On the Brule River State Forest, this long, steep-sided section of the Brule River was formed by glacial meltwaters during the retreat of the glaciers. The spillway is surrounded by white cedar and black ash swamps, open bog, alder thicket, and sedge meadow, with mature conifer forest in the uplands. Springs and seeps bubble up through the sandy substrate almost the entire length of the spillway.

A very diverse breeding avifauna includes northern saw-whet owl, black-backed woodpecker, gray jay, boreal chickadee, olive-sided flycatcher, yellow-bellied flycatcher, winter wren, wood thrush, golden-winged warbler, Cape May warbler, Blackburnian warbler, and mourning warbler.

Photo Credit: Andy Paulios