|
|
|
|
The Lands We Protect
The Ridges
Sanctuary is an unspoiled wild place that occupies just over 1,600 acres in two
units along the
eastern edge of the Door Peninsula, a rocky finger of land projecting northward
into Lake Michigan. On the west side of the peninsula is the shallow water of
Green Bay, The Peninsula itself is a ridge of dolomite limestone... part of the Niagara Escarpment that passes through east central Wisconsin, circles around the State of Michigan, and creates Niagara Falls in New York State. The largest portion of The Ridges Sanctuary's land, about 1,400 acres, is located on the north end of the bay of Baileys Harbor. Much of this area is made up of a series of low, sandy ridges, alternating with wet areas called swales. The ridges run parallel to the shoreline of Baileys Harbor, and extend inland about a mile. Cooling breezes from Lake Michigan help to sustain a boreal forest in The Ridges Sanctuary - a forest type that is more characteristic of most of Canada. This forest, in which white spruce and balsam fir predominate, continues around the northern rim of the Door Peninsula.
Many of the plants found in this portion of the Sanctuary are more typically found further north. However, they survive here because of the cooling effect of Lake Michigan.
The Ridges Sanctuary also manages the Logan Creek Property, a parcel of 170 acres located south of Jacksonport, on the north end of Clark Lake. This land is comprised of a variety of habitats, including upland hardwood forest, lowland cedar-hemlock forest, and frontage along Clark Lake and Logan Creek. Mature Beech, Hemlock and Sugar Maple trees are found throughout the property. Spring wildflowers are outstanding on this site, with Hepatica, Spring Beauty, Trilliums and Trout Lilies putting on a show from mid-April to the end of May. A trail system and parking lot have been developed on the site, and informational signs and trail markers will be added in the near future.
How Did the Ridges Form? Beach ridge formation is an ongoing process that started about twelve hundred years ago. At that time, Lake Michigan extended about a mile further inland than it does today, and water covered much of what is now The Ridges Sanctuary. A key ingredient in ridge formation is the sand deposited during the last advance of glaciers into Wisconsin. This sand is carried by longshore currents along the Lake Michigan shoreline into Baileys Harbor. These sand-laden currents are slowed by the shallow U-shaped harbor. The sand settles out of the slow moving water, creating one of Door County's finest beaches - and continuing the process of ridge construction. The other important factor in ridge formation is the natural cycle of high and low water levels of Lake Michigan. When lake levels are high, wave action pushes the sand into a low ridge along the shoreline. As lake levels drop, the ridge becomes exposed and is sometimes capped by wind-blown sand. One by one, the ridges continue to form, reflecting the natural ups and downs of the lake level. Each new ridge is rapidly stabilized by
plants. First in line are the sedges and grasses, followed by small shrubs and
a few species of trees. These pioneers of the plant world stabilize the
"new" land and provide conditions for other plant communities to
form. Gradually other trees and plants move in, finally becoming the boreal
forest community that we see today. Thus, over the past 1200 years, about 30 crescent-shaped ridges of sand and soil have formed parallel to the shore. The ridges closest to the shoreline are the youngest in terms of the plant communities found there. Since it takes, on average, 30 to 40 years for each ridge to form, older plant communities are found on each succeeding ridge to the north, therefore creating a living example of the concept of succession in plant communities. As Lake Michigan continues its cycle of highs and lows, ridges continue to form along the shoreline of Baileys Harbor.
Home Page |
The Ridges Organization |
The Lands We Protect |
Education Programs
The Ridges Sanctuary, Inc.
|
and
on the east side is Lake Michigan, a deep and expansive inland
sea. 
