Cowles Bog is named for Henry Chandler Cowles

Henry Chandler Cowles

Henry Chandler Cowles was an American botanist and ecological pioneer . Born in Kensington, Connecticut, he attended Oberlin College in Ohio. He studied at the University of Chicago with the plant taxonomist John M. Coulter and the geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin as main teachers. He...

 of the University of Chicago. Dr. Cowles is credited with the creation of the concept of Ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

. It was here at Cowles Bog that Dr. Cowles did his pioneering work. The bog is a National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

. Cowles Bog is more than 8,000 years old and is considered a fen

Fen

A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...

, rather than a 'true' bog

Bog

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....

. Fens are more alkaline than a bog, which is acidic, like Pinhook Bog

Pinhook Bog

Indiana’s only true bog is a special geologic feature of this region which preserves a large variety of plants with extraordinary adaptations for survival. See insect eating plants and tamarack trees; walk on a boardwalk that is placed upon a floating mat of sphagnum moss. Pinhook Bog is about , a...

, also a part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Location

The bog is located west of Mineral Springs Road. The general area is accessible by the Cowles Bog Trail of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore located in northwest Indiana and managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966. The national lakeshore runs for nearly along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, from Gary, Indiana, on the west to Michigan...

. Parking is available at the trailhead, just before the guardhouse to Dune Acres

Dune Acres, Indiana

Dune Acres is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 182 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Dune Acres is located at ....

. The trail does not lead into the bog, which is nearly inaccessible due to the nature of the plant life surrounding it. See the description below. Dr. Cowles work included the bog, which is on the and of the marshlands to the south of the trail and the dune slopes to the north of the trail.

Soils

The main body of the bog is composed of muck created from marsh plants and the woody plants that have encroached into the area. Surrounding the bog proper is an area covered with a thin layer of leaf litter over a thin layer of topsoil. The area is moderately acidic. Wet depressions exist which reveal a substratum of Maumee soils, a loamy fine sand. These loamy sands extend southward through the marsh area. To the north the dunes consist of Plainfield fine sand, which is heavily oxidized.

Vegetation

The bog is a wetland woods. In the 1960s, there was still a noticeable open bog. This has effectively closed. The woods is dominated by Red maple

Red Maple

Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas...

 and Yellow birch

Yellow Birch

Betula alleghaniensis , is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Ontario, and the southeast corner of Manitoba in Canada, west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.It is a...

. There are tamarack, Paper birch

Paper Birch

Betula papyrifera is a species of birch native to northern North America.-Description:...

, and White pine

Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...

, which together only reach numbers equal to the Red maple and Yellow birch separately. Immature trees exist in all the lower layers of the woods with the Red maple and Yellow birch still dominating.

The Shrub layer is along the bog’s edge and fills the center area of the bog. Dominant here are spicebush and poison sumac

Poison Sumac

Poison sumac is a woody shrub or small tree growing to 7 m tall. All parts of the plant contain a resin called urushiol that causes skin and mucous membrane irritation to humans...

. The predominance of poison sumac makes access to the bog very difficult. Additionally, there are quantities of witch hazel

Witch hazel

Witch hazel may refer to:*Witch-hazel , a genus of decorative shrubs in North America and east Asia*Witch hazel , an astringent topical medicine derived from the Hamamelis plant...

, red osier

Cornus amomum

Cornus amomum is a species of dogwood native to eastern North America, from Ontario and Quebec south to Arkansas and Georgia. Also found in other parts of North America....

, grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

 and blackberry

Blackberry

The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...

.

At ground level, the herb layer includes columbine

Aquilegia

Aquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.-Etymology:The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word for eagle , because...

, boneset

Eupatorium serotinum

Eupatorium serotinum, also known as late boneset or late thoroughwort, is a fall-blooming herbaceous plant native to North America...

, jewel weed, nettle

Nettle

Nettles constitute between 24 and 39 species of flowering plants of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae, with a cosmopolitan though mainly temperate distribution. They are mostly herbaceous perennial plants, but some are annual and a few are shrubby...

, twinberry, May apple, hispid greenbrier

Smilax

Smilax is a genus of about 300-350 species, found in temperate zones, tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found , while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico...

, meadow rue, narrow-leaved cattail

Typha angustifolia

Typha angustifolia L., , is a perennial herbaceous plant of genus Typha. This cattail is an "obligate wetland" species that is commonly found in the northern hemisphere in brackish locations...

 and grape.

Orchids are becoming increasingly more common as restoration work has been going on putting orchids back in their natural habitat. Also Round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia

Drosera rotundifolia

Drosera rotundifolia is a species of sundew, a carnivorous plant often found in bogs, marshes and fens...

) and Purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea

Sarracenia purpurea

Sarracenia purpurea, commonly known as the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae...

) are increasingly more common.

Wildlife

The bog area primarily supports insect and bird life. Beavers have been known to inhabit the surrounding wetlands in 1988.

Restoration

Since the early 1900s, when Dr. Cowles studied the 'bog', the land has been changing. The once diverse sedge meadow had been replaced by a monoculture of hybrid cattails. The National Park Service has identified that the changes which have caused this include: changes in seasonal water levels, water chemistry, changes in plant density, and changes in the soil and the seed banks. These changes have been the result of changes in the surrounding area, including the construction or roads and of drainage ditches. In 2009, the national lakeshore received a 3-year grant to begin the restoration of the bog.

Cowles Bog Trail

The trail takes you along the northern edge of 'Cowles Bog'. The trail consist of three loops beginning at the Cowles Bog Trailhead parking area. Lake Michigan can be reached on this trail in only 1.7 miles (2.7 km) by using the most direct route.

• The southern loop is 2 miles (3.2 km) long around the bog, with a return trip of about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) along Mineral Springs Road.
• The middle loop is 1.7 miles (2.7 km) and takes you into the dunes ridges and interdunal wetland
  Interdunal wetland
  An interdunal wetland or interdunal pond is a water-filled depression between coastal sand dunes. It may be formed either by wind erosion or by dunal encroachment on an existing wetland...
  
  s. It requires that you use the southern loop 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to get to and from it.
• The northern loop is connected to the middle loop and is 1.4 miles (2.3 km) long, crossing the foredunes and reaching Lake Michigan. This is the highest of the dunes and the steepest portion of the trail.

Cowles Research

• Cowles, H.C. 1899. Ecological relation of the vegetation on sand dunes of Lake Michigan. Bot. Gaz 27: 95-117; 167-202; 281-308; 361-388
• ----------------. 1901. The physiographic ecology of Chicago and vicinity. Bot. Gaz. 31: 73-108; 145-182
• ----------------. 1901. The plant societies of Chicago and vicinity. Bull. Geog. Soc. Of Chicago, No 2: 1-76

Sources

• Bennett, L.F. 1917. The sand dune region as a national park. Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci. 26: 261-263
• Buhl, C. A. 1935. Notes on the flora of the Indiana Dunes. Am Midland Nat. 16: 248-253
• Cressey, G.R. 1928. The Indiana sand dunes and shore lines of the Lake Michigan basin. Univ. Chicago Press. Geog. Soc. Of Chicago, Bull. 8
• Eifrig, C.W. 1919. The birds of the sand dunes of northwestern Indiana. Proc Indiana Acad. Sci. 28: 280-303
• Lyon, M.W. Jr, 1923. Notes on the mammals of the dune region of Porter County, Indiana. Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci. 32: 209-221
• -------------------- 1924. Some soil and water reactions in the dunes region of Porter County. Proc Indiana Acad. Sci. 33: 281-284
• Olson, J.S. 1951. Vegetation –substrate relations in the Lake Michigan sand dunes. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. Chicago.
• ------------. 1958. Rates of succession and soil changes on southern Lake Michigan sand dunes. Bot. Gaz. 119: 125-170
• Peattie, D.C. 1930. Flora of the Indiana Dunes. Field Museum of Nat. History Chicago, 432p.
• Potzger, J.E. 1938. Some acidity studies in dunes and bogs. Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci 47: 100-105
• Rand, A. L. and A.S. Rand. 1946. Mammal bones from dunes south of Lake Michigan. Am. Midland Nat. 46: 649-659.
• Tryon, R.M. Jr. 1936. Ferns of the dune region of Indiana. Amer. Midland Nat. 17: 425-249.