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Dead Stream Swamp

Recognition: National Natural Landmark

Size: 11,680 acres

Location: 30miles northeast of Cadillac, at the northwest end of the Houghton Lake Management Unit

Management: Au Sable State Forest

Activities: Access is limited due to its lack of roads and marked trails

Importance: The site is an exceptionally large example (one of the largest in the United States) of a northern white cedar swamp, considered to be the climax in bog forest development. Large white cedar swamps are disappearing, partially due to the demand for this timber product. Besides swamp forest, the Landmark contains approximately 800 acres of deciduous upland forest; shrubs and sedges bordering the lower reaches of Dead Stream; and the 60-acre Bear Lake, a bog pond bordered by an expansive sphagnum-heath mat.