Cowles Bog is a 4,000-year-old

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

complex in

Indiana Dunes National Park Indiana Dunes National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes Na ...

, near

Chesterton, Indiana Chesterton is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester, Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana, Jackson and Liberty Township, Porter County, Indiana, Liberty townships in Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U ...

. It is named for

Henry Chandler Cowles Henry Chandler Cowles (February 27, 1869 – September 12, 1939) was an American botanist and ecological pioneer. A professor at the University of Chicago, he studied ecological succession in the Indiana Dunes of Northwest Indiana.Smith, S. & ...

who did his pioneering work in

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

and

ecological succession Ecological succession is the process of how species compositions change in an Community (ecology), ecological community over time. The two main categories of ecological succession are primary succession and secondary succession. Primary successi ...

here. His work brought international attention to the area which led to efforts to preserve the Indiana Dunes. It was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

in 1965,Natural Areas in Indiana and Their Preservation; Lindsey, Alton A., Damian V. Schmelz, Stanley A. Nichols; American Midland Naturalist, Dept of Biology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1969; pg 523-530 and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2025. It contains

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of ...

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, and

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

habitats.

Preservation

Cowles had been writing papers on plant succession for several years based on research he did in the area before he was part of the 1913 International Phytogeographical Excursion which brought other international scientists to the site. Dorothy Buell founded the

Save the Dunes Save the Dunes Conservation Fund, originally known as Save the Dunes Council, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Northwest Indiana whose mission is to protect and advocate for the Indiana Dunes, Lake Michigan, and the surrounding natural are ...

Council which led to the purchase of the wetland complex.Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 1.

Location

The wetland is located west of Mineral Springs Road. The general area is accessible by the Cowles Bog Trail of

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

Dune Acres Dune Acres is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 234 as of the 2020 census. Dune Acres is located in the duneland of the south shore of Lake Michigan. Many residents of Dune Acres and ...

. The trail does not lead into the bog, which is nearly inaccessible due to the nature of the plant life surrounding it. Dr. Cowles work included the bog and the marshlands to the south of the trail and the dune slopes to the north of the trail. Cowles Bog is drained by the West Branch Tributary of

Dunes Creek Dunes Creek is a northwards-flowing U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 stream which drains the Great Marsh of Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes Nati ...

to Lake Michigan.

Soils

Cowles Bog is considered a wetland complex, rather than a 'true'

such as

Pinhook Bog Pinhook Bog is a unique bog in Indiana that has been designated a National Natural Landmark. It is part of Indiana Dunes National Park, an area that many citizens, scientists, and politicians fought hard to preserve.Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). Th ...

, also a part of the Indiana Dunes National Park. 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 ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...

and

yellow birch ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the p ...

. There are

tamarack ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

paper birch Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is drained through a fine mesh leaving ...

, and

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

, 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 ''Toxicodendron vernix'', commonly known as poison sumac, or swamp-sumach, is a woody shrub or small tree growing to tall. It was previously known as ''Rhus vernix''. This plant is also known as thunderwood, particularly where it occurs in the ...

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

witch hazel Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&nb ...

red osier ''Cornus sericea'', the red osier or red-osier dogwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native to much of North America. It has sometimes been considered a synonym of the Asian species '' Cornus alba''. Other names inclu ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

and

blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

. At ground level, the herb layer includes

columbine Columbine may refer to: Places * Columbine, Colorado, a census-designate place in Jefferson and Arapahoe counties in Colorado, United States ** Columbine High School, a high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States *** Columbine Memorial, a ...

, boneset, jewel weed,

nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus '' Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" include: * ball nettle ...

, twinberry, mayapple, hispid greenbrier,

meadow rue ''Thalictrum'' () is a genus of 120-200 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, native mostly to Temperate climate, temperate regions. Meadow-rue is a common name for plants in this genus. ''Thali ...

, narrow-leaved cattail and grape.

Orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

are becoming increasingly more common as restoration work has been going on putting orchids back in their natural habitat. Purple pitcher plant (''

Sarracenia purpurea ''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Taxonomy The species is further divided into two subspecies, ''S. purpurea'' subsp. ...

''), while once common, has been poached from the area and no longer occurs.

Wildlife

The wetland complex primarily supports insect and bird life. Beavers have been known to inhabit the surrounding wetlands in 1988. White Tail Deer are present also.

Restoration

Since the early 1900s, when Cowles studied the 'bog', the land has been changing. The once diverse sedge meadow had been replaced by a monoculture of hybrid

cattails ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ...

. 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 wetlands.The Singing Sands; Vol. 30, NO. 2, Fall 2009; National Park Service, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; Porter, Indiana

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.Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; Cowles Bog Trail, National Park Service Lake Michigan can be reached on this trail in only by using the most direct route. *The southern loop is long around the bog, with a return trip of about along Mineral Springs Road. *The middle loop is and takes you into the dunes ridges and

interdunal wetland An interdunal wetland, interdunal pond or dune slack 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. The wind erosion process involves wind scooping ...

s. It requires that you use the southern loop to get to and from it. *The northern loop is connected to the middle loop and is 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 * Cowles, H.C. 1901. The physiographic ecology of Chicago and vicinity. Bot. Gaz. 31: 73–108; 145–182 * Cowles, H.C. 1901. The plant societies of Chicago and vicinity. Bull. Geog. Soc. Of Chicago, No 2: 1–76

References

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: 248-253Natural Areas in Indiana and Their Preservation; Lindsey, Alton A., Damian V. Schmelz, Stanley A. Nichols; American Midland Naturalist, Dept of Biology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1969; pg 523–530 * 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.

External links

National Natural Landmark: Cowles Bog
{{authority control Bogs of Indiana Indiana Dunes National Park National Natural Landmarks in Indiana Protected areas of Porter County, Indiana Protected areas established in 1966 Landforms of Porter County, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Porter County, Indiana