Ackley Wildlife Area

Ackley Wildlife Area is a protected tract in southern Langlade County, Wisconsin, managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and established in 1951 with management linked to hunting. Its character was shaped by earlier land-use change in the surrounding area. Logging in the late 1800s, followed by deforestation and unsuccessful farming in the early 1900s, left the land highly vulnerable to wildfires. These disturbances replaced former tree cover with grasses, shrubs, and aspen, and that vegetation helped raise the water table. As habitat changed, populations of sharp-tailed grouse and similar wildlife increased, helping define the area's later use as a managed wildlife property.

Ackley, Wisconsin · United States