Location: North Wisconsin Map
Kayaking, rafting location: Langlade
Beautiful pristine wilderness of the Wolf River in
North Wisconsin offers both beauty and thrill to those who like
white water rafting and kayaking. The river follows a course to the
south by the counties of Langlade, Menominee, Shawano, Wapaca,
Outagamie. In this route it passes through the cities of Shawano and
New London, and collects the affluents Red River and Embarrass
River. In the final section passes through the county of Winnebago
and collects the tributaries Little Wolf River and Waupaca River. It
passes through Poygan Lake and flows into Lake Butte des Morts. At
the time of New France, the river was called the Wolf River. The
first Europeans arrived on the "Wolf River" in 1634, when the
French, under the direction of Jean Nicolet, explored the region. In
1673 Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet sailed on the "river with
wolves" using canoes and portage. They passed from the Great Lakes
to the Wisconsin River and the Mississippi River.
It originates from Pine Lake in Forest County. This
lake is located in the Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin.
From there the Wolf River flows south through Langlade County and
through Menominee County. White water rafting is possible on this route.
It then flows through Shawano County. Here it joins the Red River
and passes the town of Shawano. In Shawano, the outflow of Shawano Lake
flows into the river. It flows further south and takes on the Embarrass
River near New London.
The Little Wolf River and the Waupaca
River flow into it in its lower reaches. It flows through Lake Polygan
and finally flows into Lake Butte des Morts near Winneconne, through
which the Fox River flows.
A 24-mile (38 km) section of the Wolf
River is designated a National Wild and Scenic River.
Construction of a mine, the Crandon Mine, was proposed
on a tributary of the Wolf River. Environmental activists saw this as a
threat to the preservation of the Wolf River. The Crandon Mine was
purchased by the Sokaogon Mole Lake Chippewa Band Tribe in 2003.
The campaign to stop the Crandon Mine was the success of an alliance of
indigenous people, environmentalists and urban residents.
The Wolf River and Fox River are known spawning
grounds for sturgeon, which swim upstream from Lake Winnebago in the
spring (between mid-April and early May). It is believed that in 1800
there were ten times as many sturgeons living in the waters. Female
sturgeons do not reproduce until they are 20 years old and then only
every 4-6 years. They can live up to 50 years. Then they are up to 1.5 m
long.
To protect sturgeons, the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources founded a citizens' initiative called “Sturgeon For Tomorrow”
in the early 1990s. The volunteers monitor the spawning grounds during
the spawning season.
Morone chrysops ("White Bass" or "Sand Bass") is a species of fish in the sea bass family that spawns in the Wolf River. The fish usually spawn in the last two weeks of May. During this time, many anglers come to the Wolf River system. The typical white bass caught measures 200 to 300 mm.
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are small,
freshwater, bivalve shellfish native to the Caspian and Black Seas
south of Russia and Ukraine. They can clog water intakes and pipes,
encrust piers, boats and motors, and cut the feet of swimmers. Zebra
mussels have been found in less than 5% of Wisconsin lakes predicted
to be suitable for zebra mussels. However, they were detected in the
Winnebago Pool including the Wolf River as early as 1999.
The first Europeans arrived on the "River aux Loups" in 1634, when the French, under the leadership of Jean Nicolet, explored the region. In 1673 Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet sailed on the "rivière aux loups" using canoes and portage. They thus passed from the Great Lakes towards the Wisconsin River and the Mississippi River.