| Avon Bottoms Wildlife Area | |
|---|---|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
 Avon Bottoms State Natural Area | |
  Location in Wisconsin Show map of Wisconsin Location in United States Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Rock County, Wisconsin |
| Nearest city | Brodhead, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 42°33′04″N89°21′30″W / 42.551109°N 89.358304°W /42.551109; -89.358304 |
| Area | 3,402 acres (13.77 km2) |
| Established | 1960 |
| Governing body | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources |
TheAvon Bottoms Wildlife Area is a tract ofprotected land located on the border of Illinois in Rock County,Wisconsin, managed by theWisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).[1]
The Avon Bottoms Wildlife area was established in 1960 as part of a federal wildlife restoration project, specifically to improve duck and pheasant populations in the area to attract hunters.[2]
The area was established to improve and preserve wildlife and habitat diversity along theSugar River, a popular destination forkayakers,canoers, andtubers.[3][4] The area's preservation has led to the Wisconsin Wetlands Association to declare the floodplain forest a "wetland gem".[5]
TheNatural Resources Conservation Service, an agency of theUnited States Department of Agriculture restored wetlands and grasslands in the area, with 3,100 such acres working as easements directly adjacent to the wildlife area.
The main feature of the wildlife area is thebottomland hardwood forest, making up over one third of the total area. There are also many notable examples of largeswamp white oak trees in the floodplain areas, mainly in the Avon Bottoms natural area sector. The 1986 WDNR master plan for the Wildlife Area states that some of these trees are near record size, and important to the biodiversity and the environment.[6]
| Cover type | Acres | Percentage cover |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 200 | 6% |
| Bottomland hardwood | 1,440 | 42% |
| Developed | 10 | <1% |
| Grassland | 410 | 12% |
| Lowland shrub | 200 | 6% |
| Non-forested wetlands | 380 | 11% |
| Oak | 70 | 2% |
| Prairie | 340 | 10% |
| Upland conifer | 85 | 2% |
| Upland hardwood | 30 | 1% |
| Water | 237 | 7% |
| Total acreage | 3,402 | 100% |
TheAvon Bottoms State Natural Area is a unit of the larger wildlife area, and comprises 1,649 acres (667 ha) of mostlyfloodplain forest.[8][9]
In 2016, the State Natural AreaSwenson Wet Prairie, designated in 1968, coalesced into the existing Avon Bottoms State Natural Area.[10]