Analysis of the Vegetative Cover of the Brule River Watershed Re-Visited (1852-2016) Phase I

Abstract

As early as the 1880’s, the Bois Brule River was known as an outstanding cold water trout stream, attracting anglers from around the world, including presidents of the United States. By the 1930’s landowners, visitors, and the Wisconsin Conservation Commission observed a serious decline in the rivers’ fisheries, which five years (1937-1941) of expenditures did little to improve. In order to access the causes of this decline and determine how to halt it, a partnership was created through the Wisconsin Conservation Commission, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Superior State Teachers College (now UW-Superior) to begin the largest watershed study of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. The study brought together scientists and managers from Madison, Brule and Superior to study the hydrology, geology, topography, vegetation and fisheries of the river and surrounding landscape to ascertain ecological factors that may be causing declines in fish populations (e.g. brown trout, brook trout). Dr. Norman Fassett (University of Wisconsin-Madison) a renowned botanist and Dr. John W. Thomson Jr. (Superior State Teachers College), a young aspiring botany professor spearheaded the vegetative component of the study from 1942-1944. They produced three of the ten monographs that were published in the Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, art and Letters (volumes XXXVI and XXXVII) and collectively become known as the Brule River Survey.

The Analysis of the Vegetative Cover of the Brule River Watershed Re-Visited (1852 – 2016)- Phase I documents vegetation changes that have occurred since the early General Land Office (GLO) – Public Land Surveys (PLS) in the 1850’s and today. These first surveys set township and section lines by marking trees (composition, size, distance from corner posts, habitat descriptions, soils, etc.) in order to “paint a picture” of the resources available for an expanding country and its pioneering settlers. Within a short period of time (≈20-30 years), Wisconsin no longer had a forest in the north, but an area termed “the cut-over” region that was sparsely populated. After this intensive logging period, agriculture was attempted throughout “the cut-over” areas, but in most cases these ventures failed. This was the backdrop for the next study of the vegetation on the Brule – the Brule River Survey (Fassett 1944; Thomson 1944-45). At the onset of the study, only remnants of multi- age and old growth forests existed on private property and most of the remaining landscape consisted of early successional forest or barrens. Using the PLS data (1852-1856 pre-European settlement), a vegetative cover map was created in coarse-scale depictions of forested and non-forested communities. A second vegetative cover map was produced in the 1940’s, applying the Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory for Douglas and Bayfield County and verified by site visits to the watershed. Thomson further describes several forested and non-forested plant communities in terms of species richness, composition and dominance (Thomson 1945). Thomson vouchered more than 523 specimens representing 312 species from these communities in duplicate and they are (Appendix A. Pg. A8) deposited at the Wisconsin State Herbarium in Madison and a second set deposited at the newly created herbarium at the Superior State Teachers College.