STAR LAKE - The Northern Highland American Legion State Forest covers more than 230,000 acres in northern Wisconsin. More than 70 percent of it is actively managed. That means it's eligible for some types of logging.
But about 10 percent of the forest has almost no management at all. Nature is allowed to run its course in those places. The Plum Lake Hemlock Forest in Vilas County is one of those places.
"This stand in particular originates from the early 1800s, probably from fire," said DNR Conservation Biologist Carly Lapin on a field trip last week. "It went through succession from aspen to pine and now to hemlock. We also see maple trees here, and yellow birch."
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