Kinnikinnick Creek

Description

This 57 acre preserve is typical of the forests found in the Rock River Valley at the prairie-forest border. It contains a spring-fed creek, upland forest, floodplain forest, and bedrock outcrops of the Winnebago Section of the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division. In presettlement times, oak savannas were probably very common in Boone County, and this preserve contains some savanna remnants. The dominant canopy species is white oak, with ironwood , cherry, ash, and basswood as common associates. The upland community gives way to a floodplain forest along Kinnikinnick Creek. It contains black willow, butternut, and box elder. Some of the associated wetland plants include skunk cabbage, great angelica, blueflag iris, sedges and rushes. Kinnikinnick Creek is a spring-fed stream, and although it drains a watershed of about 11,520 acres, it retains a high quality status. The creek supports two unusual fish species: mottled sculpin and Ozark minnow. Other woodland wildlife is abundant; great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, raccoon and deer, are just a few of the area residents. Exotic species control (multiflora rose, buckthorn, and honeysuckle) and erosion control are management priorities.