About this Property
Fitzsimmons Woods is a Natural Area, rated NA-3, identified by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) as Fitzsimmons Road Woods. A one-acre buffer surrounds the woodland on the east and south boundaries. The overall site is approximately 43 acres in size. Nineteen acres are under ownership of Milwaukee County and MALC acquired title to the remaining 24.5 acres, thus establishing a larger site under conservation protection.
The many wetlands and natural drainageways in Fitzsimmons Woods are headwaters to the Oak Creek and the Root River. The site is a southern mesic beech-maple woodland with a heavy composition of oak species also present. It is host to 145 native Wisconsin plant species as well as 13 ephemeral wetlands (vernal pools).
There are 25 species of trees (all native), 20 species of native shrubs, and approximately 100 native herbaceous (groundlayer) plant species. The groundlayer includes an extremely diverse mix of spring ephemeral species that peak in their display in May and early June. There are only seven (7) exotic plant species that have been recorded within Fitzsimmons Woods, clearly making it one of the most intact and undisturbed woodlands in Southeastern Wisconsin.
