Timber and Other
Vegetation
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Mainland Vegetation; Up until the last half of the century, the major timber types in the area were red and whit pine and northern hardwood. The Chippewa people depended on the gathering of maple syrup, birchbark and many understory plants for food and medicines. Some of the finest pine in the state was harvested here. The cutting and burning that followed has produced the present aspen dominated mixture of aspen, birch, pine, northern hardwoods and oak. As a result of the 1983 Voigt decision, the Chippewa exercise gathering rights off-reservation, so they can still access traditionally important foods, medicines, firewood, and other forest products in the area. The Chippewa have been working with the U.S. Forest Service to insure that tribal interests are also considered in management practices. |
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Scientific name (Common Name) Ojibwe name |
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Pinus resinosa & Pinus strobus (Red & White Pine) bapakwaanagemag miinawaa zhingwaak |
Acer ssp. (Maple) ininaatig |
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The aspen timber type comprises 60 to 70 percent of the acreage on the adjacent mainland. Theses stands occur as pure aspen, or a combination of aspen, birch, oak, pine and red maple, of which aspen is the major component. Very little seedling-sapling understory has developed under these natural aspen stands. The existing lower vegetation is mainly hazelbrush, Juneberry, chokecherry, and dogwood. Pine and oak seedlings commonly exist under seed-bearing oak and pine trees. This is especially noticeable along the lake shore. Red maple is also present in the understory. Aspen age class diversity is lacking, as much of the aspen acreage is now mature, with the remainder being in the sapling stage due to harvesting over the last 10 to 15 years. The large percentage of even-aged aspen, which is nearing the end point of its life cycle, presents a very difficult problem for land managers. Mature aspen trees and stands are vulnerable to natural forces, which they easily withstood when they were younger. If it is disease, the process could be spread over a few years. If it is wind (quite likely), most of all of a stand can go down in one storm. These processes are part of the natural cycle providing coarse woody debris and forest structure called for above. Historically, windstorms, insect blight, and most importantly fire, have been the major disturbance factors that have sustained the aspen forest communities. Certain aspen stands have a conifer understory. Left unharvested, these aspen stands would deteriorate naturally, allowing the understory conifers to replace them. Common shrubs present include round leaf dogwood, redosier dogwood, sumac, juneberry, chokecherry, alder, willow, and leatherwood. Most common ground cover plants are bunchberry, partridgeberry, princess pine, raspberry, Lycopodium species, wintergreen, sedge, cinquefoil, strawberry, hepatica, fringed pyrola, violets, white trillium, leatherleaf, and bog laurel. |
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Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry) zhaashaagomin |
Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry) zhaashaagomin |
Danaus plexippus (Monarch Caterpillar) moose |
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Photos: Erik Olson |
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Fungi are also represented. The edible Morchella angusticeps is associated with aspen stands, but does not appear to be heavily collected by people in the area. (Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan, August 2000) Island Vegetation; Within the flowage there are approximately 200 islands ranging in size from 272 acres (Big Timber Island) to less than an acre. The islands have a total area of 2,132 acres. (Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan, August 2000) The island vegetation is very similar to the upland vegetation in mixture of species, aspen coverage, and aspen maturity. Aspen and birch are the dominant tree species on the islands. Aspen is dominant on about 60% of island area; paper birch is dominant on 20 to 30% of island area; white pine on about 10%; red pine, black spruce, and sugar maple (northern hardwood) are minor types. Big Timber Island, the largest of the islands, contains the only extensive stand of large red and white pine in the flowage. Age class diversity is lacking in all species. The succession trend on the islands is toward more oak, pine, and eventually to northern hardwoods. Floating bogs form special unique islands on the flowage. There are approximately 20 floating bog islands drifting around the flowage. Vegetation on the floating bogs are typical bog species; the trees are a scattering of paper birch, black spruce, and tamarack. (Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan, August 2000) |
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