Animals follow receding glaciers

     Retreat of the last continental glacier was not precipitous, but a gradual occurrence with many interpretations of varying lengths of time.
     Plants and animals adapted to conditions near the margin of the glaciers. Presumably animals moved back and forth with the shifts of ice.
     Based on studies of pollen and vegetation associated with fossil specimens, it is believed that as the glacier retreated, mammoths which fed on grassland and open forest moved northward with the retreating ice margin.
     A bit farther from the receding edge of the ice pack were mastodon which browsed in mixed coniferous and deciduous forest cover. The musk-ox was associated with open tundra-like areas, open forest, and also has been found associated to some extent with indicators of dense forest.

Mammals in Great Lakes region

     Some evidence indicates existence in late glacial times of marine mammals such as whales, seals and walrus in the Great Lakes region. As conditions changes, animals more typical to Wisconsin, as we know it, moved into the state.
     No indications of Pleistocene man have been uncovered from sites subsequently covered with glacial deposits in the Northeastern Woodlands of North America. In contrast, there are indications of the association of man with late glacial or postglacial phenomena such as beach ridges.
     Man could have entered the area north of the Ohio River and east of the Missouri River as early as 15,000 to 17,000 years BP (before present).

Earliest immigrants

     The earliest immigrants were the fluted point hunters. The southeastern states of the U.S. may have been occupied by fluted point hunters (so named because of their fluted projectile points described from the Folsom and Clovis sites) since 14,000 BP.
     There is evidence of their occupation of that area since 9-10,000 BP
     A marked reduction in numbers of larger Pleistocene mammals leading to extinction of many occurred about 10,000 years ago. However, while evidence from the Southwest and plains states indicates fluted point hunters utilized these large mammals as a food source, no evidence has been found showing that early man hunted them in the northeastern area.
     Whatever the evidence may be elsewhere, man was probably not involved in extinction of mammoth and mastodon in northeastern North America.

Uncovered 6,000 years ago

     Decline and extinction of these large Pleistocene mammals occurred during a time span of approximately 6,000 years. Fossil specimens of mammoth, mastodon, musk-ox or similar forms have been uncovered in Ohio, Indiana and Missouri.
     No specimens of extinct Pleistocene mammals have been found in the Chippewa Valley.
     Following retreat of the ice sheet from Wisconsin, probably 10,000-12,000 years ago, the climate has been variable.
     About 8,000-6,000 years BP appears to have been warm and moist; 6,000-4,000 years BP appears to have been warm and dry, and 4,000 BP to the present appears to have been colder again.

Glaciation returns in cycles

Clayton Neitzel, Rt. 3, Bloomer, holds skull of what probably is a prehistoric bison common to Chippwea County. The skull reveals horns many times larger than present day bison. It was found in 1936 near the juction of STH 124 and 64, 12 miles north of Chippewa Falls in 12 feet of marl.

     Bases upon sedimentary cores it appears that glaciations and interglacial periods have followed each other at cyclic intervals of approximately 50,000 years. The world could be presently in an interglacial period.
     Northern mammals such as musk-ox, collared lemming and artic shrew occurred far south of Wisconsin when the ice started retreating. As the climate became warmer, mammals previously far south of Wisconsin moved north.
     As examples, jaguar and hog-nosed skunk remains have been found in norther Nebraska.
     Mammals extending their range northward in the US at the present time are the cotton rat and armadillo. Expanding their range in the US, but probably courtesy of man's effect upon the environment, are mammals such as coyote, opossum, red fox, raccoon and deer.
     A recent entrant into the state of Wisconsin appears to be the spotted skunk.
     Mammals lost from the Wisconsin scene since arrival of the first French trappers and traders include the wolf, wolverine, cougar, elk, woodland caribou and bison.
     Wolves have been protected in Wisconsin since 1957 but have probably been extirpated. Reports and observations suggest that an occasional wanderer from the northwest may enter the state.
     At one time, the range of the bison (or buffalo) covered most of Eau Claire County. Last bison east of the Mississippi River were apparently killed in the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River in 1833.
     Mammals whose status is changing include, among others, the white-tailed jackrabbit. It appears to have been present in scattered portions of Wisconsin when the first French trappers arrived.
     Since then its numbers and range have fluctuated. Jacks have been transplanted from North Dakota to Clark County in recent years.
     Moose have not been killed in Wisconsin since 1921, but are observed infrequently within the state.
     Fisher have been stocked with encouraging results in Nicolet National Forest in 1956 and 1963 and in Chequamegon National Forest in 1966 and 1967.
     In contrast, the bobcat appears to be holding its own fairly well, though its population is probably quite low.
     Endangered mammals at the present time include the Canada lynx and marten. Stocking of marten has been attempted with 26 from Ontario released by April 1, 1975. Most of these specimens were radio-tagged so their movements could be monitored.
     While one obviously does not know the future distribution and abundance of Wisconsin mammals, one can predict these will be determined by habitat. In the Chippewa River valley the river or stream bottoms are wooded over considerable areas.
     The questions then become whether adequate acreages (such as the Chippewa bottoms) will remain in the future and what will be the interspersion of woods, pastures margins and fields. Will field and pasture margins be clean or shrubby? Will the woods be managed strictly for timber production, or will public demand for recreation areas be sufficient to ensure that some wooded areas be managed for hunting, hiking, skiing or other forms of recreation?
     Depending upon the answer to these questions, there could be a fair number of larger mammals in the valley in future years.
     Habitat, however, will not be the sole factor influencing numbers of mammals. Also important will be the attitude of people toward wild mammals. If some individuals in the future persist in their feeling that every large mammal must be captures, the outlook is bleak.

Consider Putnam Park

     As an example of interacting factors which will determine future mammal populations one might consider Putman Park in Eau Claire. Deer are found in the park and on occasion race out of it, sometimes with tragic results, such as when a deeer was hit by a car on Clairemont Avenue in the fall of 1974.
     To the extent that deer frequent that portion of the park west of the university, the extension of Hwy 37 through the former ski jump area or along the river will certainly make this area less than adequate habitat.
     Similar statements can bbe made for many other species, ranging in size from fox to mice. The park habitat appears to be inadequate to support specimens such as the bobcat reported several years ago.
     If more land is set aside along the Eau Claire or Chippewa Rivers as recreational and wildlife areas, and the tracts are large enough, limited numbers of larger forms of mammals such as the bobcat and perhaps even the black bear, may be able to survive.

Depends on human attitudes

     One of the imponderable factors at the present time is human attitudes. If citizens of this region want to maintain habitat of the proper type, and permit survival of present mammals and those that might be stocked in future years, the list of mammals residing in the Chippewa Valley can be maintained at or in some cases above present levels.
     The question becomes one of values and priorities, for wild mammals can become a problem, damaging gardens, agricultural crops and forest reproduction. The economic, esthetic or recreational value of mammals will have to be weighted against such detriments.

--Arnold Bakken, UW-EC Biology Dept.

Extracted from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram
Special Publication, Our Story 'The Chippewa Valley and Beyond', published 1976
Used with permission.