Baker Lake
T7 R17 WELS
Vital Statistics:
- Size: 1,619 acres
- Upland: 1,185 acres
- Wetland (NWI): 434 acres
- Biophysical Region: International Boundary Plateau
- BPL Region: North
Rare Species and Exemplary Natural Community Table for Baker Lake
| Type | Common Name | Latin Name | S-RANK | G-RANK | State Status | EO-RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exemplary Natural Communities | Streamshore Ecosystem | S5 | B | |||
| Rare Plants | Blue-leaved sedge | Carex rostrata | S1 | G5 | SC | B |
| Bog bedstraw | Galium labradoricum | S2 | G5 | SC | B | |
| Rare Animals | None known |
Description
A major link in the chain of lakes that initiate the St. John River, the 1,260 acre Baker Lake has two established campsites and is used by boats with and without motors. The Ecological Reserve forms a buffer around the Lake, ranging from 500 to over 2000 feet wide, and includes a large wetland system at the lake’s southeastern end, where Baker Brook enters Baker Lake.
The lakeshore buffer supports mixed woods with varying degrees of harvest within the last few decades. The east side was selectively harvested and has medium stocking of mature forest; the west side was heavily harvested and is dominated by sapling-stage natural regeneration.
Low, sandy beaches at the lake’s southeastern edge grade into Alder Shrub Thickets in drier areas, with a dense growth of speckled alder (Alnus incana) dominating large areas and common species such as tall meadow-rue (Thalictrum pubescens), royal fern (Osmunda regalis), and tussock sedge (Carex stricta) growing in the herb layer.
In wetter areas closer to the inlet stream and associated pools, a Mixed Graminoid Shrub Marsh dominates. Common species in this area include sweetgale (Myrica gale), marsh St. Johnswort (Triadenum virginicum), meadowsweet (Spiraea alba), northern bog goldenrod (Solidago uliginosa), bog aster (Oclemena nemoralis) and a variety of grass and sedge species including tussock sedge, slender sedge (Carex lasiocarpa), inflated sedge (Carex vesicaria), and bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis). Soils in these areas ranged from silt to muck, attesting to both seasonal flooding depositing layers of fine sediment and long periods with stagnant water allowing organic material to accumulate. Two rare plants were found within this community on the north side of the inlet: bog bedstraw (Galium labradoricum) and blue-leaved sedge (Carex rostrata). Together, these wetland communities at the southeastern end of the lake comprise a 270 acre Streamshore Ecosystem.
Immediately south of the Northern Baker Lake campsite near the outlet of the St. John River lies a Bulrush Bed, which extends southward along the shore for approximately 100 feet. This lakeshore community type is dominated by tall rushes and other graminoid species, and has various aquatic plants, including redhead pondweed (Potamogeton richardsonii), big leaf pondweed (Potamogeton amplifolius), and creeping bladderwort (Utricularia gibba) present intermixed in the standing water. The dominant herb species in the lower zone of this bulrush bed, creeping spike-rush (Eleocharis palustris), with water sedge (Carex aquatilis), Carex cryptolepis, common St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum), inflated sedge (Carex vesicaria), and black bulrush (Scirpus atrovirens). In drier areas, swamp candles (Lysimachia terrestris), three-way sedge (Dulichium arundinaceum), pipewort (Eriocaulon aquaticum), star sedge (Carex echinata), and river horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile) are characteristic species.