Blackjack Springs State Natural Area

Blackjack Springs is located on pitted sandy outwash south of the Deerskin River and drumlinized ground moraine to the southeast that supports extensive stands of mature, mostly dry-mesic forest on rolling topography. The diverse canopy is composed of red oak, sugar maple, red maple, big-tooth aspen, trembling aspen, paper birch, yellow birch, white pine, hemlock, and balsam fir. Uncommon components of the canopy include red pine and white spruce. Among the trees, sugar maple exhibits the best reproduction and is well represented in both the seedling and sapling class. White pine is reproducing well in some areas. Relatively dense stands of pole-sized timber, especially on the hogback ridge near the north end, are interspersed with well-structured, uneven-age stands of mature timber. Some of the larger pines exceed 30 inches in diameter adding a super canopy stratum to the forest. The understory varies from open park-like expanses in which ground-hugging herbs predominate to dense thickets of shrubs and saplings. Common understory species include ironwood, beaked hazelnut, American fly honeysuckle, red-berried elder, and raspberries. Pennsylvania sedge, big-leaved aster, and wild sarsaparilla dominate the herbaceous layer under deciduous trees and in areas where pine is a significant canopy component characteristic species are barren strawberry, wintergreen, and blueberries. Canada mayflower, wood sorrel, bunchberry, three-leaved gold-thread, and American starflower are more common in rich mesic areas. Blackjack Creek is part of the Deerskin River drainage and flows northeast from its source for 5 miles where it then empties into the Deerskin River. The water is clear, slightly alkaline, and of high fertility. Small inclusions of boreal-like white spruce-balsam fir are present in lowland transitional habitats along Blackjack Creek. The complex also contains several boggy kettle wetlands, groundwater influenced conifer swamps, headwater streams, and several softwater spring ponds. Bird life is diverse and includes ruby-throated hummingbird, yellow-bellied sapsucker, hermit thrust, golden-crowned kinglet, northern parula, blackburnian warbler, pine warbler, ovenbird, scarlet tanager, and purple finch. Unique and uncommon birds include osprey, gray jay, black-backed woodpecker, veery, black-throated blue warbler, and Nashville warbler. Blackjack Springs was originally designated the Pine-Oak Grove State Natural Area in 1996 and later expanded in 2007.