In the spring of 2012, Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust purchased a 34-acre ephemeral wetland property along Green Bay’s west shore. The west shore parcel contains 32.5 acres of forested wetland, a seasonal creek that provides spawning habitat for Northern Pike, and 1.5 acres of upland forest. This property is located on Bayside Road and west of 18 acres of Wisconsin DNR land. Northeast of the West Shore preserve is 70 acres of wetland, which NEWLT holds a permanent conservation easement. NEWLT’s long-term goal is to help preserve additional west shore lands.

“The life cycle of the northern pike provides a snapshot of the relationship between coastal wetlands, a healthy watershed, and ecologically important species. Northern pike depends not only on the coastal wetlands but on a network of small streams and ditches that connect the wetlands with the inland areas of the watershed. The pike uses this network every spring as they swim inland from Green Bay to spawn,” Kendra Axness, UW-Extension Basin Educator for Natural Resources.

After hatching, the pike “fry” spend time in this area growing strong before they begin their journey back to the Bay sometime in May. After this, the waterways and wetlands they occupied in spring dry up. Looking at these places in summer you would never suspect that they are extremely important spawning and rearing habitat for fish. Next spring, mature pike will repeat the cycle and often return to the same location where their parents spawned.