Driftless Area National Scenic Area

Driftless Area National Scenic Area
Name	Driftless Area National Scenic Area
Location	Upper Midwest, United States
Nearest city	La Crosse, Madison, Eau Claire
Area	~1,000,000 acres
Established	2016 (designation enacted 2019)
Governing body	National Park Service; local partners

Driftless Area National Scenic Area

The Driftless Area National Scenic Area is a federally designated landscape corridor protecting a contiguous portion of the Upper Midwest renowned for deeply incised river valleys, karst topography, and intact coldwater streams. The designation recognizes a cross-jurisdictional mosaic spanning parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois and connects local, state, and national conservation initiatives. The area is celebrated for its recreational fisheries, geological exposures, and cultural landscapes shaped by Native American nations and Euro-American settlement.

Overview

The scenic area highlights a region often contrasted with surrounding glaciated plains including the Mississippi River corridor, the Root River (Wisconsin), and tributaries such as the Crawford County streams. It incorporates existing federal lands like portions of the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge concept, state parks such as Governor Dodge State Park and Perrot State Park, and municipal greenways in cities including La Crosse and Dubuque. The designation complements programs administered by the National Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural resource agencies in Minnesota DNR, Iowa DNR, and Wisconsin DNR.

Geography and geology

The region occupies part of the Interior Plains bordering the Mississippi River Valley and is underlain by Paleozoic sedimentary rocks such as Ordovician and Cambrian limestones and dolomites exposed in deep coulees and bluffs. Unlike adjacent glaciated landscapes, the area avoided Pleistocene ice sheets—hence the term “driftless”—preserving river-incised topography similar to the Niobrara River canyons and resembling karst regions like Mammoth Cave National Park. Notable geomorphic features include spring-fed headwaters, sinkholes, solution valleys, and coldwater trout streams such as the Kinnickinnic River and the Black Earth Creek. The scenic corridor intersects physiographic provinces including the Western Corn Belt Plains and the Driftless Area physiographic region as mapped by the United States Geological Survey.

History and designation

The landscape has longstanding human associations beginning with ancestral Indigenous peoples including the Ho-Chunk Nation, Meskwaki, and Siouan-speaking peoples whose archaeological sites and effigy mounds parallel those recorded at Effigy Mounds National Monument. Euro-American exploration involved figures and expeditions tied to the Louisiana Purchase era and later settlement by steamboat commerce on the Upper Mississippi River. Conservation advocacy by organizations such as the The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and regional land trusts led to congressional action culminating in federal scenic-area legislation introduced by members of the United States Congress and enacted with support from the National Park Service. The designation process involved environmental reviews guided by the National Environmental Policy Act and coordination with state legislatures and tribal governments.

Ecology and biodiversity

The area contains biodiversity reflective of mixed hardwood forests, oak savanna remnants, and prairie remnants supporting species found in the Upper Midwest ecoregions. Riparian corridors host coldwater fisheries dominated by wild brown trout and native brook trout, while forested bluffs support avifauna including Cerulean warbler and Bald eagle feeding along river corridors. Karst springs sustain invertebrate assemblages and rare freshwater mussels analogous to those protected under the Endangered Species Act. Plant communities include relict populations of Big Bluestem and remnant patches of Prairie grasses alongside oak species like Quercus alba and bur oak, informing restoration work by entities such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Recreation and public access

Public access emphasizes low-impact recreation: fly-fishing on celebrated streams like the Fennimore Creek system, hiking in networks connected to the Great River Road, paddling on tributaries of the Mississippi River, and birdwatching at wetlands and floodplain forests. Trail systems link municipal greenways in Eau Claire, rail-trails managed by county governments, and state-managed multi-use trails similar to the Elroy-Sparta State Trail. Cultural tourism focuses on historic towns including Galena, Decorah, and Viroqua with bed-and-breakfasts, local breweries, and agritourism promoted by regional chambers of commerce.

Management and conservation

Management is collaborative across federal agencies such as the National Park Service and United States Fish and Wildlife Service alongside state agencies, tribal governments, county conservation boards, and nonprofit organizations like The Nature Conservancy and regional land trusts. Conservation priorities include riparian buffer restoration funded through programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture and wetland rehabilitation following best practices from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Monitoring leverages inventories by the United States Geological Survey and state natural heritage programs to address threats from agricultural runoff, invasive species like Zebra mussel and Emerald ash borer, and climate-driven hydrologic shifts affecting spring flows and trout habitat.

Cultural and economic significance

The scenic area sustains livelihoods tied to specialty agriculture, coldwater fisheries guiding outfitters affiliated with Trout Unlimited, and a regional craft and food economy anchored in farmers markets and community-supported agriculture modeled after initiatives promoted by the United States Department of Agriculture. Cultural heritage includes Indigenous sites, 19th-century river towns shaped by steamboat commerce and railroads such as the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, and arts communities in towns like Madison that interface with university research at institutions such as University of Wisconsin–Madison. The designation aims to balance economic development, heritage tourism, and ecological stewardship through cooperative governance and public engagement facilitated by regional planning commissions and conservation districts.

Category:Protected areas of the United States Category:Landforms of the Midwestern United States