Wild River State Park - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

This area was originally a transition zone between pine forest, hardwood forest, and oak savanna. These habitats were disrupted by logging and farming. Today the park is a mix of second-growth forest and meadow. As the river tends to overflow its banks in spring, inundation-tolerant species like silver maple and basswood dominate the floodplain. Wetlands are scattered throughout the park. Berries are prevalent along the trails, as are wild roses. Each month throughout spring and summer brings different wildflowers in bloom. Some common spring flowers include wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), and Carolina puccoon (Lithospermum caroliniense). During the summer, visitors can see Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and rough blazing star (Liatris aspera). Fall brings its own mix of wildflowers, including many asters and goldenrods. There is also a variety of native grasses, including big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans).

Restoration is currently taking place through the park's Prairie Care Project, to rehabilitate oak savanna and prairie areas. These efforts involve controlled burning to reduce built-up thatch and clearing plantations of farmer-introduced pines. The Prairie Care Project allows and encourages volunteers to participate in seed collection in the fall and seed sowing in the spring. Volunteers can also help with seed processing in the winter months. Species Stewards are special volunteers who "adopt" a species in the park. They come to the park at least once every two weeks to locate their plant, check its progress towards bloom and seed production, and collect seed to be sown in new locations.

Wild River State Park is also trying to reduce or eliminate the population of non-native, invasive buckthorn within park boundaries. Volunteers are again encouraged to join in, either by simply stopping to pull buckthorn for a few hours or by getting more involved by joining the Buckthorn-Free Zone initiative. The Buckthorn-Free Zone initiative allows volunteers to claim a portion, or "zone", of the park as their own with the responsibility of eventually making it Buckthorn-Free.

The park's narrowness reduces its quality as wildlife habitat somewhat. Nevertheless, it serves as north-south continuous corrider along the St. Croix River, which is used as a migration route for many birds. Prevalent mammals include beaver, raccoon, fox, coyote, otter, squirrel, mink, and white-tailed deer. Black bear sightings are on the rise. Ducks, herons, and bitterns frequent the wetlands. Wild River State Park's bird list documents 200 species that can be viewed at different times throughout the year. One birding highlight is in May, an excellent time to view the warbler migration.