Crex Meadows facts for kids
Crex Meadows is a special place in Wisconsin where you can find lots of different natural areas. It has huge marshes, wet lands, open grassy areas called brush prairies, and thick forests. This amazing wildlife area is located near the village of Grantsburg, Wisconsin, in Burnett County, Wisconsin. Crex Meadows covers about 30,000 acres (120 km2) of land. It is home to an incredible 270 different kinds of birds and 600 types of plants!
Contents
How Crex Meadows Was Formed
Crex Meadows is part of a larger area in Northwest Wisconsin known as the pine barrens. These "barrens" are actually a huge, sandy plain. This sandy land was left behind when a giant glacier slowly melted and moved away about 13,000 years ago. Think of it like a giant ice bulldozer scraping the land!
Crex Meadows is in the southern part of these barrens. It has many large marshes. These marshes were created by the glacier too. The melting ice formed a big ancient lake called Glacial Lake Grantsburg, and Crex Meadows was once part of that watery landscape.
People and History of Crex Meadows
People have lived in the Crex Meadows area for a very long time. Native American tribes like the Fox, Dakota, and Chippewa Indians used this region. They mainly came here to hunt animals and gather plants for food and other needs.
During the 1600s, some Native American battles are thought to have happened in this area. By the 1700s, when the first Europeans arrived, the Chippewa Indians were the main group living on the land.
In the 1800s, people from Europe and America tried to farm the sandy soil here. But it was very difficult, and they often gave up. Also, there were fewer natural wildfires in the area. Wildfires are important for keeping the brush prairie healthy. Without them, the open grassy areas almost disappeared.
Later, in the 1890s, a big project was started to drain the wetlands. This caused problems for many wetland birds and animals. They had fewer places to nest and rest during their migrations.
The Crex Carpet Company
In 1912, a company called the Crex Carpet Company bought about 23,000 acres (93 km2) of the land that is now Crex Meadows. This company made rugs out of grass! They even set up "carpet camps" in the area where workers lived.
The grass rug business was quite successful for a while. But then, a new type of floor covering called linoleum became very popular in homes. Because of this, the Crex Carpet Company went out of business in 1933. Even though the company is gone, the name "Crex" still lives on in Crex Meadows.
Becoming a Wildlife Area
After the carpet company went bankrupt, much of the land was not being used and taxes weren't paid on it. So, in 1946, the state of Wisconsin decided to buy about 12,000 acres (49 km2) of this land. Their goal was to create the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area. This was a big step to protect this special place and its animals.
Amazing Wildlife
Crex Meadows is a really important place for animals, especially birds. The National Bird Conservancy says it's one of the top 500 "Globally Important Bird Areas" in the whole United States!
You can find a huge variety of bird species here. Crex Meadows is also home to almost every type of mammal found in Wisconsin. Plus, many other animals that live in marshes and wetlands call this place home.
Some of the animals that are rare or endangered find a safe home at Crex Meadows. These include:
- Ospreys (large fishing hawks)
- Eagles
- Trumpeter swans (the largest water birds in North America)
- Karner blue butterflies (tiny, beautiful butterflies)
- Blanding's turtles (turtles with bright yellow throats)
- Red-necked grebes (diving water birds)
There's even a specific group of wild wolves, often called "the Crex pack," that have been living and raising their families on the property since 1995. Other cool birds like the peregrine falcon, Caspian tern, and great egret also visit Crex Meadows during different seasons of the year.
