Crex Meadows

Crex Meadows is a wildlife area that consists of marshes, wetlands, brush prairies, and forests. Crex Meadows is located in near the village of Grantsburg, Wisconsin, in Burnett County, Wisconsin. Its 30,000 acres (120 km²) are home to 270 species of birds and 600 species of plants.^[1]

Geological History

Crex Meadows is included in the Northwest Wisconsin pine barrens. These “barrens” are a large, sandy plain that was left as the glacier withdrew from the area around 13,000 years ago. Crex is located in the southern area of the barrens and contains huge marshes. The Crex Meadows were the result of the glacier that created the early Glacial Lake Grantsburg.^[1]

Inhabited History

The Horicon Marsh area has been inhabited by people, including the Fox, Dakota, and Chippewa Indians who used the region mainly for hunting and gathering. During the 17th century, many Indians battles are thought to have occurred in the area. The Chippewa Indians were the rulers of the land when Europeans first arrived in the area during the 18th century.^[2]

Starting in the 19th century, the Euro-Americans tried farming the sandy soil, but gave up defeated The lack of wildfires in the area nearly eliminated the brush prairie. A large drainage project in the 1890s resulted in less nesting and migrating to the area by wetland birds and animals.^[1]

In 1912, the Crex Carpet Company bought 23,000 acres (93 km²) of today’s Crex Meadows. The company produced grass rugs and created carpet camps in the area. The grass rug business was successful until linoleum floor covering was invented and became popular in homes. Thus, in 1933 the Crex Carpet Company went bankrupt, yet the name of “Crex” lives on.^[1]

In 1946, the state of Wisconsin bought 12,000 acres (49 km²) of the now tax delinquent land in order to start the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area.^[1]

Wildlife

The National Bird Conservancy categorizes Crex Meadows as one of the top 500 Globally Important Bird Areas in the United States of America. Crex Meadows has a wide variety of bird species and is home to nearly every mammal found in Wisconsin as well as other marsh dwelling species.^[3]

Ospreys, eagles, trumpeter swans, Karner blue butterflies, Blandings turtles, and red-necked grebes are some of the engangered and threatened animals that find shelter in Crex Meadows. A specific pack of Timber wolves, nicknamed "the Crex pack," have been breeding and living on the property since 1995. Additionally, the peregrine falcon, Caspian tern, and great egret seasonally make their home at Crex.^[3]

References

External links

Protected areas of Wisconsin

Federal

National Park Service	Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Ice Age National Scientific Reserve Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway

National Forests	Chequamegon-Nicolet

National Wildlife Refuges	Driftless Area Fox River Gravel Island Green Bay Hackmatack Horicon Marsh Necedah Trempealeau Upper Mississippi River Whittlesey Creek

National Trails	Ice Age Trail Timms Hill Trail North Country Trail

National Estuarine Research Reserves	Lake Superior

National Wilderness System	Blackjack Springs Gaylord Nelson Headwaters Porcupine Lake Rainbow Lake Whisker Lake Wisconsin Islands

State

State Parks	Amnicon Falls Aztalan Belmont Mound Big Bay Big Foot Beach Blue Mound Brunet Island Buckhorn Capital Springs Copper Culture Copper Falls Council Grounds Devil's Lake Governor Dodge Governor Nelson Governor Thompson Harrington Beach Hartman Creek Heritage Hill High Cliff Interstate Kinnickinnic Kohler-Andrae Lake Kegonsa Lake Wissota Lakeshore Menominee River Merrick Mill Bluff Mirror Lake Natural Bridge Nelson Dewey New Glarus Woods Newport Pattison Peninsula Perrot Potawatomi Rib Mountain Roche-a-Cri Rock Island Rocky Arbor Straight Lake Tower Hill Whitefish Dunes Wildcat Mountain Willow River Wyalusing Yellowstone Lake

State Natural Areas	Abraham's Woods Bayshore Blufflands Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie Black Tern Bog Dells of the Wisconsin River Dorothy Lake Dunnville Barrens Gibraltar Rock Grandma Lake Kangaroo Lake Moquah Barrens Parfrey's Glen Pewits Nest Rush River Delta Spread Eagle Barrens Spruce Lake Bog Twin Lakes Bog Two Creeks Buried Forest Wind Pudding

State Recreation Areas	Browntown-Cadiz Springs Chippewa Moraine Fischer Creek Hoffman Hills Menominee River Richard Bong

State Forests	Black River Brule River Coulee Experimental Flambeau River Governor Knowles Havenwoods Kettle Moraine - Lapham Peak Unit Kettle Moraine - Loew Lake Unit Kettle Moraine - Northern & Southern Units Kettle Moraine - Pike Lake Unit Northern Highland-American Legion Peshtigo River Point Beach

State Historical Sites	Black Point Estate Circus World Museum First Capitol H. H. Bennett Studio Madeline Island Museum Old World Wisconsin Pendarvis Reed School Stonefield Sylvanus Wade House Villa Louis

State Wildlife Areas	Buena Vista Marsh Crex Meadows Dewey Marsh Horicon Marsh Killsnake Mead

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

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