Prairie remnants along Wisconsin highways
The original Wisconsin highways were cut through vast acreages of remnant prairies. Of course, once a highway is created, development follows.
The information below came from the Wisconsin DOT web site, which can be reached at this link. I reformatted the table to make it more legible.
The information below came from the Wisconsin DOT web site, which can be reached at this link. I reformatted the table to make it more legible.
County
|
Hwy.
|
Name
|
Begin
|
End
|
Length
(Miles)
|
Side of Road
|
Adjacent
Owner
|
Burnette
|
STH 77
|
Danbury Prairie
|
Lakes Rd./Riverside Cutoff
Rd.
|
Deer Lake Rd./Bear Lake Rd.
|
2.5
|
S
|
WisDOT
|
Columbia
|
STH 16
|
Lewiston Prairie
|
Wolfram Rd.
|
Weyh Rd.
|
1.55
|
S
|
CP-Amtrak
|
Dane
|
STH 69
|
Belleville Prairie
|
Old 69
|
CTH A (E)
|
1.65
|
E
|
WisDOT
|
Dane
|
USH14
|
Cross Plains Prairie
|
0.4 mile W of Kahl Rd.
|
0.3 mile E of CTH KP
|
4.15
|
S
|
WisDOT
|
Dunn
|
USH 12
|
Elk Mound Prairie
|
970th St. -0.75 mile
|
Vollendorf Rd. +0.6 mile
|
4.05
|
N
|
UP
|
Dunn
|
STH 170
|
Wheeler Prairie
|
CTH F -3.5 miles
|
Morton Rd. +0.35 mile
|
7.15
|
N
|
CP
|
Eau Claire
|
STH 27
|
Augusta Prairie
|
CTH V
|
CTH SD
|
1.9
|
E&W
|
WisDOT
|
Eau Claire
|
STH 37
|
Eau Claire Prairie
|
37/94 interchange
|
37/94 interchange
|
All
|
WisDOT
|
|
Eau Claire
|
USH 12
|
Fall Creek Prairie
|
CTH D
|
CTH AF +0.7 mile
|
8
|
N
|
CP
|
Grant
|
STH 133
|
Muscoda Prairie
|
Johnson St.
|
Leaches Crossing Rd.
|
18.5
|
N&S
|
WisDOT
|
Jackson
|
STH 27
|
Fall Hall Prairie
|
Mills Rd./Fall Hall Rd.
|
7th St./Castle Mound Rd.
|
6.3
|
E&W
|
WDNR
|
Jackson
|
STH 95
|
Hixton Prairie
|
Sand Prairie Rd.
|
CTH FF +0.6 mile
|
1.35
|
S
|
Wis. Central
|
Jackson
|
USH 12
|
Millston Prairie
|
Browns Crossing Rd.
|
Woodland Rd. +1.4 miles
|
4.8
|
N
|
UP
|
Jackson
|
USH10
|
Osseo Prairie
|
CTH R (N)
|
Shaky Ln.
|
5.3
|
N
|
WDNR
|
Jefferson
|
STH 59
|
Scuppernong Prairie
|
1/2 mile east of Co. line
|
1/2 mile west of Co. line
|
1 S
|
WisDOT
|
|
Juneau
|
USH 12
|
Lyndon Station
|
Industrial Ave.
|
Southern Rd. +1.35 miles
|
2.75
|
N
|
|
Juneau
|
USH 12
|
New Lisbon Remnant
|
O'Connor Rd./6th Ave.
|
1.2 miles E of 6th Ave.
|
1.2
|
S
|
CP-Amtrak
|
Monroe
|
STH 16
|
Sparta-Tomah Prairie
|
CTH A -1.2 miles
|
Hazel Ave. +0.2 mile
|
6.8
|
N&S
|
WisDOT
|
Portage
|
USH 10
|
Amherst Prairie
|
Custer Rd./CTH T
|
Lake Rd./Morgan Rd.
|
7.4
|
N&S
|
Wis. Central
|
Portage
|
STH 54
|
Rapids-Plover Prairie
|
90th St. +1/2 mile
|
Intersection with RR
|
6.5
|
S
|
Wis. Central
|
Racine
|
STH 11
|
Barnes Prairie
|
66th Rd.
|
Old STH 11
|
2.3
|
N
|
CP
|
Richland
|
USH 14
|
Lone Rock Prairie
|
0.4 mi. W of Whispering
Pines
|
STH 130 (N)
|
4.5
|
N&S
|
Richland Co.
|
I don't guarantee that all of these remnants still exist, although even without restoration work or burns a few more vigorous prairie species may still be present. I have only been to a few of them. I have been watching the remnant west of Cross Plains for many years, where prairie dock and a few other species have been able to hold their own among onslaughts of wild parsnip and spotted knapweed.
Note that the data are only from Wisconsin or U.S. "numbered" highways. There are lots more remnants on county and town roads.
If you visit any of these sites, park carefully and keep an eye out for traffic!
1 Comments:
Is there a way to report smaller prairie remnants and protect them? I live in La Crosse County and I know of at least 4 small patches of remnant prairie along my drive home.
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