Powell Marsh State Wildlife Area, part of the of the Northern Highland - American Legion State Forest and site on the Great Wisconsin Bird and Nature Trail, is a great place to view wildlife and introduce kids to birding. Spot waterfowl, waterbirds, migrant shorebirds, open-area birds and raptors. View muskrat, beaver, otter, mink, red squirrel, snowshoe hare, star-nosed mole, southern bog lemming and various species of shrew and mice and vole. And if your interest is reptiles and amphibians, spy wood frog, American toad, red-backed salamander and several species of snakes as well as a variety of turtles including the western painted turtle, snapping turtle and wood turtle. But don’t forget to take note of the environment. Powell Marsh is not a marsh at all. It’s a bog thanks to the accumulation of peat (decayed plants).