Gustafson's Camp SNA
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185 Acres Located From Waskish, travel 20 miles N on MN Hwy 72, then turn W onto Co Hwy 16 to Co Hwy 1, then travel 1 mile N to Co Rd 87/ Stony Corners Trail. Turn west onto Co Rd 87 and proceed about 12 miles, then turn S on the jeep trail and travel for about 1.5 miles to a large grassy upland clearing with large white pines on the west and south ends. Stop at the DNR office in Baudette for access information. Lake of the Woods County Twp 158N Rng 33W Sec 03-04 & 09-10 Type: Coniferous Forest ECS Subsection: Agassiz Lowlands |
Description:
Gustafson's Camp, located in the Agassiz Lowlands, contains several of the
last old-growth pine stands in the Baudette Forestry Area. Its name is taken from
an old logging camp that once thrived in the area. While old-growth red and
white pine are the most distinguishing elements of this site, the surrounding aspen
forest and the white cedar stand bordering the upland are also of key ecological
interest. Together, these elements comprise an ecological continuum that permits
the study and protection of ecological processes. The understory is similarly
diverse; calypso orchids grow in the cedar swamp and pines. The threatened
rams head orchid has been observed on the site. Mountain maple and hazel grow
in the canopy gaps of the boreal hardwood-conifer forest, and rosy twisted stalk, wild sarsaparilla,
trillium, asters, and wild lilies-of-the-valley bloom there in spring. In the pine stands, pine-needle
ground cover and a sparse understory make it easy to see occasional pipsissewa, other herbs, and
pine seedlings. A 1.4-acre, fenced deer exclosure was erected on the site in 1995, and is available for researchers interested in documenting browsing effects by deer and other herbivores.
Bird List 
